Monday night was not a good one for the Alabama Crimson Tide, as they fell to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game 44-16.

It was an ugly effort from the opening quarter, and the Tide were outplayed in every aspect of the game for their first loss of the season.

The Tigers won their second title in three years, and now they have beaten the Tide in two of their three title-game matchups.

After the game, Nick Saban spoke to reporters. He said he was disappointed in the team’s effort and took blame for not having them ready.

Here’s what the six-time national champion said after the lopsided loss:

On not letting one game define a season: 

“Really proud of our players and really proud of our team. I don’t think that one game necessarily defines who you are, and that’s certainly what I’d like our players to know. I think you learn a lot from experiences like this. We certainly didn’t play tonight, and we had some issues.”

On third-down defensive struggles: 

“We couldn’t get off the field on third down. We gave up some big-time explosive plays on third down. We had plenty of opportunities to score offensively. We had the ball at the one yard line and get a penalty. Have it down there a couple more times — do a fake field goal and go for it on fourth down and get stopped on the goal line on fourth down on another one.”

On giving Clemson credit for being ready to play:

“Got to congratulate Clemson. They did a very very good job. The quarterback’s really good. Their skill players are really good. … We couldn’t get off the field on third down.”

On having to bounce back from a loss:

On taking the blame: