Nick Saban BCS National Championship Quotes

The media relations staff for the 2013 Discover Orange Bowl BCS Championship game released the following quotes from Nick Saban's news conference following Alabama's 42-14 victory over Notre Dame Monday night.

"I feel great for our players, fans, administration, and the people of Alabama. Our guys maintained their focus and played through the adversity of winning during a tough season and difficult schedule. My job is to put the players in position to win. I want them to be able to look back 25 years from now and say they won the national championship.

"We will take a couple days to celebrate this, and then it will time to start a building toward a next season. "

Could your team have executed much better in the running game, either on offense or defense gaining 265 yards and holding Notre Dame to a season-worst 32 yards?

"When you run the ball, it opens up your offense and gives you more options. When the other team can't run it, it limits their options and reduces what they can do. I thought the running game was a big key, and our players stayed focused and did the job on both sides of the ball."
Notre Dame's defense had allowed just two touchdowns to opponent offenses in 18 red zone chances prior to this game. You must be happy with your offense that went 5-for-5 with a combination of running and passing.

"Their defense had been impressive in the red zone, and we knew that we would have to do something about it if we wanted to the win the game. Our players focused on it and turned our yards into points. Our red zone offense had been good most of the season, but it was exceptional tonight."

Could your team's offensive execution have been any better with 529 total yards (265 rushing and 264 passing) and of 8-of-13 third-down conversions and one fourth down?

"Our offensive tempo was the key to the game. We were able to establish and maintain the run with our backs and line doing a great job and then A.J. [McCarron] and our receivers converted third downs and maintained drives. We were able to possess the ball, and it limited their opportunities."