Nick Saban

It is officially campaign season for Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the Crimson Tide head coach discussed whether he believes his one-loss team should make the College Football Playoff if it defeats Georgia in Saturday's SEC Championship Game.

"Do I think there should be some representation from the SEC regardless of who wins the game? Absolutely," Saban said (h/t Mike Rodak of 247Sports).

"I think this is one of the best leagues in the country. And if you're a one-loss team and you played through this league, I think you're one of the best four teams in the country. In some kind of way there should be representation, some kind of way because of the league itself and the competition within the league."

There is really only one scenario where the SEC would not be represented in the CFP, and it involves Saban's team winning against undefeated Georgia.

After all, the two-time reigning national champion Bulldogs will certainly be in the field if they defeat the Crimson Tide and maintain their undefeated record. They will likely be the No. 1 seed in such a scenario as well.

Yet things get a bit trickier if Alabama wins.

That would put the onus on the results of the other league championship games. Michigan, Washington and Florida State likely control their own destiny with undefeated records in Power Five conferences. If the Wolverines defeat Iowa, the Huskies defeat Oregon and the Seminoles defeat Louisville, that would likely leave only one spot left for the SEC and Big 12.

Georgia would take that spot with an undefeated record, but it is not that straightforward if the Crimson Tide win considering Texas already defeated Alabama in a head-to-head matchup earlier this season and will be a one-loss Big 12 champion if it defeats Oklahoma State on Saturday.

If the debate comes down to the Longhorns and Crimson Tide, chances are the selection committee will lean toward the head-to-head result even if Saban's squad adds an impressive win over Georgia to its resume.

Perhaps the argument would then turn to one-loss Alabama against undefeated Florida State since the Seminoles will be without injured quarterback Jordan Travis. But in this hypothetical, Florida State would add a win over No. 14 Louisville to its resume and be ACC champions.

The selection committee has never left out an undefeated Power Five champion in the four-team playoff history, so Alabama may be facing an uphill battle in that argument as well.

Alabama absolutely stunned the college football world in the Iron Bowl on Saturday night after pulling off a miracle 4th-and-goal touchdown pass from Auburn's 31-yard-line to beat the Tigers, 27-24.

The Crimson Tide went with that specific call for a very good reason.

"That is a play we actually work on but I must admit that you need a little luck," head coach Nick Saban told reporters, noting the team practices the play each Friday.

"If the play had a name, I wouldn't tell you what it was," Saban added, though Isaiah Bond—who caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe and forever etched his name in Alabama lore—was more willing to dispense with that information:

Whether Alabama (11-1) should have needed a last-minute miracle against a 6-6 Auburn team that lost to New Mexico State last week is another matter entirely.

"It's kind of a reality check," Saban told reporters. "That's what I told the team afterwards."

Another question is whether Auburn should have rushed just two players on the decisive play, a decision Hugh Freeze addressed with reporters after the game.

"You can second-guess it," he said. "You have to play with vision. We had nine guys back there. Play with vision, make a play on the ball and knock it down. He felt like he was shoved off, but he couldn't tell."

Rivalry games are a unique beast, and Alabama has had its fair share of memorable moments go against them in the Iron Bowl:

Up next for the Crimson Tide is a team far more talented than Auburn, two-time defending champion Georgia, which coming into Saturday night hadn't lost a game since Alabama beat them on Dec. 4, 2021 in the SEC Championship Game.

Now, two conference powerhouses will face off in that game for the second time in three seasons on Saturday.

The mystery of Nick Saban's bloodshot eye has finally been solved.

Alabama's head coach revealed the answer during his radio show on Thursday night. He said his doctor told him the issue was a busted blood vessel that came from yelling too much.

"You got it from yelling," Saban said his doctor told him (h/t Nick Kelly of the Tuscaloosa News). "There's nothing wrong with you. You just got it from yelling. You busted a blood vessel in your eye from yelling too much."

The mystery of Saban's eye happened earlier in the day during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. He didn't have any answer at that time for what happened.

Per the Cleveland Clinic website, the technical term for Saban's eye issue is a subconjunctival hemorrhage. It's considered a "rather minor condition" that can be caused by numerous factors, including straining like during coughing, sneezing or yelling.

Anyone who has seen Saban on the sidelines during his 30 years as a head coach between college and the NFL will not be surprised that yelling was the cause of him breaking a blood vessel.

All you have to do is watch Saban's reaction after Mississippi State quarterback Mike Wright scored a rushing touchdown in a Sept. 30 game between the SEC rivals to know something like this could happen.

There might be more yelling from Saban this weekend as the Crimson Tide host No. 14 LSU that could determine the SEC West champion.