Alabama coach Nick Saban knows the Crimson Tide's strength of schedule has been called into question this season, as No. 20 Texas A&M is the only ranked opponent his team has faced this season besides No. 3 LSU, and the Aggies could fall out of the selection committee's top 25 this week after their loss to Auburn.
Saturday's trip to Baton Rouge presented the biggest opportunity to date for Alabama -- not just to clinch the SEC West, but to prove Alabama can dominate elite competition too.
"Says a lot about their competitive character, but I think they wanted to make a statement all week long in terms of what kind of team we really have," Saban told reporters at his postgame news conference.