It’s a common thing for Alabama to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll. It’s been there at least once in 13 straight years after the Crimson Tide ascended to the top spot for the first time in 2020 on Sunday.

Nick Saban isn’t one to get excited about where his team is ranked, though. He always wants his players to focus on the long-term goals and the big picture, which is playing for a national championship at season’s end. In fact, the Alabama head coach is even less concerned about his team’s ranking this year than previous ones.

“It means nothing at all right now, and I think especially in this year because it’s very, very difficult, even at this point in the season, to know who has really established them as the most dangerous teams in the country on a consistent basis,” Saban said during his Monday press conference. “We have conferences that have played one game, conferences that have played three games, conferences that have played more games than we’ve played. So I think it’s very, very difficult to be able to determine that. So I think it’s even more meaningless this year than ever before.”

Saban knows the dangers of teams potentially getting complacent after a strong start and earning a top ranking in the polls. That’s why he’s focused on keeping his players grounded as the Crimson Tide continue their push toward the SEC Championship Game and beyond.

“Our players are going to have to show maturity and understanding that it’s not where you are right now, it’s where you finish that counts,” Saban said. “And if you’re going to finish the right way, you need to continue to try to improve and do the things we need to do to execute even more consistently on a week-to-week basis.”

So far, so good for Alabama, though, as it has started the season 6-0 and will look to pick up where it left off before its bye week. The Crimson Tide are set to go on the road to face LSU on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.