Nick Saban went on FOX Sports during halftime of the Big Ten Championship between Purdue and Michigan, and stated his case for why Alabama is deserving to be in the College Football Playoff, even with 2 losses.

“Well, I think the whole goal is to get the best teams in,” Saban said. “What I would say to the committee or anyone else is if we played any of the teams that are on the edge of getting in, would we be the underdog, or would we be the favorite? I think if you could answer that question and the goal is to get the best teams in, then you would say they belong in there. We lost 2 games on the road in a tough league to 2 top-10 teams, one top-5 team on the last play of the game. We had our opportunities. We weren’t 100%, Bryce Young wasn’t 100%, he was injured in the mid-part of the season.”

Saban added that Alabama played better at the end of the season, and that should be factored in.

Saban declined to name 3 other teams that should be in the mix, and said he doesn’t like to talk about other teams.

“I think when we talk about one-loss teams versus 2-loss teams, just in metrics, a’ight, rather than circumstances that surrounded the games, that were won or lost, and I think that has a huge impact on really who’s the best team, let’s get the best teams in the game,” Saban said. “I think that’s everyone’s goal. There are good teams, but I think we have one of the teams that should be in.”

Saban was asked about the resume versus eye test argument that the committee should value.

Saban said the committee should value how a team is playing currently versus the entire body of work, and the competition throughout the season. He noted that Alabama played 5 road games this season, all top 25 teams and 3 were top-10 teams.

“That’s a grueling schedule,” he said. “… We shouldn’t just be looking at metrics of one-loss, 2-loss, I think who are the best teams.”