The humility in Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin's voice was as sincere as his offense was potent, unpredictable and balanced.
"Make no mistake. This is still a defensive team, a team with a defensive mentality," Kiffin said late Friday night as he stood on the AT&T Stadium field amid the falling confetti and the cameras.
He had just watched his offense take apart one of the best defenses in the country in a 38-0 thrashing of Michigan State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, but it wasn't the way anybody necessarily expected the Crimson Tide to roll on offense.
At the end of the third quarter, Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry had 65 rushing yards and quarterback Jake Coker was 24-of-29 passing for 280 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions ... and the Crimson Tide led 31-0.
"Fortunately, we made some plays to make the score look that way, but we shut out a really good team and scored on special teams," Kiffin said. "We're a defensive- and special-teams-minded team that is still evolving on offense."
That might be hard to argue, but it's also hard to argue that Alabama is a much more complete football team than maybe even the Crimson Tide realized earlier this season. They can beat you any number of ways, which should come in handy on Jan. 11, when they take on Clemson and seek their fourth national championship in the past seven years.
