Even though at a glance it appeared as if the stars had aligned for Alabama to make the College Football Playoff, their championship hunt came to a close on Sunday as it was ranked at the No. 5 spot.
Shortly following the announcement head coach Nick Saban appeared on ESPN to share his reaction to the news.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” Saban said. “We wanted to see our team have an opportunity to play and get in the playoffs. But we’re gonna get an opportunity to play someone somewhere in a good game, and that’s gonna be an opportunity for our players to create value for themselves and show what kind of team we really have.”
This is the first time the Crimson Tide had been left out of the playoff since 2019 as it now will turn its attention to the Sugar Bowl matchup against the Big 12 champion Kansas State on Dec. 31.
Saban also shared his message to the team and how he believes it should finish out the season.
“I think it comes down to trying to establish the kind of respect that we’d like to have for this team and what we did and didn’t accomplish, what we did and didn’t do,” Saban said. “But what we do in the future, what we do moving forward is going to determine that to a large degree.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
