What Nick Saban said after shutting out Michigan State in playoff semifinals

Alabama stomped Michigan State 38-0 at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Thursday night to advance to the national championship game against Clemson on Jan. 11.

Here are some highlights from his postgame news conference:

Saban just said he's seen huge improvement in quality of talent at MSU since the last meeting, despite the score.

— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) January 1, 2016

At Alabama's post-game presser:

Q: Have you seen Cyrus (Jones) do that move before?

Saban: I've seen him do it in practice. #CottonBowl

— Kelsey Stein (@kelseymstein) January 1, 2016

https://twitter.com/JOXRoundtable/status/682795997186097153

Nick Saban says he let the players decide the curfew this week. Said their focus was totally different this year.

— Ben Jones (@BW_Jones) January 1, 2016

More Saban: "They wanted to take over the game. I think we did that in the second half. I'm just proud as hell of them." #Bama

— Jimmy Burch (@Jimmy_Burch) January 1, 2016

#Bama coach Nick Saban on rebounding from last yr playoff loss to #OhioSt: "Players learned lot from last yr. Wanted to take over game."

— Jimmy Burch (@Jimmy_Burch) January 1, 2016

#Bama coach Saban on QB Coker: "Jake … did a fantastic job of making big plays. WRs did great job of getting downfield on their safeties"

— Jimmy Burch (@Jimmy_Burch) January 1, 2016

#Bama's Saban: "We knew we'd have to throw the outside perimeter stuff to move the ball. Those are run/pass options Jake read those well."

— Jimmy Burch (@Jimmy_Burch) January 1, 2016

Nick Cole

Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.