I don’t believe this is part of The Process, Coach Saban.
Three weeks ago, Clemson took a 31-16 lead on Alabama at halftime, then scored the next 13 points over the last two quarters to claim a dominating 44-16 victory and its second College Football Playoff championship the past three years. Speaking on PFT Live Wednesday morning, now-former Crimson Tide running back Josh Jacobs cited a lack of energy in the locker room prior to the game as well as the team being “mentally fatigued” as factors in the loss to the Tigers (even as it was a 14-13 game after the first quarter, but that’s neither here nor there).
“Honestly, I know it might sound cliché... but, before the game, you could feel it was gonna be a rough one,” Jacobs said, adding that he had that feeling in the locker room. “Not only young players trying to feel the vibe of big games, being able to play so long after a certain amount of time it kind of wears on you, especially when you play great teams week-in and week-out you get everybody’s best shot it kind of wears on you.
“I think the team was just mentally fatigued. ... For the most part, I think people were just fatigued.”
For the rest of Mike Florio‘s talk with Jacobs, click on the video below.