TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Rashaan Evans didn’t blink. The Alabama linebacker barely even offered a smile when asked to rate the Crimson Tide’s 66-3 win over Ole Miss on Saturday.
“I’ll give them a 5,” he said, much to the surprise of the reporters surrounding him. “We did alright. Like I said, we still got a lot of things we can change and improve on, but like I said we’ll get prepared for next week.”
Alabama had just finished dismantling Ole Miss over four quarters, outgaining the Rebels 613-253 in total yards. Evans and the defense limited Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson, the SEC’s top passer heading into the game, to 165 yards while intercepting him twice. The Tide sacked Patterson five times, tallied 10 tackles for a loss and held the Rebels to 0-for-13 on third downs. The mammoth win, Alabama’s biggest since 1979, came a week after a 59-0 blowout against Vanderbilt, leaving the Tide with a 125-3 margin of victory in SEC play this season.
Still, Evans wasn’t satisfied.
“We did pretty good. I even feel like we could have done better, to be honest with you,” he said. “We played alright. There’s still a lot of things we’ve got to improve on.”
But really, a five? It’s no secret Alabama players are programmed to never be satisfied. Head coach Nick Saban even seemed somewhat annoyed following the win. Surely though, this victory had to be a little different.
“It’s just like what [Evans] said. We’re never satisfied, we always want to keep building each and every week,” said cornerback Levi Wallace, who had two interceptions in the game including one he returned 35 yards for a touchdown.
Dating back to last season, Alabama has scored 50 points or more against four of the past five SEC teams it has played. In those games, the Tide has outscored its SEC opponent a combined total of 260-34, a stat that seems amazing to just about everyone but Alabama itself.
“You know what, I don’t really care about how many points we scored in the last four games. I’m only worried about how many we score in the next game ” Saban said. “I don’t have any feeling about how many points we scored in the last four games or five games or however many SEC games we played. I’m really worried about how many we score in the next game and how we stop the next team we play. So that’s the focus on what we need to dominate next.”
Of course, not everyone on the team took the win as nonchalantly. Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts seemed somewhat surprised when he heard Evans' low rating.
“Hmm,” Hurts said, pausing a second before giving a slight shrug. “That’s his opinion.”
Hurts put together one of his best performances of the season Saturday, completing 12 of 19 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns through the air while adding a team-high 101 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Although when asked what he thought of the game, numbers were the furthest thing from the quarterback's mind.
“I mean we won, so I’ll take a W any day,” Hurts said.
He was later pressed on his performance in particular but ignored the question, remaining adamant to his previous message.
“I’m really glad that we won, actually,” Hurts said, not missing a beat. “It was a great team win.”
Despite the recent success, Hurts said there is plenty of room for Alabama to get better. The quarterback pointed to the Tide's seven penalties which cost the team 60 yards on the night as a prime example. There were also some other “missed opportunities” in the game that he says the team will focus on this week during practice.
That obsession with improvement is developing into an identity among players. It’s what motivates them to keep pushing even when a victory is already well in hand. It’s the driving force during practice, even following blowout victories. Most importantly, it’s why players aren’t allowing themselves to be satisfied with a couple of big wins this early in the season.
“I feel like there’s even more that we can bring to the table,” Evans said. “I feel like we still haven’t shown that yet, and the more and more we keep playing like we’ve been playing it’ll start showing.”
