Nick Saban lauds Alabama's 'resilience' in sloppy win over Texas A&M - ESPN

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — It was one of those vintage Nick Saban moments — a winning Alabama locker room that, to some, might have sounded more like a losing one.

But not to his players.

«We gotta clean it up, and he's going to let us know that no matter what the scoreboard says,» senior receiver Jermaine Burton said. «That's our standard — Alabama's standard.»

That standard was good enough Saturday to earn Alabama its biggest victory of the season, a 26-20 mistake-filled win over Texas A&M in the most hostile of environments before a packed house at Kyle Field.

Down deep, Saban was proud of his team's steely resolve to somehow overcome 14 penalties, a touchdown called back after Chris Braswell returned a blocked field goal attempt and the mismanagement of the clock at the end of the game.

«This may be the record game for me in terms of messing up and still winning, if you take the mess-ups and the penalties and add them up altogether,» said Saban, forcing a wry smile. «But then you look at the other side of all that, and what kind of resilience and ability to overcome adversity does somebody have when you're talking about the kind of competitive spirit you have on your team — which I will take any day because we can fix the other stuff?»

There were some around the college football world that left Alabama for dead after its 34-24 loss at home to Texas in Week 2 and then a horrid showing offensively a week later in a 17-3 win at South Florida. But, now, at the midway point of the season, the No. 11 Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0) are the only unbeaten team in the SEC's Western Division in league play and head home for their next three games.

«Next game up, next man up,» said Burton, who had a career day with nine catches for 197