Nick Saban's Alabama football team took an interesting route to the College Football Playoff, starting the season with some rocky performances, especially in the loss against the Texas football program, but Saban opened up on the journey the team has been through and what is next for his team ahead of the Rose Bowl game against Michigan on Monday.

“Well, we had some really good rat poison early,” Nick Saban said, via Brett McMurphy of Action Network. “It was almost like Wheaties because everybody criticized us and said we weren't any good and we were done and Coach Saban is past his prime and all that. It was like eating Wheaties, breakfast of champions. That helped us. So now can we handle the success, that's the next question.”

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The Alabama football program took big strides throughout the season. It will be interesting to see if those strides are enough to take down a good Michigan football team that went undefeated this season. If they are able to get a win against Michigan, the Crimson Tide could get a chance to avenge their earlier loss to Texas in the national championship game. If not, they will either have lost to Michigan, or will face Washington in the championship game.

It is clear that Saban is confident in the growth of his team, but he is unsure about whether that growth is enough to climb to the top of the mountain. Saban has won six times with Alabama, many times with dominating teams. If he is able to pull it off again, it would be a unique journey in comparison to past victories. The next biggest step comes on Monday against Michigan.