Jumbo Package: Nick Saban pleased with how the team finished.

Happy Monday, everyone. Can’t Gump all year if you don’t start early, so we’ll open up with Kirk McNair’s list of Alabama’s best postseason games. Wonder what might be first on the list?

Nick Saban was understandably proud of the way the team played on Saturday.

“I think the way the team performed out there together as a group was something to prove,” Saban said. “I think we had a little bit of a taste in our mouth if we had a dominant performance, it would show people that we did probably deserve to do a little better than we did in terms of the playoff picture.

“But at the same time, I’m proud that we came to the Sugar Bowl. I’m proud that we won the Sugar Bowl but I am most proud that there was a team out there that cared, that represents Alabama in a first-class way and the way they competed and the way they played in the game.”

If you haven’t seen it already, you can watch Saban’s press conference with Bryce Young and Will Anderson below.

Chris Kleiman was complimentary of Alabama and said they took chances because they came to win.

Klieman: “He won the Heisman for a reason, for starters. We were mixing in three‑man rush, four‑man rush, five‑man rush. We were able to get some hits on him. We were able to fluster him a little bit. But when you’ve played as many snaps as he has, it’s hard to get him flustered for very long. Credit to him.

And I didn’t get a chance to see him. I think I ran into one of their coaches. Just thanked him, tell him thank you for playing, because that’s what college football is about. I was happy Bryce played. I thought that was really good for college football and really good for kids to see.”

Henry To’o To’o was asked about what led to all of Alabama’s players deciding to stick around for the bowl game, and it all came down to commitment.

“We all made a promise to each other that we would play and that we would go out and compete one last time with each other,” linebacker Henry To’o To’o said following the Crimson Tide’s 45-20 victory over Kansas State on Saturday at Caesars Superdome. “We just had a conversation about, you know, ‘What are everyone’s intentions? What do we want out of this season? What does the team mean to us?’ I think the biggest thing it came down to was that as leaders, we can’t preach something to the guys and not follow through with it.”

Eli Ricks said after the game that he would be making a decision on his future very soon. No decision yet, but we got this.

What that means is anyone’s guess.

Not much else out there today. Time to fully focus on our top ten basketball team, which hosts Ole Miss tomorrow. Have a great week.

Roll Tide.