If Nick Saban thinks you have a shot at winning it all, that bodes well. But if a team doesn’t play with consistency, that makes them vulnerable to a competitive field in the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State has enough talent, according to the coach, but will they perform to the right standard in order to hoist the trophy next month? A 42-17 home blowout against Tennessee in the opening round of the playoff has people wondering if the Buckeyes have turned things around after a disappointing loss to archrival Michigan.

Saban appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss the upcoming CFP quarterfinal matchups, including Ohio State’s rematch with Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

McAfee panelist Ty Schmidt asked Saban if he considers Ohio State “the most talented” team left in the field of eight squads playing for the title.

“I think they’re the most talented team, but…how consistently do they play to their capabilities?” Saban said. “That’s the consistency and performance that you’re looking for to be successful. I think if they play like they played against Tennessee, they’re going to have a really good chance to win a championship.

“We’ve kinda gotten on their fans a little bit,” Saban said, noting the “College GameDay” analysts’ recent critical comments about the Buckeyes’ fan base, most notably former OSU quarterback Kirk Herbstreit’s. “These Ohio State fans, they’ve got a psychotic obsession with Michigan, and they need to go to therapy or something to try to get it fixed because they have a chance to win the national championship.”

Saban said the Buckeyes’ regular season finale loss to Michigan appeared to affect everyone’s feelings about their chances to win it all, despite finishing with a 10-2 record and earning an at-large bid in the inaugural 12-team format.

“Nobody’s excited about their opportunity to play because they lost to Michigan, which was a tough game,” Saban said. “And they lost the game, probably, by some of the mistakes that they made. Those are correctable things.”

But Saban still feels strongly about Ohio State’s personnel, which features a couple of his old players including All-American and former Crimson Tide safety Caleb Downs.

“I think this is probably the most talented team if they play to the standard and level — offense, defense — they’ve pretty much got it all.”

Frequently invoking sports psychology in his approach as a coach and leader, Saban did the same in his analysis of Ohio State’s chances against Oregon and beyond.

“It’s so hard to deal with success, and when you have a successful team, success is not a continuum,” Saban said. “You’ve heard me say before, people who think what happened in the past is going to affect what happens int he future. It’s just human nature.

“But when you have something bad happen, and the criticism that they had after the Michigan game, there’s a psychological motivation to go out and try to prove yourself and prove everybody wrong and have the disposition you need to play great football, and they certainly did that. Now can they continue through the playoffs?”

Fans will remember the ESPN “College GameDay” crew talking about the age of NIL and the transfer portal, with some teams reported to have a “$20 million roster,” Saban hit his colleagues with a splash of cold water: “You guys keep talking about a $20 million roster…If you don’t pay the right guys, you’ll be s–t out of luck.”

Ohio State will play Oregon in the Rose Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals on ESPN at 7 p.m. CST on Jan. 1, 2025.