Pete Golding, Alabama Defenders Describe Moment That Turned Season Around
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was the worst defensive output of the Nick-Saban era at the University of Alabama -- 647 yards and 48 points.
That's what the Crimson Tide defense gave up to Lane Kiffin's high-flying Ole Miss offense back on Oct. 3.
On Monday, Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding took to the podium to recap the 2020 regular season and preview the Rose Bowl meeting with Notre Dame on Jan. 1.
"Obviously I think after the Ole Miss game I think it was a come to Jesus moment," Golding said. "Because we put a lot of things on tape and a lot of things that weren't good. But I think it was good from our kids' standpoint that they could see it."
Over the next seven games, the hatches were battened down and the Alabama defense began leveling up to its potential.
During that stretch, before the SEC Championship meeting with Florida, the Crimson Tide only allowed 77 points in total, forced 15 turnovers, and opponents only managed an average of 283 total yards.
Golding noted that over 250 yards that the Rebels gained on that wet October night came off of broken tackles and that it was something quickly fixed in practice over the following weeks with different drills and lots of film watching.
"I think obviously the big thing for us in that stretch where I thought we were playing pretty good defense, I thought we attacked the line of scrimmage up front, did a good job controlling blocks," Golding said. "I thought we were better in our gap integrity of fitting runs which has been an issue in the past. But I think the biggest thing, we tackled better. I think early, obviously, in the year, you look at the Ole Miss game, they had 250 yards after contact. You can't play good football teams and not eliminate obviously the yards after contact."
In that period of seven games before the Florida game, the Alabama pass rush sacked opposing quarterbacks a total of 23 times.
"I feel like the Ole Miss game, it really gave us a spark," Phidarian Mathis said. "We didn't play as well as we wanted to play. And we just took that game for motivation to get us where we're at now. And we try not to think about that. That's in the past. But it is what it is and we just gotta keep rolling."
Sophomore defensive tackle DJ Dale says the team needed that outing against the Rebels to show how important it is to focus on doing the little things right in the game prep.
"We learned that that whole week that we wasn't focused, we wasn't locked in and we didn't have a great week of practice," Dale said. "So that played a big role in what happened during that game. So from that point we focused and locked in at practice and everyone just came together. And we didn't want to repeat that in any other game."
Last time out in the SEC title game, the Crimson Tide faced an electric Gators offense led by Heisman Trophy finalist Kyle Trask and tight end Kyle Pitts as Florida dropped 46 points and 462 total yards on Golding's unit.
That defensive showing brought back horrors from the Ole Miss debacle when a video of coach Nick Saban giving Golding a stern talking-to went viral.
After a 12-day break, the Alabama defense will look to return to form against a formidable Notre Dame offense this Friday at 3 p.m (CT) on ESPN for a spot in the CFP National Championship Game.
"Obviously, I think when you invest as much Coach Saban invests into this program and into football and things like that, when something doesn't get executed, doesn't go the way it is supposed to go, you're frustrated," Golding said of his interaction with Saban. "Like we all are. It's no different. That's part of it. That's in any job, any boss, obviously, when you don't get the result you're expecting that you should get, obviously that's going to come down on whoever is responsible for that. As it should be.
"So, I mean, that ain't nothing new. Whether it's my dad growing up, my mom, that's expected. When something doesn't go as it should, right, then obviously there's consequences for it.
"I think it's just kind of a motivation speech at that time. Let's get them going, let's roll."
