This is what No. 8 Alabama coach Nick Saban and Crimson Tide players had to say after they defeated No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Saturday’s SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
“I think I couldn’t be prouder of a bunch of guys on a team that has come so far from where we were second, third game of the season. I think this is a great example for a lot of people who want to be successful in terms of the perseverance that these guys showed, the character they had to overcome adversity, the resiliency that they played with. They’re truly a team. Everybody’s together. Everybody trusts and respects the principles and values of the organization and program and buy into them. They’re all responsible for their own self-determination, which means they can go do their job.” – Nick Saban
“I know you’re going to ask me, so I might as well just get to it. Having anticipation is something that’s important to being a good coach. Not that I think I’m a good coach (smiling). But the message that I would send is, we won the SEC. We beat the No. 1 team in the country, which everybody thought on the committee was the No. 1 team in the country. They won 29 straight games. If we needed to do something to pass the eye test, I guess that probably contributed to it significantly. If you really want the four best teams to compete, the four most deserving teams that have progressed throughout the season. We’re not the same team we were when we played Texas. We’re not the same team when we played South Florida.” – Saban
“You know how tired I am right now (laughter)? I mean, I’m happy as hell we won. My speech in the locker room after the game was one word: celebrate. I had just enough left in me to do the dance, just enough (smiling).” – Saban
“I think when we have 12 teams, you all still will make a case for 12 more. That’s kind of your job (smiling). Just like the basketball tournament. I mean, how many teams they put in, 68? Then you have a two-hour show on who else should have got in or who got in that shouldn’t. That’s always going to be. That’s part of it. That’s what you do to create interest, which I appreciate.” – Saban
“I’ve got something to say. Georgia No. 1, right? You beat the No. 1 team, what do you consider us? What does that consider us? At the end of the day, that’s out of our reach. Biggest thing we got to do is trust the process, keep getting better. But we beat the best team in the nation considerably, so what do I consider us?” – quarterback Jalen Milroe
“The biggest thing as players that we can do best is be coachable. Coach Saban, the biggest thing I want to do is be a sponge for all information because end of the day all of our coaches are pushing us to be successful. To speak about our coaching staff, man, they push us every single day. We set short-term and long-term goals before the season started. We have to be coachable, be receptive to all coaches. Find ways to improve and get 1% better each and every day.” – Milroe
“The main thing that (defensive coordinator Kevin) Steele has instilled in us is holding us accountable every day in practice, having the right practice habits, going in practice how you play. Everything that we do before the games, everything, it’s just all a display of what we do in practice. You just practice how you play.” – linebacker Dallas Turner
