{"id":12613,"date":"2023-12-03T16:08:43","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T13:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/12613\/saban-alabama-state-cfp-case\/"},"modified":"2023-12-03T16:08:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T13:08:44","slug":"saban-alabama-state-cfp-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/?p=12613","title":{"rendered":"Saban, Alabama state CFP case after beating No. 1 UGA to win SEC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Saban, Alabama state CFP case after beating No. 1 UGA to win SEC\u060c<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<ul class=\"authors\">\n<li class=\"mugshot-shown\">\n<div class=\"author-img\"><\/div>\n<p>Chris Low, ESPN senior writer<span class=\"timestamp \">December 3, 2023, 12:53 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-overlay\">Close<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>    College <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/football\/\"   title=\"football\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">football<\/a> reporter\n<\/li>\n<li>    Joined ESPN.com in 2007\n<\/li>\n<li>    Graduated from the University of Tennessee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>ATLANTA \u2014 Nick Saban didn&#8217;t even wait for the question to be asked.<\/p>\n<p>His Alabama team, with emphasis on &#8220;team,&#8221; had just done what no other college football team had accomplished in the past three seasons: beat No. 1 Georgia .  But on the minds of Saban, and many others, is what will happen Sunday when the College Football Playoff committee chooses the four teams that will play for the national championship.<\/p>\n<p>Saban said it was pretty simple.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they really want the top four teams to compete,\u201d he said, then Alabama will make the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>The comment came after the No. 8 Crimson Tide ended the Bulldogs&#8217; 29-game winning streak with a 27-24 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  It was Saban&#8217;s ninth SEC title at Alabama and extended the team&#8217;s winning streak to 11 games since a <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/week\/\"   title=\"Week\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">Week<\/a> 2 home loss to Texas.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s this loss that makes everyone at Crimson, and a few people in the SEC offices, a little nervous.<\/p>\n<p>Saban didn&#8217;t go too far in his postgame press conference, but he left no doubt about his belief that his team is one of the best in college football.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline editorial float-r\" data-behavior=\"article_related\">\n<h2 class=\"editorial-title\">Editor&#8217;s Choice<\/h2>\n<p>2 Related<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe beat the No. 1 team in the country and they won 29 games in a row,\u201d Saban said.  \u201cIf we had to do something to pass the eye exam, I would guess that this probably contributed significantly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saban shrugged at the idea that the committee might disagree with him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t agree with them before. I didn&#8217;t agree with them last year,&#8221; he said.  &#8220;So I&#8217;m going to respect them. I know they have a tough job. I know there&#8217;s a lot of good teams. But I&#8217;m just speaking for our guys on our team who have been busting their butts all the time. year to accomplish what they accomplished. I think that needs to be recognized.<\/p>\n<p>Alabama outside linebacker Dallas Turner was hesitant to say what his message to the playoff committee would be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, honestly, I don\u2019t like to talk that much,\u201d he said.  &#8220;I like to perform well on the pitch, and we clearly had a very good match tonight, a very big victory. We will let our play speak for us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When Turner finished answering his question, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe leaned toward the microphone and said, &#8220;I have something to say.&#8221;  It was fitting, because no player had more to say \u2014 certainly with his play \u2014 than Milroe, who reflected the meteoric rise of this Alabama team this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGeorgia is No. 1, right?\u201d  \u00bb Milroe said, scanning the room full of journalists.  \u201cYou beat the No. 1 team. What do you think of us?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUltimately, it\u2019s beyond our reach [the playoff selections].  The most important thing we need to do is trust the process and continue to improve.  But we beat the best team in the country by a lot, so what do you think of us?  \u00bb<\/p>\n<p>It seems like an eternity since Milroe was benched in Week 3 against South Florida.  But since that game \u2013 and since he was given the entire keys to Alabama&#8217;s offense \u2013 he has thrown 28 touchdowns against just five turnovers.<\/p>\n<p>He passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia.  And it was his play in the fourth quarter that made the difference.  The 6-foot-2, 220-pound redshirt sophomore was masterful on a 75-yard touchdown run that put Alabama ahead 27-17, and his 30-yard run to first try after Georgia pulled within 27-24 was the dagger for the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most important thing about this team is we know there is work to be completed,\u201d Milroe said.