Nick Saban won't apologize for College Football Playoff being the standard

In today’s college football landscape, every team has the goal of making it to the College Football Playoff. Sure, there are still plenty of bowl games out there for the postseason, but the playoff is where every team wants to be now. But as everyone knows, there are only four spots in the playoff, so teams have to put together great seasons in order to get in – and that was most certainly the case this season.

This year’s College Football Playoff includes No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Cincinnati. The Crimson Tide had to upset then-No. 1 ranked Georgia in the SEC championship game to get in, the Wolverines had to go on a late season run to get in, the Bulldogs’ undefeated regular-season mark helped it get in despite the Alabama loss, and the Bearcats from the Group of Five had to go undefeated to make it.

Each of those four teams had a different route to take, but they all made it and accomplished their goal of making the playoff – and Alabama head coach Nick Saban says that will always be the primary goal for college football teams each year.

“I think it’s good that we have a balance in college football, in terms of people who can be successful,” Saban said. “I think it’s good for the fans that they all have hope that they’re team has an opportunity to get in the College Football Playoff.

“I think the whole atmosphere of college football changed, as I brought up, when we started this whole playoff. We would minimize the importance of bowl games, which we have succeeded that. Now, everybody just talks about the playoffs and who’s in the playoffs. It used to be in college football when you had a great season and got to go to a good bowl game, everybody was excited and the players all wanted to play and fans were excited. That doesn’t happen anymore.”

Saban: Making the playoff is the ‘standard of college football right now’

Alabama head coach Nick Saban knows a thing or two about making the College Football Playoff. Since the playoff format went into effect in 2014, the Crimson Tide has been one of the four playoff teams in all but one season.

Does Saban feel bad about consistently being in the College Football Playoff? Absolutely not.

“So, you only have four spots for everybody in Division I college football to have an opportunity to get to the playoff, so obviously a lot of fans are going to have hope that we can get in,” Saban said. “That does create a lot of excitement. But I’m not apologizing for having a program that can get in the playoffs as many times as possible. I’m sure that’s the goal for a lot of folks.

“So, even though that I think that it might be healthy for the sport because it’s healthy for fans, as competitors, as coaches we’re all trying to get our team in the playoff because that’s sort of the standard of college football right now.”