One job was done. Alabama football won the SEC championship game Saturday in Atlanta over No. 1 Georgia.

Players enjoyed the confetti, donned white caps and stretched crimson T-shirts over their shoulder pads. But immediately, another issue sprang to mind.

During his postgame press conference, Nick Saban headed off the question, offering up what he would say to the College Football Playoff selection committee unprompted.

“We won the SEC,” Saban said. “We beat the No. 1 team in the country, which everybody thought on the committee was the No. 1 team in the country. They won 29 straight games. 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.”

The selection committee will make its final decision on Sunday as to the four teams that will make the field. Alabama was ranked No. 8 entering Saturday’s matchup.

No team has ever made the kind of jump the Crimson Tide would need to make the top four, but this is an odd year.

They’re biased, but Alabama’s players certainly thought they deserved a spot. Linebacker Trezmen Marshall was a bit surprised to hear the decision was coming so quickly.

“I think they need some more time to think,” Marshall said. “And if they don’t put us in there, they definitely need some more time to think.”

Georgia was one loss for a team currently ranked in the top four. Washington nearly was another Friday night, but beat Oregon in the Pac-12 championship.

The Huskie win likely does knock the Ducks down past the Crimson Tide. Ohio State, ranked No. 6, was idle, which could work against it.

No. 7 Texas blew out Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game. No. 4 Florida State’s ACC championship matchup with Louisville began after the Crimson Tide’s win.

“I got something to say,” Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe said. “Georgia’s No. 1, right? We beat the No. 1 team. What does that say for us at the end of the day? That’s (committee decision) out of our reach. But the biggest thing we’ve got to do is trust the process, keep getting better. But we beat the best team in the nation, considered the best. So what do you consider us?”

Alabama offensive guard Tyler Booker shared the sentiment.

“I mean what else do we have to prove?” Booker asked. “You beat the number one team, back to back champs, why wouldn’t we be in the playoffs? You can’t leave the SEC out, you know what I mean? And I feel like we proved that today. We forced the committee’s hand today.”

The dings on Alabama’s resume came early in the season. The Crimson Tide lost at home to Texas, then struggled in a win at South Florida a week later.

According to Saban, that shouldn’t define the Tide.

“We’re not the same team we were when we played Texas,” Saban said. “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.”

The selection committee will announce its decision at 11:15 a.m. CT Sunday on ESPN. New Year’s Six Bowl matchups will come out at 1:30 p.m. CT.