Saban criticizes Alabama's apathy following opening week win

Alabama coach Nick Saban was not pleased while discussing his team coming off the heels of the 44-13 win over Miami last weekend.

The reigning national champions delivered an underwhelming practice following their dominant Week 1 victory, leaving the coach fuming ahead of the contest against FCS opponent Mercer.

Saban recalled a 2017 rant where he coined the phrase "rat poison," referring to the idea of his players buying into their own press clippings.

"So now, we basically played one half of one game," Saban said. "We went ahead 27 to nothing in the game, and then it was basically 17-16 after that with two stops inside the 5-yard line. So we didn’t maintain our intensity in the game. We were affected by the scoreboard. So we haven’t proven we can play for 60 minutes.

"Then we come out Monday not ready to practice, I guess because of respect we have for the opponent. I don’t really know that, or maybe it’s what they read on social media or in the media or whatever after one half of a game this season."

Despite venting his frustrations following a rough day of preparation, the bench boss did appear excited about the program's home opener on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide will try to extend their current win streak to 16 contests against the Bears in Tuscaloosa.