ATLANTA -- For Jarran Reed, the celebration didn’t last long.

Alabama’s senior defensive lineman left the confetti where he felt it belonged: on the field. When he reached the locker room on Saturday after helping the Crimson Tide to a second consecutive SEC title, he checked his sense of accomplishment at the door.

In speaking with reporters, he wasn’t in what you’d describe as a pat-yourself-on-the-back mood. It didn’t matter that the Tide had just beaten Florida by two touchdowns, limiting the Gators to 3 yards in the second and third quarters. The chip on Reed’s shoulder remained.

“A lot of people doubted us all season,” he said as he focused on packing his things to leave the Georgia Dome. “A lot of people got the 'he said, she said.'”

What it came down to was simple: Sept. 19 and a wild six-point loss to Ole Miss.

It didn’t matter how many people actually said it, but the “Alabama’s dynasty is dead” narrative that followed was heard loud and clear.

Written off by some after an early season loss to Ole Miss, Alabama used that setback as motivation to get back to the College Football Playoff. Scott Clarke/ESPN Images

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban would have his words with the team, but so did the players, who called a players-only meeting the next day to clear the air.

“You lose one game and that’s how people do,” Reed said, his voice rising. “People think your season is over with, think you’re going downhill, you’re going to fall off. But we don’t listen to none of that. We keep playing our game."

Was Reed fired up?

“Oh, yeah,” he said, stopping for the first time Saturday to make eye contact with reporters. “You can’t tell?”

If it sounded like the same speech, that’s because it was.

Saban had the same question for his team after losing to Ole Miss this season that he had when the Tide lost to the Rebels last season.

“How are you going to respond to a loss?” Saban said he told his team. “It's really the true test of character as a man, how you respond when things don't go well. Everybody can be a front-runner. Everybody can respond the right way when things are going your way. But now you have to realize there are tough things you're going to have to do to overcome the adversity that you've created by the way we've played, and are you going to be willing to do that?”

That Sunday after the loss to Ole Miss, the leadership council of players called the team together on the practice field.

Everyone who wanted to speak did, including Reed, Jonathan Allen, A'Shawn Robinson, Reggie Ragland, Cyrus Jones and Derrick Henry.

“It was the whole team coming together," Allen said.

According to Ragland, the meeting centered around a simple message: “Quit worrying about the outside.” He said he was referring to the media noise as well as concerns over personal accolades.

Allen said the meeting may have lasted 30 minutes. What struck him the most was the defense’s attitude that, “If we do what we can do, nobody can beat us.”

“We had the same feeling we had against Auburn [in 2013] and this last year when we lost to Ole Miss,” Alabama safety Eddie Jackson said. “We got tired of it. People expected us to lose, so we just felt it was time to change things -- go harder in practice, pay more attention in meetings, do the little things off the field and in the meeting room, and really buy in to what Coach Saban is telling us."

Henry said he was proud that no one hung their head afterward.

“Everybody just realized we have to win every game, so our backs are against the wall,” quarterback Jake Coker said.

“After the Ole Miss game, these players all said they wanted to be a different team,” Saban said on Saturday after the SEC title game. “They wanted to do something special. And probably more than any other time I've ever coached, I wanted to see those guys succeed today and win the second back-to-back SEC championship and have an opportunity to get in the playoff.

“I don't think anybody really thought after the Ole Miss game this team would wind up here. To be honest with you, I had some questions in my mind as to whether we'd wind up here.”

He didn’t tell his players he had doubts, but he played the us-against-the-world card nonetheless.

According to Jackson, Saban said something you wouldn't expect from a 64-year-old coach: “Haters gonna hate.”

“He told us, ‘Hey, man, there are going to be people say things, but haters gonna hate. It is what it is,’” Jackson said.

The converted cornerback added: “They say we’re not supposed to be here. They say we don’t play anybody. But we let our actions do the talking.”

Since the loss to Ole Miss, Alabama has won by an average of 21.7 points per game. The defense has allowed the fewest yards per game and touchdowns in the FBS over that time. Meanwhile, the offense has discovered its identity, feeding Henry to the tune of more rushing yards and touchdowns than anyone in college football.

It’s been a total team effort, with more non-offensive touchdowns and field goals than any Power 5 team.

The College Football Playoff committee took notice, elevating Alabama to No. 2 in the rankings, where the Tide finished the regular season.

Matched up with No. 3 Michigan State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Alabama is suddenly the favorite to win it all.

After many said the Tide were done, many more now expect them not to go away any time soon.

Just don't tell Alabama's players that. They want the motivation.

“We control our future,” Jackson said, still retaining that sense of defiance. “The way we bounced back after Ole Miss, people didn’t expect that to happen. People didn’t expect us to be here.”