One other thing that I&8217;d like to touch on is that I think class is a real critical part of any organization. It&8217;s a word that I see, that comes up on our board when we do some of our traditional stuff here as a part of our university, as a part of our football tradition. I think class is an important part of what we try to do in terms of how we represent our state, our institution, and I want this program to always reflect class in how we go about doing things.&8221;

This week Nick Saban did something no coach at the University of Alabama has done since I can remember (I was born in 1984 so that rules out the Paul &8220;Bear&8221; Bryant Era), he scolded Bama. He said you guys got out of line, and you need to get some act right.

Part of the berating was about drinks thrown from the student section onto Georgia players celebrating after the overtime victory. While it wasn&8217;t the brightest hour for Alabama fans, I don&8217;t think any fan from any team in the Southeastern Conference can say their student section or even fans haven&8217;t done some equally stupid action (for everyone about to play holier-than-thou with their team and send me an e-mail think hard about it first).

Saban started by first pointing out students and fans, and later, when pressed, I get the feeling he sent a clear message to boosters or perhaps trustees that they too aren&8217;t above his reprimands. When asked if his earlier remark about class referred to reports that ice was thrown on field during Georgia game Saban responded:

And he is right. Bama fans, boosters and trustees seem to think they have the last say in the football program&8217;s operation week-in and week-out. And unfortunately for the program since the exeunt of Gene Stallings, they have. And the repercussions are apparent (see paying Saban a small fortune to try and turn around a struggling program).

So Saban lost one game, it is not the end of the world. In fact, the fact Alabama coming back in that game and taking it to overtime is a miracle on its own if you have seen the team&8217;s offense for the past three years.

The team is getting better. The offense is getting better. Yeah, the defense is struggling &8212; particularly the defensive backs (a.k.a. the reason Georgia got up fast and eventually won). Give Saban time, oh fickle Bama nation. For once quit meddling and shut up. It will be worth it (can&8217;t be much worse than it has been).

Brandon Glover is the sports editor of The Times. He can be reached at brandon.glover@demopolistimes.com.