Alabama football tried to avoid the rat poison. It’s a core tenant of head coach Nick Saban’s mantra of self-motivation. But the 2023 Tide is different and Saban has acknowledged that through UA’s run to the Southeastern Conference Championship.

On Saturday night, after toppling No. 1 Georgia 27-24, some Tide players opened up about the doubts others had. In Tyler Booker’s case, he referenced David Pollack, a UGA alum and former ESPN analyst:

“We block out all external factors. We knew we had to make our statement today. Especially when you got guys like David Pollack saying that the standard is Georgia. The standard can only be imitated, not replicated. There’s only one Alabama and it’s always gonna be one Alabama,” Booker said.

Pollack has been vocal in his support of Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs, labeling them as the No. 1 and “best coached” team in the country. At halftime of the 2022 National Championship, with Georgia amid a beatdown of TCU and both Pollack and Saban on set, Pollack told Saban that Georgia had taken the reigns from the Tide.

Following the Tide’s win, Pollack tweeted on Georgia’s self-inflicted errors:

“I know this will tick people off but Georgia has beat Georgia tonight. Missed FG. Turn over inside own 20. Way too many pentalites [sic]. Still very much in game. The Committee doesn’t put the 4 best teams in, they pick the 4 they can justify the easiest. UGA is out.”

Georgia committed five penalties to Alabama’s three and turned the ball over once. Both teams converted both their fourth down opportunities and UGA led in net yardage, 321-306. The Tide, though, scored 17 straight after falling behind by a touchdown on the second drive of the game. Georgia wouldn’t score on its ensuing five drives.

Alabama put the game out of reach with a Roydell Williams 1-yard run with 5:47 left in the fourth quarter. Saban and UA players talked about the Tide’s College Football Playoff odds, which will be revealed tomorrow at 11 a.m. on ESPN.

“If we needed to do something to pass the eye test, I guess that probably contributed to it significantly. If you really want the four best teams to compete, the four most deserving teams that have progressed throughout the season. We’re not the same team we were when we played Texas,” said Saban. “We’re not the same team when we played South Florida.

“I don’t think we should be considered as that team right now. I think people should look at the whole body of work in terms of what the team was able to accomplish and what they were able to do. I think this team is one of the four best teams, one of the teams that’s deserving to be in the Playoff.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].