Nick Saban thinks it would be 'disrespect' if SEC is left out of College Football Playoff

Alabama football has plenty of postseason uncertainty heading into the SEC Championship Game.

Does the No. 8 Crimson Tide (11-1) control its own destiny? Would a win over No. 1 Georgia (12-1) be enough for Alabama to make the College Football Playoff?

Nick Saban was asked for his thoughts during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee show on whether an SEC team should be included and again during a Thursday press conference.

"There should be some representation from the SEC regardless of who wins (the SEC Championship Game)," Saban said on McAfee. "Absolutely. I think this is one of the best leagues in the country. If you're a one-loss team and you played through (the SEC), I think you're one of the best four teams in the country."

Saban took it one step farther in his press conference Thursday afternoon, stating that a win in the SEC Championship Game would mean Alabama is deserving of the CFP.

"I think Georgia is one of the best teams in the country and they're one of the best four teams in the country," Saban said. "If we beat them, we'd be one of the best four teams in the country. There's a transformation that goes through the season. How are you playing now? Where is your team now? How good are you now? I think all those things come into play. But I think it would be a disrespect if there isn't SEC representation in the final four. I do believe that."

If Georgia wins the SEC Championship Game, that makes it simple. The Bulldogs remain undefeated and would lock up the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. And Alabama would have two losses, removing it from playoff consideration. No two-loss team has ever made the playoff.

But if Alabama wins, that's where it gets complicated. That would make the Crimson Tide a one-loss SEC champion and Georgia would also be 12-1, likely out of the playoff.

Saban said, however, he hasn't paid much attention to the discourse about it. He doesn't want the players to pay attention to it either, he said.

"We don't really control that," Saban. "We have no control over that. We have control over how we play, how we execute, how we prepare our team. That's where our focus is."

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Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nick Saban thinks it would be 'disrespect' if SEC is left out of CFP