The College Football Playoff is almost here and it will get started on New Year's Day with the Rose Bowl between Michigan football and Alabama football. The Crimson Tide are ranked #4 in the country, and the Wolverines are the top team in the nation. It's not often that Nick Saban and Alabama are underdogs, but they will be in this game. It will be a tough test for the Crimson Tide, but Saban always has his team ready.

Many people didn't think that Alabama football was going to make it this far at the beginning of the season. The Crimson Tide suffered the worst home loss of the Nick Saban era, and they simply didn't look that good. However, this team has gotten much better as the year has gone on, and Saban expects his players to keep that up.

“I trust our players to be able to stay focused when they need to stay focused..,” Saban said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “This is a great experience for the players and we can't allow any distractions to have an impact on how we get ready for the game.”

Saban knows that this will be a tough test for his Alabama team. Michigan is ranked #1 in the country for a reason, and it will take everybody to knock them off.

“We need everybody committed to be able to play the way we need to play against a good team.. ,” Saban continued. “The players know that we've gotta finish what we started and they've responded well.”

At the end of the day, Saban knows how to get the most out of every Alabama team, and the key to that is working hard and being ready for anything.

“It's the cumulative effect of the habits you create,” Saban said on Alabama's preparation.

The Rose Bowl should be a good one. The game will kick off at 5:00 ET on Monday from Pasadena, California, and the game will be airing on ESPN. Michigan is currently favored by 1.5 over Alabama, and the winner of this game will take on either Washington or Texas in the national title game.