The College Football Playoff committee released its first top 25 ranking Tuesday and had three SEC West teams in the final four, none of which was Alabama.
The person who didn’t watch tonight’s countdown on ESPN and doesn’t care to know that Alabama placed sixth in the poll is Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban.
“To me, none of it matters,” Saban said. “What does it matter? I mean, it only matters where you end up at the end. So what matters to us is how we do in each and every game that we have to play. We have four games left to play, and if we can be successful in those games, maybe there’s a chance we will play in the SEC Championship Game as well.
“None of it matters if we’re not successful in our games. So I don’t even care, to be honest with you. Don’t know and don’t care. It doesn’t matter right now, it’s great for the fans it’s great for the media. They can have an hour show on ESPN about who got ranked and who did this and what Lou Holtz thinks and all that.”
The SEC West placed three teams – Miss. State, Auburn, Ole Miss – into this first iteration of the final four with Florida State being the lone holdout. While many non-SEC fans averted their eyes in disgust, Alabama is on its bye week, not worrying about where it stands on Oct. 28.
The common phrase being used around this poll is “If the season ended today…” Well, it doesn’t end today. It ends in about six weeks, and Saban and his players know that. Alabama still has the second half of its season left, and as a one-loss team, each game is a must-win. Alabama offensive lineman Austin Shepherd echoed Saban’s comments concerning what being ranked in this first poll means to him.
“It means absolutely nothing,” Shepherd said. “We still have three huge games – LSU, Miss. State and Auburn – and I’ll worry about it after that.
“Pretty much you lose a game and you’re done. Coach kind of said it’s our own four-team playoff now. If we win out we control our own destiny so that’s what we’re trying to do.”
With those three games on the horizon – excluding Western Carolina, though, I’m sure Saban respects them fully – Alabama has its toughest run of the season and one of the toughest in the country. LSU came in at No. 19 in the committee’s first poll, and obviously Miss. State placed first with Auburn at No. 3.
Saban wasn’t completely apathetic in his comments about the playoff. He does care about his team being well-regarded, but he knows a lot can happen in these remaining games.
“I’m happy that we’re in the conversation based on what our team has accomplished at this point but the fact of the matter is it really doesn’t matter at all,” Saban said. “What matters is the games you play, how you play in the games, and how much success you can have in the games that you play.”
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