Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is liking what he's seen out of his team over the past few weeks as the 2023 season has progressed. Although Saban and the Crimson Tide stumbled out of the gates this year, losing to Texas in Week 2 and escaping a shockingly close contest against USF the following weekend, Alabama has since reeled off seven straight wins, firmly entrenching themselves in the upper echelon of the sport as the season enters its home stretch.

Recently, Saban spoke to his team about how they can embrace the opportunity in front of them over the final few weeks of the year.

“How do you feel about this season? How do you feel about the opportunity that you created for yourself?” asked Saban, per Charlie Potter of On3 Sports. “And how do you feel about winning out and trying to put all these people who want to speculate on who's going to get in the playoffs … on the hot seat?”

As hard as it may be to believe, Alabama football likely does not control its own College Football Playoff destiny in 2023. If Florida State, either Ohio State or Michigan, and Washington all finish undefeated, all three will make the playoff. Then, it's possible that the final slot could come down to either 11-1 Alabama or 11-1 Texas, and of course, Texas won that matchup earlier in the year.

Still, Nick Saban is rightfully motivating his players to focus on controlling what's in front of them, which this week is a matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats.