Nick Saban votes Alabama No. 2 to Georgia in last coaches poll of the 2022 season

Saban spent the days before the College Football Playoff field was announced campaigning for Alabama to be a part of the four-team field.

[{"selector":"#anim-5fdfbbb1-9e15-47ff-88be-baf7efe494bf","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

And after Georgia throttled TCU 65-7 in Monday’s national title game,

[{"selector":"#anim-0806a67e-13f7-42f8-830a-2a7a8dd33812","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Saban voted Alabama second behind the Bulldogs in the final USA Today coaches poll of the season.

[{"selector":"#anim-3dce363f-4393-4667-8167-0582917989d5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Saban had TCU at No. 3 followed by Michigan and Ohio State.

[{"selector":"#anim-9e664204-a6c5-416d-9242-126c248d32a1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The Tide coach wasn’t shy about voicing why Alabama should have been a part of the playoff before it was selected on Dec. 4.

[{"selector":"#anim-60d0591c-e1da-41b7-b89b-ad99bd574c1c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

one of the reasons Saban gave for Alabama’s playoff inclusion was because the Crimson Tide

[{"selector":"#anim-961321fe-1241-4bf5-80a8-dffcc2bb5ea0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

would be favored over every other team in college football outside of Georgia on a neutral field.

[{"selector":"#anim-24c78806-c07b-42dd-a328-364ad4b31e0d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The Tide’s loss to LSU meant the Tigers won the SEC West. With Alabama not playing that weekend,

[{"selector":"#anim-3b8eddb2-0f35-40ef-b5b6-9031b1e26502","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Saban even went on Fox’s Big Ten title game halftime show to make the case that Alabama — not Ohio State — should be in the playoff.

[{"selector":"#anim-e0e71530-fa43-4df7-98a8-09d74a7f82ec","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Alabama’s playoff case was always a long shot, however.

[{"selector":"#anim-780b5005-7834-4503-bee0-e43ea359d607","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The Crimson Tide would have been the first team with two losses to make the College Football Playoff.

[{"selector":"#anim-e79983d4-6d72-486d-9dcf-8498a5899d6e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Ohio State had a significant edge for the fourth and final playoff spot because it had just one regular-season loss.

[{"selector":"#anim-5bb68582-9b31-4dc2-ba75-450d5f8eeca0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]