TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama coach Nick Saban met with reporters regarding the upcoming SEC Championship Game against Missouri at the Georgia Dome (4 p.m. ET, Saturday, CBS).

Here’s some of what he said:

“I don’t have a lot to say about the last game. Obviously every game that we play there are things that we can learn about ourselves, things we need to improve, things we need to get corrected. There’s no doubt that we have lots of things that we can do relative to the last game.

“Right now, this is a new season and I think that what everybody needs to focus on as a team and as a staff, is that we look forward to the challenges of the future. What we need to do to get ready to play a very, very good team in the SEC Championship Game. The SEC Championship Game is a great opportunity for our players. It’s a great competitive venue. One of the most exciting games that I’ve had an opportunity to compete in and play in through the years, the few times that we’ve been able to get there. This is a special opportunity. Our conference is very difficult, so this is a pretty significant accomplishment to be in the game as well as to have an opportunity to have success in a game like this. That’s sort of where the focus needs to go here.

“Missouri is a very, very good team. Coach (Gary) Pinkel really has done a very, very good job there. This is two years in a row they’ve won the East, so they obviously have experience being in the championship game. Their quarterback Maty Mauk does an excellent job of executing their offense. They have a really, really productive receiver in Bud Sasser and a couple of good running backs, Marcus Murphy and Russell Hansbrough. Both are different kind of guys but both very, very good players.

“Their defense is very opportunistic, gets lots of turnovers. They’re plus-9 in turnovers, so this is really pretty high. They have lots of tackles for loss, lots of sacks. Their front guys do a really good job. Shane Ray and Markus Golden are both guys that have created a lot of havoc up front for a lot of people this season. This is a very, very good team and I wouldn’t expect to play any team in the SEC Championship Game that wasn’t one of the top teams in the country, and we certainly feel that Missouri is one of those teams the way they’re playing right now and having won the last six games.”

On his offensive line:
“The offensive line has done a really good job. I thought in this last game especially, they did a good job for the most part. They’ve done a pretty good job of protecting the quarterback. I think the only sack we had in the last game was a bust, not by the offensive line but in the formation and the play execution. The quarterback didn’t have anywhere to throw the ball. We’ve done a good job of getting a hat on a hat for the most part and been able to be pretty efficient in the way we’ve been able to run the ball.”

On reports that nearby UAB might be close to dropping football:
“I don’t have any thoughts because it’s not what I’m focused on. I didn’t even now that. This is kind of news to me. My thoughts are always with the players and the people in our profession that are affected by losing their jobs, whether it’s getting fired or someone discontinuing their program. I hate to see that for anyone in our profession. I certainly hate to see players have to go through the things they have to go through when they have to change programs or don’t have the opportunity to play were they thought they were going to play. Saying all that, I understand the other side of it, too. There’s a business aspect to all this that has to make sense to people relative to justifying athletic programs in general. And that’s above my pay grade, and I’m not involved at all in any opinion in what should and shouldn’t be done.”

On why Alabama’s red-zone defense has been so good:
“We practice down there a lot because if you play well in the red zone you don’t give up big plays. And the second part of that we didn’t do well in the game so that was an issue. You get a little bit hard to score on even if people move the ball on you. That’s obviously what we want to be on defense, and that’s hard to score on. So we spend a lot of time in the red zone. Players understand how we adapt and change things in the red zone. And they competed well down there. Hopefully, that’s something we’ll continue to be able to do. It all comes down to execution. And there were a couple things we didn’t execute when the other team had some opportunities and they just didn’t make the plays. We want to get those things corrected so we give ourselves the best chance to get off the field. I think if we do a little bit better on third down we wouldn’t be down there as much. There are other things we want to improve on so we don’t have to play in the red zone as much.”

On putting together a game plan for an unfamiliar opponent:
“We are kind of looking for strengths and weaknesses on offense, defense and special teams. The second thing we want to do is how does what you do apply affectively to what they are doing. And what changes we have to make in what we are doing to adapt that for the players. And the third thing is, is how can we practice this so we can be effective executing this vs. what they do. So it’s not a very technical explanation, but philosophically, that’s kind of how we go about it each week. We look at the defense for a while, we look at the special teams, we look at the offense. That’s why you have a staff for, to input all those situations. Hopefully, you come up with a good plan that you can go out and practice and the players have a chance to go out and execute successfully in the game.”