Will Anderson airs it out after being asked if Alabama deserves to be No. 1

Alabama linebacker Will Anderson has been dominant all season long. It hasn’t always been pretty for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide entered the SEC Championship against Georgia with an 11-1 record. After Alabama beat top ranked Georgia 41-24 for the SEC title, Anderson believes that the Crimson Tide deserves to be ranked as the top team in the country.

“Oh we most definitely do,” Anderson said when asked if Alabama deserves to be ranked No. 1. “I mean we’re not a perfect team, don’t get us wrong. We’ve had our ups and downs this whole season but we’re starting to rally together. We’re starting to build that team chemistry, we’re trying to come together and we’re trying to see that football is the most important thing. And we’ve been executing very well. Meetings, facility, everything, everybody’s been locked in at meetings, at practice.

“Everybody knows what’s at stake at this point. I think that’s why everybody’s mindset is starting to change, shift. So I think we haven’t been playing some of our best ball right now. It’s not our complete football that we want to be at yet but we have been doing a good job.”

Anderson had another strong game in Alabama’s win. He racked up six tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, and one quarterback hurry. Anderson continues to pile onto his impressive season, where he has 92 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 32.5 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.

Anderson helped Alabama complete one of two AP top five ranked wins on Saturday

In addition to Alabama football beating AP No. 1 Georgia for the SEC Championship, the Crimson Tide also took down No. 3 Gonzaga on the basketball court.

In doing so, Alabama has become the first school to ever beat AP top-five teams on the same day in football and basketball.

At halftime of the Big Ten Championship, FOX Sports analyst Matt Leinart agreed with Anderson in saying that Alabama deserved to be ranked in the top spot.

“They just knocked off the number team in the country wire-to-wire and did it pretty thoroughly,” Leinart said during the halftime show of the Big Ten championship game on FOX. “I mean, Bryce Young and their defense has been playing a lot better. I just think really the question is going to be seeding. Does Georgia go to four? Does Georgia go to three potentially? Does the playoff committee want to see a Bama-Georgia matchup in the semifinal? That’s what it’s going to come down to. … I believe Cincinnati should go to number three, winning their conference, finishing the season undefeated.”