<\/p>\n<p>Saban had a little fun with the media as he settled into his seat for his postgame press conference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know you\u2019re going to ask me, so you might as well go,\u201d he said with a big smile.  \u201cHaving anticipation is something that is important to being a good coach, not that I am a good coach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And with that, he explained why Alabama should make the playoffs despite its shaky <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/start\/\"   title=\"start\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">start<\/a> to the season.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pull-quote\"><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re not the same team we were when we played Texas. We&#8217;re not the same team when we played South Florida. I don&#8217;t think we should be considered that team right now . I think people should look at the whole body of work in terms of what the team was able to accomplish and what they were able to do. I think this team is one of the four best teams, one of the teams who deserve to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p><cite>Nick Saban, Alabama coach<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re not the same team we were when we played Texas,\u201d Saban said.  \u201cWe\u2019re not the same team when we played South Florida. [a 17-3 win].  I don&#8217;t think we should be considered that team right now.  I think people should look at the body of work in terms of what the team was able to accomplish and what they were able to do.  I think this team is a top four team, one of the teams that deserves to make the playoffs.  \u00bb<\/p>\n<p>Standing outside the Alabama locker room, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey doubled down on comments he made earlier Saturday, when he said it&#8217;s not the &#8216;real world&#8217; for the SEC to be excluded from the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone who knows football knows they were two of the best teams in the country,\u201d Sankey told ESPN.  &#8220;It&#8217;s not even a question. It doesn&#8217;t matter what I say now. The committee will make its selections. But I will repeat what I said: It&#8217;s not the real world if at least one of these teams is not present. the playoffs.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne admitted he&#8217;ll likely have trouble sleeping Saturday night, but he said Alabama&#8217;s resume should speak for itself.  The Crimson Tide beat four teams in the latest CFP rankings.  No. 7 Texas, its only loss, beat Oklahoma State on Saturday to <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/win\/\"   title=\"win\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">win<\/a> the Big 12 championship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just beat the No. 1 team in the country, the No. 1 team in several years, and we&#8217;re playing in the toughest conference in the country,\u201d Byrne said.  &#8220;If we are really supposed to have the best four teams, this will be the ultimate test. How can you say we are not among the best four? And I also think a good schedule will be recognized.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whatever happens with the committee on Sunday, Saban said it&#8217;s important to recognize that this Alabama team won the SEC championship when so many people had counted it out.  Entering Saturday, Alabama (12-1) had overcome five second-half deficits in SEC games to win this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn&#8217;t be more proud of a group of guys on a team that has come as far as these guys have from where we were in the second, third game of the season,\u201d said Saban, who led Alabama has 17 consecutive victories.  in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this season, Saban said this team took years away from him with its mistakes and growing pains.  When asked if he got some of those years back with this SEC championship, Saban jokingly replied, &#8220;You know how tired I am right now?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He said his speech to the team in the locker room was one word: \u201cCelebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saban said he barely had enough in him to dance with the Tide in the locker room.  He hopes to have a few more opportunities to do so this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a lot of elements that keep our team moving toward the final stage,\u201d Milroe said.  \u201cBut we are far from the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saban, Alabama state CFP case after beating No. 1 UGA to win SEC\u060c Chris Low, ESPN senior writerDecember 3, 2023, 12:53 a.m. Close College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduated from the University of Tennessee ATLANTA \u2014 Nick Saban didn&#8217;t even wait for the question to be asked. His Alabama team, with emphasis on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1427,6911,994,3885,6910,5308,1508,6912,10],"class_list":["post-12613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-sports","tag-alabama","tag-beating","tag-case","tag-cfp","tag-saban","tag-sec","tag-state","tag-uga","tag-win"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12615,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12613\/revisions\/12615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}