The Alabama Crimson Tide are the champions of the SEC and with any luck, they'll be heading for the College Football Playoff.
After the game, head coach Nick Saban praised his team for their growth and resilience in a season that started rougher than expected but finished with a trophy in their hands.
"I couldn't be prouder of a bunch of guys on a team that has come so far from where we were the second or third game of the season," Saban said. "I think this is a great example for a lot of people who want to be successful in terms of the perseverance these guys show, the character that they had to overcome adversity, the resiliency that they played with."
Nick Saban postgame press conference after beating Georgia in SEC Championship Game
Saban credited Georgia with being an "outstanding team" but pointed out how his team took that as a challenge.
"We wanted to show people what we could accomplish and what we could do," Saban said. "There wasn't a better stage to do it, to play the No. 1 team in the country who had won 29 games in a row. That's the endpoint that says you really got where you wanted to go."
Winning the SEC is a "significant" accomplishment that Saban hopes will sway the College Football Playoff committee to put the Crimson Tide in the Top 4.
"The message that I would send is, we won the SEC. We beat the No. 1 team in the country...So if we needed to do something to pass the eye test, I guess that probably contributed to it significantly," Saban said. "...We're not the same team we were when we played Texas. We're not the same team as when we played South Florida. So I don't think we should be considered as that team right now. I think people should look at the whole body of work in terms of what the team was able to accomplish and what they were able to do. I think this team is one of the four best teams and one of the teams that's deserving to be in the playoff."
What if the committee decides to leave Alabama out?
"I've disagreed with them before. I respect them. I know they have a tough job. I know there's a lot of good teams. I'm just speaking up for our guys on our team who have busted their butt all year long to accomplish what they've accomplished and I think that needs to be recognized," Saban said.
Nick Saban on how the Alabama beat Georgia
Considering how Georgia came out and scored easily on their first drive, it was impressive the way Alabama shut things down defensively from there on out. That was because of an early adjustment to a split safety look.
"After the first drive I said, can't get any worse. Let's just start playing [split safeties]," Saban said.
The problem with playing split safeties, according to Saban, is that you have to really buckle down and stop the run. His defense did just that, allowing them to bracket a playmaker like Brock Bowers.
As for the offense, Saban pointed to the two most important drives of the game which were "hellacious." The first was the touchdown drive before halftime that put Alabama up 17-10.
Wide receiver Isaiah Bond played a critical role on that drive. He received some high praise from the head coach.
"He's been great all year," Saban said. "The one word I'd say is he's very consistent in practice as well as the game. If you're a quarterback you want to be able to trust your guys that they're going to run the right route at the right depth at the right time and show up in the right place and I think he does a great job of that. And he's got great speed, so that's always helpful."
The second "hellacious" drive was the one that resulted in a touchdown after Georgia cut the deficit to 20-17.
Nick Saban on what's next for Alabama
Alabama has to wait to find out if they'll get to compete for a national title in the College Football Playoff. If they get there, Saban has a new challenge on his hands after possibly his best coaching job turning around a team that didn't look like they had it in them early in the season.
"One of the motivating factors for this team all year long was they wanted to prove who they were because of the criticism that they got. Winning the SEC, beating Georgia, beating the No. 1 team, it kind of validates who they are," Saban said. "So the next challenge is how do you deal with success? How do you deal with success? That will be the next challenge for this team because we should acknowledge the fact and celebrate the fact that we won the SEC championship. That's significant. But now if we have an opportunity to do something else, what's going to be our internal motivation to want to continue to be successful?"
That's a question Saban will be asking his team throughout December as they prepare for bowl season. Hopefully he gets some rest in the meantime.
"You know how tired I am right now?" Saban said laughing. "I'm happy as hell we won, my speech in the locker room after the game was one word: Celebrate. And I had just enough left in me to do the dance. Just enough."
