Nick Saban explains how Alabama must respond to stay on track for College Football Playoff chance
Alabama has made the College Football Playoff with one loss plenty of times — like in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021 — and after losing to Tennessee on Saturday, the Crimson Tide find themselves in that position again. Head coach Nick Saban harped on the things his team needs to focus on in order to get to the playoff again.
Speaking on the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday, Saban explained his message to the team after a loss. He knows he doesn’t have to explain the stakes — the players are well aware that they can’t lose again and expect to make the College Football Playoff.
“Well, you know, we try to play one game at a time,” Saban said. “And I think it goes without saying that players know, you know, we lost a game in the east. I think it goes without saying — and I don’t think I have to say it — that playing in your division is really, really important. You can’t afford to lose games in your division and still have a chance to get in the SEC championship game. Our goal here is to play with a team full of guys that are champions. They’re doing the right things. They buy in to the principles and values of the organization. Do what you’re supposed to do to the standard you’re supposed to do it to. Be positive. Have fun. Be responsible to do your job. And those things are the things that we’re trying to focus on, and if we can do those things, well, you know, we may have a chance.”
With a feisty Mississippi State team fresh off a loss coming to Tuscaloosa this Saturday, Saban knows there’s no time for Alabama to get caught up in what could’ve been.
Mostly, what Saban wants to see starting this weekend is a team that can consistently play to a high level with the edge he demands of his teams.
“And it’ll be interesting to see how we respond to a loss and learn from the mistakes that we’ve made, so that we can play with more consistency by having a little more discipline, a little more attention to detail. And play to win. Have an aggressive attitude and a positive attitude about what you need to do to go out and prepare yourself so that you can play that kind of football,” Saban said. “And if we respond to that, I believe in the team that we have.”
With no more margin for error this season — no two-loss team has ever made the four-team College Football Playoff — Saban said he wants to see the capacity this Alabama team has to play good football in spurts turn into a consistent capability to win.
“So, I think they’re capable,” Saban said, “but having the capacity to do something, and the capability of doing it, is two different things. And I think we need to work on our capability of playing with more consistency.”