Alabama took down Michigan, 35-16 in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. After the game, Nick Saban, Jerry Jeudy, Xavier McKinney and Mac Jones met the media in a news conference setting.

A quick rundown of what they said:

-- Saban said it took a little time “to get our sea legs under us” in a game Michigan controlled at time early. But he liked the way they fought through adversity he saw them challenged with all season.

-- Having a ninth straight 11-win season was special in that Alabama locker room, he said.

-- Saban was especially proud of the nine juniors who got NFL draft grades and still decided to play. (Jerry Jeudy was the MVP with 204 receiving yards). Saban said that game “probably even enhanced his opportunities at the next level.

-- Saban explained the adjustments made on defense at halftime. He noted Michigan hurt them in the running game using two tight ends and two receivers “which we tried to play regular. And, you know, we play so much nickel and so little regular,” Saban said. They moved to nickel after halftime “which gives us more multiples of things that we can to. We're a little smaller on the field when we do that, but it's easier to adjust and the players did a really good job of it and we were able to pressure more, which really helped us stop the run.”

-- Mac Jones explained the first touchdown pass to Jeudy, the 85-yarder. “They pretty much played eight‑flip coverage, so that's kind of what we wanted them to do,” Jones said. “We motioned the tight end in and we got a one‑on‑one with Jerry. So that's kind of how it played out in practice. So it was just a perfect look. I knew Jerry was going to beat the guy and the line was going to block the guy, so [we were] really just all in.”

-- Jones also noted how well Alabama practiced back in Tuscaloosa. They were sharp running some of the plays that made a difference Saturday.

-- What Saban likes about these four star WRs? “There's never a guy that has showed any signs of being selfish,” he said. “These guys are all together. They work hard every day. They root for each other. Nobody gets upset if it's not their day to catch a bunch of balls.”

-- Receiver Henry Ruggs was taken out of the game and placed in concussion protocol after hitting his head on a play in the third quarter.

-- A quote from Saban that went viral: “I know most people would think that 10‑2 was a good season. That's not necessarily our standard.”

-- Jeudy never considered sitting out this game. “First of all, you know, I played football all my life, so I couldn’t just sit out there and watch my team play and my brothers be out there. So I just wanted to go to war with my brothers like I’ve been doing the whole season. I love playing football, so I just wanted to come out here and compete with my brothers.”