Nick Saban 'really proud' of 2022 Alabama team

It might have been a down season for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide still managed to secure a 10-win season despite their mid-season woes.

Head coach Nick Saban praised his team following the Iron Bowl victory this past weekend, noting that even in the face of adversity, his team stuck together and salvaged what could have been a dynasty-shattering season for Alabama.

“I was really proud of our team this whole season actually. To win 10 games, to go through a rough patch when Bryce [Young] was hurt. Now he’s healthy again, which makes us a different kind of team, I think,” Saban said Saturday. “It’s great to win in the Iron Bowl for our players. It’s great that they won 10 games. But I think one of the things that I’m most proud of is the fact that when everybody thought they were out of it – and there were a lot of naysayers out there – this team didn’t give up on themselves.

“They didn’t give up on each other. They kept fighting and won some tough games to finish the season. So I’m really proud of the fact that everybody hung in there, stayed together and continued to try to get better. We’ve had a lot of injuries, had a lot of guys miss some time, so that gave other people opportunities. But I’m really proud of the way that we finished.”

That’s all to say – Alabama still has a shot at the College Football Playoff after what has been one of the toughest regular seasons for the Tide in recent memory. They’ll need a special set of circumstances to sneak into the field of four, but it’s not impossible.

Alabama will likely need for TCU and USC to lose its respective conference title games, though Ohio State is still expected to be ranked ahead of the Crimson Tide after losing to Michigan in The Game Saturday, which could throw a wrench into these plans.

With no SEC Championship berth for Alabama to pad its ranking with ahead of the selection show on Dec. 4, all the Tide can hope for is for the pieces to fall into place to allow an improbable playoff run.