Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe have led their teams to Saturday’s SEC Championship Game, and Alabama coach Nick Saban shared his thoughts with “College GameDay” on how crucial it will be for the defenses to contain Beck and Milroe.

“I think the big thing is the quarterbacks,” Saban said Saturday morning. “That’s really important in games like this. I think both – our team and their team – have good, explosive offenses. And a lot of good players on both sides of the ball that can make plays, and both quarterbacks, in their own way, are very efficient and effective. So how can you play really good defense and get stops and create turnovers and things that are drive stoppers in this game, I think, will be a real key to the game.”

Beck and the Bulldogs have preserved a winning streak that has stretched to 29 games. Saban re-iterated those type of things are external factors. His last message to the team before the game, he said, will be about what they can control.

“I just always want to tell me our players we didn’t come this far to get this far,” he said. “So what do we got to do to try and take the next step. That’s what I want them to focus on. They have to play well in the game to move forward, to be the best version of themselves.

“I don’t like to put anxiety on a team. I don’t want them to think about that. I want them to play one play at a time, play the next play. Focus on that. Put all your energy on that. See what happens at the end of the game.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.