Do not ask Nick Saban a question in which there is any implication that losing is acceptable.
The reality is that Alabama is almost certainly in the College Football Playoff even if they lose the SEC championship to Florida. Saban was asked if he expected the players to show competitive fire that would prevent them from thinking that it was acceptable to lose the game.
Saban did not enjoy the question.
“That’s certainly not the mindset that we want,” Saban responded, via Matt Zenitz of AL.com. “This is a big game for us. It’s an opportunity to win the SEC championship, which — to me — is a very significant accomplishment. We hold that in very high esteem, having the ability to do that, having the opportunity to do it, having the ability to play for it.
“You all put everything about the Playoffs,” he continued, his voice rising. “That’s all you care about. You don’t care about any bowl games. You don’t care about any teams in the country that aren’t in the Playoffs. I don’t know. If we don’t win this game, maybe we throw a stink bomb out there, maybe we don’t get the Playoffs. I don’t know. You guys have got all the answers to all that, but I don’t. All I know is that if we play well we control our own destiny in terms of what we do.
“So, I’d really rather not have any more questions about ‘Is it OK to lose this game?’ It’s never OK to lose a game,” Saban concluded before slamming the podium.
Don’t make Nick Saban angry. You would not like him when he’s angry. Quite clearly, the thought that Alabama players might need to motivate themselves not to lose is not something he wants to hear about.
