Alabama made the final field for the College Football Playoff, announced on Sunday. The Crimson Tide will face Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal.

After hearing his team’s fate, Alabama head coach Nick Saban was relieved.

“It was a tough night,” Saban said in an interview on ESPN. “I didn’t sleep a lot because there’s a lot of good teams out there.”

Saban’s team made the largest last-week jump into the playoff field in CFP history. The Crimson Tide had been ranked No. 8 entering conference championship week, but beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Atlanta.

The SEC has never missed the playoff. Still, there was controversy, as the final spot came down to either one-loss SEC champion Alabama, or undefeated ACC winner Florida State.

But it was the Crimson Tide logo that flashed across television screens in the No. 4 on the ESPN announcement broadcast.

“Florida State’s certainly a good team and to go undefeated in their league, it’s unfortunate that some good team had to get left out,” Saban said. “But I really think that our team earned the right to be here. We beat No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game. They worked hard all year to improve and I’m really proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish together as a team.”

Alabama faces Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. It marks a return to the location where Saban won his first Alabama national title after the 2009 season.

“It’s gonna be fantastic,” Saban said. “It’s a great, competitive venue. It’s a great environment. Growing up in the Big Ten as a coach, you have a special appreciation for the Rose Bowl. You have a special appreciation, I coached at Ohio State and Michigan State, so playing Michigan has always been kind of a huge challenge.”