Nick Saban talks 'respect' following SEC title win

Nick Saban spoke about “respect” after Alabama beat undefeated Georgia 41-24 in the SEC Championship game, securing a College Football Playoff spot. Alabama finished their season with a 12-1 record and another SEC title, as quarterback Bryce Young played one of his best games of the season.

Nick Saban’s comments after championship win

“We did play great on offense,” Saban stated after the game. “Obviously Bryce played a magnificent game. Receivers did a good job, I think our [offensive] line did a really good job of blocking pressures so he had a chance to operate, which we thought was really important in the game. But this is a great team win. I know our defense gave up some plays, but they got them stopped when they needed to.

“Winning the SEC is a big thing. And I’m so proud of all the fans that we have here, the state of Alabama and all of our players for how they played and competed in this game. Everybody wanted to gain a little respect — and I think maybe we did.”

One piece of Nick Saban’s team that certainly earned respect throughout the game was Alabama’s offensive line. Saban closed his comments after the game by praising his team and coaches for the work they did preparing for the game.

“I think the coaches did a really good job,” Saban stated. “They did a good job of protections. Bryce did a good job of preparing to get them in the right place. Everybody contributed in a very positive way.”

Alabama dominant in second half

Late in the second quarter, Alabama receiver John Metchie III suffered a non-contact injury in his left knee. While running a route, he turned back to face his quarterback, grabbed his left side, and went down.

He slowly walked off the field with the help of Alabama staff. The wideout was seen squatting on the sideline with his helmet on shortly thereafter.

While the loss to Metchie wasn’t ideal and the severity of his injury is unknown as of now, Alabama didn’t look back.

As Georgia sought a comeback with the momentum clearly favoring Nick Saban’s group, the Crimson Tide defense came up huge with a Jordan Battle pick-six of Stetson Bennett, making in a 38-17 game.

With Alabama’s impressive victory both teams will finish 12-1, and the reigning national champions will notch their 29th SEC title. Since Georgia had such a dominant regular season, it is likely the SEC will have two teams in the College Football Playoff.

It would be Alabama’s seventh appearance in the postseason tournament; the only year they did not make it was 2019. Georgia’s sole appearance came in 2017, where they lost to Alabama in the national championship game.

On3’s Sean Labar contributed to this article.