Alabama football had a close call on Saturday, as Arkansas mounted a comeback in the second half to turn what had been a 24-6 Crimson Tide lead into a 24-21 nail-biter. That same week, Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s AFLAC commercial costar Deion Sanders’ Colorado team blew a 29-0 halftime lead on Stanford to lose 46-43 in double overtime.

During Saban’s Thursday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, he compared the two situations.

“I think the Colorado game was a great example of a little bit what happened to us last week,” Saban said. “Get ahead 29-0 in a game. Guys lose their mental intensity, their focus and the game starts to change. The momentum swings and you can’t get it back, so you have to learn how to sustain and grind through it and continue to impose your will so you never lose that.”

Saban said after the game, and reiterated on the McAfee show appearance, that he wants Alabama to learn how to beat other teams, not just win games. He said his team lost focus once it got ahead against the Razorback.

Alabama’s head coach says he hasn’t been in contact with Sanders lately, but sang the praises of the man who took over in Boulder this season.

“I have not,” Saban said after McAfee asked him if the two speak during the season. “But he is a great friend and I root for him all the time.”

Alabama will be back in action on Saturday, facing Tennessee in Tuscaloosa. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will be aired on CBS.