Nick Saban Jokes This Alabama Team ‘Taking Years off My Life’ After Win vs. Tennessee

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No. 11 Alabama may have defeated No. 17 Tennessee 34-20 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but this year’s Crimson Tide squad is doing a number on head coach Nick Saban.

“I enjoy coaching this team,” Saban told reporters after the win. “That’s not say that they’re taking years off of my life, but I’m OK with that.”

The Crimson Tide entered halftime down 20-7 before holding the Volunteers scoreless in the second half and charging back for the victory with 27 unanswered points after the half. It marked the third-largest home comeback out of halftime in school history.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe finished the game having completed 14 of 21 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. Running back Jase McClellan led all rushers with 115 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries.

Alabama has trailed in six of its first eight games this season and entered halftime trailing against Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Texas. The Crimson Tide charged back for wins over the Bulldogs, Rebels and Aggies but posted their only loss of the season against the Longhorns.

With Alabama continuing to post comeback victories, Saban also praised his team’s resiliency on Saturday:

“I love it. It’s been great. The challenges have been great. It’s fun because they’ve got a good spirit about them. We’ve got good relationships on this team. I think players legitimately care about each other. They respond well to their coaches. It’s really fun to coach them.”I don’t think sometimes show the maturity from a competitive standpoint to do everything on a consistent basis, which is what we keep trying to work toward. But I’ll tell you, eight weeks in a row and the grind that we’ve had the last four or five weeks with the games in our league—I think psychologically we probably had a bit of a tired team out there at the beginning of the game. I think the momentum of the game gave them the energy they needed to play they’re capable of playing.”

Alabama enters its bye week with a 7-1 record and will return to the field on Nov. 4 for a matchup against No. 19 LSU.