Alabama’s comeback win one of its largest under Saban

Alabama’s comeback win one of its largest under Saban

Alabama rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit to beat Tennessee 34-20 on Saturday, something it has rarely had to do in the Nick Saban era.

In fact, the victory — in which Alabama trailed 20-7 at halftime before scoring the game’s final 27 points — was just the fifth under Saban in which the Crimson Tide had to come back when it trailed by at least 10 at any point in the second half. Here are the other 4:

Trailed by 14

1. Alabama 35, Georgia 28 (2018 SEC championship game) — The Crimson Tide was down 28-14 late in the third quarter before mounting its comeback, the largest second-half deficit it has overcome in the Saban era. Tua Tagovailoa threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle to pull Alabama within a touchdown at the end of three, but left the game early in the fourth when he suffered an ankle injury. Enter Jalen Hurts, who threw for one touchdown and ran for another as Alabama outscored Georgia 14-0 in the final period. Hurts’ 15-yard TD run with 1:04 to play provided the winning points.

Trailed by 13

2. Alabama 24, Arkansas 20 (2010) — The Crimson Tide trailed 20-7 late in the third quarter in Fayetteville vs. what was probably the best Razorbacks team of the post-Houston Nutt era, before scoring the game’s final 17 points to remain unbeaten. Greg McElroy threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Trent Richardson, then Jeremy Shelley kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 20-17 with 6:01 left. After Robert Lester picked off Ryan Mallett at the Arkansas 45 and returned the ball to the 12, Mark Ingram’s touchdown run with 3:18 to play put Alabama on top. Dre Kirkpatrick’s interception of Mallett at the Alabama 45 with 1:48 to go helped the Crimson Tide run out the clock.

3. Alabama 26, Georgia 23 (2018 CFP national championship game) — The Crimson Tide was down 13-0 at halftime in Atlanta before Saban made the famous quarterback switch from Hurts to Tagovailoa, and then trailed 20-7 midway through the third quarter (amazing how that score keeps coming up, huh?). Alabama rallied to tie the game 20-20 at the end of regulation, then Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 51-yard field goal to start overtime. After Tagovailoa was sacked for a 16-yard loss to begin the Crimson Tide’s possession, he threw 41 yards to De’Vonta Smith for the touchdown that won the game and the national championship.

Trailed by 10

4. Alabama 24, Auburn 22 (2021) — The Crimson Tide trailed the Tigers 10-0 heading into the fourth quarter and 10-3 with less than two minutes left at Jordan-Hare Stadium before Bryce Young went to work. He hit Ja’Corey Brooks on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left to cap a 97-yard drive and tie the game. The two teams matched scores through three overtimes — two touchdowns each, then a two-point conversion apiece — before Alabama’s defense got a stop in the fourth. Young then found John Metchie for the game-winning 2-pointer.

Creg Stephenson is a sports writer for AL.com. Contact him at [email protected].