Josh Cuevas Apologizes to Alabama Fans: 'Not the Standard We're Used To'

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas said coaches were "fed up" after the No. 8 Crimson Tide's 31-17 loss at Florida State on Saturday. The Alabama fanbase has expressed similar sentiment in the aftermath of the upset, which brought about an 0-1 start to Kalen DeBoer's second year.

Cuevas had three catches for 31 yards and a score, hauling in Ty Simpson's first touchdown pass as the starting quarterback to cap the Crimson Tide's opening drive. He apologized for the defeat during Tuesday's press conference.

"We lost. I apologize. That's not the standard that we're used to at Alabama," Cuevas said Tuesday. "We're expected to win. We have championship effort, and meeting habits, and... practice habits, and stuff like that."

The Crimson Tide plays against Louisiana-Monroe at home this Saturday, at 6:45 p.m. CT. Sometimes when a team loses it plays its next game angry, in a bid to take out its frustrations from the previous result on the next opponent. Cuevas didn't explicitly say that would be the case for Alabama this weekend, but the implication was there in his words about the team's hope for its on-field response.

"We're coming back. We're coming back harder. We gotta bounce back. We gotta respond. It's just something that we have to do," Cuevas said. "We know we set ourselves back. So, it's just something that we need to get back on track with and kind of set ourselves up for a good rest of the season."

The standard has been a hot topic of discussion this offseason, with the specifics surrounding a return to the level of play that underscored the championship victories of the Nick Saban era. Cuevas shared what embodies that standard from his perspective.

"Excellence in all we do. For sure. Doesn't matter if we're on the field, off the field, in the building, outside the building. It's just something that we do all the time. Every decision that we make, it's, we're thinking about the team. And the team only. And winning, winning, winning."

By that evaluation, the Crimson Tide did not appear in the ballpark of the standard in the Florida State game. Alabama did not win (nor was it especially close to doing so) and played far from excellent following the first series.

"[There's] a lot of stuff going into ULM week, working on that and just going through stuff that we need to work on," Cuevas said. "You could tell the whole process of practice today was definitely on another level."