Nick Saban explained Alabama’s biggest problem this season on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday.

“For me, the biggest problem with Alabama so far has been their ‘big-small,'” he explained.

“I always hated it when our offense played ‘big-little.’ You make a lot of big plays, but then you have a lot of negative plays and inefficiencies on offense, whether it’s sacks, fumbles, penalties, all the things that put you behind and put you away so you can’t sustain long drives and keep the ball and control the tempo of the game.”

The Tide has been penalized 20 times this season and is averaging 89.5 yards of penalties per game. The Tide has also lost four of its six fumbles this season. Saban said there is good news, however.

“I think the improvement on the offensive line today — I think both tackles will play today, which was not the case last week — will be very helpful,” he said. “Most teams that struggle have struggled on offense, and hopefully Alabama can fix that today.”

The Tide travels to Wisconsin today.

“I’ve been there before,” he said. “It’s a difficult place to play. The fans love it.”

Mark Heim is a reporter at The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_HeimHe can be heard daily from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile app.