Nick Saban spent plenty of time on Championship Weekend lobbying for Alabama to reach the College Football Playoff. After a dominant performance in the Sugar Bowl over Kansas State on Saturday, 45-20, Saban took up the lobbying effort once more.

At the post-game press conference, Saban said Alabama’s performance showed that it was a team that cared, and had a lot of pride in the players’ performance, and the Crimson Tide prevailed because of that. That desire started when Alabama began bowl practice, Saban said, and it showed the team had something to prove.

“I think we had a little bit of a taste in our mouth that if we had a dominant performance, it would show people that we probably did deserve to do a little better than we did in terms of the Playoff picture,” Saban said. “But at the same time, I’m proud that we came to the Sugar Bowl, proud that we won the Sugar Bowl, but I’m most proud that there was a team out there that cared.”