Alabama had little chance of draining a 57-yard field goal at the end of regulation on Saturday, but Nick Saban tried it anyway. He knew freshman kicker Adam Griffith probably did not have enough leg to be the hero. What Saban obviously did not consider is the importance of having his players in position to make the tackle should an Auburn player try to return the missed field goal for a touchdown.
Or did he?
[WATCH: Auburn returns missed FG for TD to beat Alabama]
Just after Griffith missed the kick, Saban could be seen saying something that looked like, “I told you he can’t cover it.” Had Griffith missed wide left or right and still sent the ball through the end zone, the game would have gone to overtime. Instead, Auburn defensive back Chris Davis fielded it in the end zone and the rest was history.
As we said yesterday, the field goal attempt is a risk Saban probably shouldn’t have taken. Even if the above clip proves that he was convinced by another member of his coaching staff to try it, the blame still falls on the head coach. Whether it was returning the missed kick for a touchdown or blocking the kick and scoring that way, Alabama had little to gain if Griffith simply didn’t have the leg.
GIF via SB Nation
