What Nick Saban Said After Alabama Faced Michigan in the Rose Bowl

When it comes to the College Football Playoff, nobody knows it as well as Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban. 

Monday evening, Alabama played in its 14th College Football Playoff matchup. Coming in the Crimson Tide was 9-4 all-time in CFP games since the its inception in 2014 and is the only team to appear in eight of the 10 playoffs. 

Here's what Saban had to say after No. 4 Alabama met No. 1 Michigan at the Rose Bowl in a CFP semifinal: 

Saban talked to ESPN first ...

• Praised the teams' worth ethic. Called a special team, with special chemistry, good leadership. "One of the most amazing seasons in Alabama football history.” This team got better. It was a lot of fun.

From the press conference: 

• Didn't play well in first half. Proud of way players played in the second half. Just didn't finish. Told team this was one of the most amazing seasons in Alabama history. Really proud of this group. "I just wish that I could've done more as a coach to help them be successful and help them finish."

• All we can do now is learn from the lessons.

• Great atmosphere. Great game. Congrats to Michigan. 

• This team probably improved from South Florida and Texas games as much as any team I've ever coached. Will be one of the team's I'll be most proud of. 

• Milroe: There's a lot to be proud of. 

• Saban said the blocking breakdowns resulting in sacks in the first half were not due to one particular thing. It was a combination of things. We didn't give our playmakers a chance to make plays, which was a big part of this game. 

"If you really analyze it, we didn't play well enough on defense when we needed to, and we had too many drive-stopping plays on offense."

• Saban said they had a good look on the last play before the first time out, and Michigan called time out. They didn't have a good look on the second when he called time out. Play was a quarterback run that wasn't blocked. 

• Milroe: You win some and you lose some. "We just failed on that play. That's all."

More to follow ... 

A full transcript and video will be added when available. 

Of note: 

• Alabama and Michigan met for just the sixth time in the history of the two storied programs. Coming in, the Crimson Tide owned a 3-2 all-time advantage overall with the teams tied at 2-2 in bowl matchups. The Crimson Tide and Wolverines last met in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day 2020, with Alabama claiming a 35-16 victory. Including his Michigan State years, Nick Saban was 4-3 all-time against Michigan, including a 2-0 mark with the Crimson Tide. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was 0-1 against Alabama with the lone contest coming in that Citrus Bowl pairing.

• Alabama owns the NCAA record for the most wins all-time against the Associated Press Poll’s No. 1 team since the poll was introduced in 1936. The Crimson Tide has compiled 11 wins against the AP’s top-ranked team in program history, most recently against then-No. 1 Georgia in the 2023 Southeastern Conference Championship Game. Eight of those 11 wins have been during the Saban era with the first being Alabama’s victory over reigning national champion Florida in the 2009 SEC Championship Game to send the Crimson Tide to the BCS National Championship Game against Texas. Three of the next four occurred in national title games, including LSU (2011), Notre Dame (2012) and Clemson (2015). The sixth win during the Saban era came when UA defeated top-ranked Mississippi State at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 15, 2014.

• Alabama holds the record for the most games played and wins in the history of the CFP. The Crimson Tide claimed CFP National Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2020 and reached the National Championship Game in six of its seven previous seasons in the Playoff.