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ATLANTA -- Nick Saban gathered his coaches for one final staff meeting before Alabama traveled to Atlanta for the SEC championship game against Florida on Saturday.His message: Ignore the distractions.There were rumors swirling that offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was a candidate for the same position at LSU and that Houston wanted to interview him as a candidate for head coach. Backup quarterback Cooper Bateman had just been granted his release, and starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey wasnt going to be available because of an injured ankle. And all the while, a narrative was building outside the Mal Moore Athletic Facility that Alabama could afford a loss and still make the playoff.It drove Saban mad. He scolded the media early in the week, telling them in no uncertain terms that it was never OK to lose a game.According to Kiffin, Saban advised his coaches to keep the focus on the players and all the work theyd put in during the season. Kiffin recalled Saban saying, What a shame it would be to let Florida take that away, to let them be champs.Because thats all anybody would have talked about, Kiffin said. Nobody would have talked about the first 12 games.Real or imagined, this was the threat Alabama felt heading into the weekend. Winning was about respect. Remaining unbeaten meant no one could deny its No. 1 ranking.The talk about losing being OK was all a setup, an annoyed Ryan Anderson explained.We dont listen to that s---, man, the senior linebacker said.Instead, Alabamas 54-16 win over Florida did all the talking. The defense forced three interceptions, including a pick-six, and allowed a net of zero yards rushing on 30 attempts. Special teams blocked a punt and returned the deflection for a touchdown, and the Tides trio of Bo Scarbrough, Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs combined for 214 yards and three touchdowns rushing.From the outside, the outcome was predictable. Alabama did what it had all season in dominating every phase of the game. Come Sunday there would be no debate that Sabans squad would be No. 1 in the playoff rankings.But inside the locker room of the Georgia Dome, the mood was a mix of relief and defiance. Going wire to wire as college footballs No. 1 team wasnt something to celebrate. Instead, it represented a target on everyones back.Sophomore defensive lineman DaRon Payne said that this season was the same old song and dance with everyone waiting on Alabama to fail.Thats always it, he said. They never like to see us on top.The Birmingham native added: Everybody is tired of seeing Bama win.Tim Williams calls Saban the fearless general.There are two types of coaches, Alabamas veteran outside linebacker explained. That players coach and that fearless general. And thats who he is.He just gives us the power to overcome fear.But its not just that. In going 13-0, Alabama has also overcome complacency. Sabans mind games, pushing mottos like Be where your feet are rather than looking ahead, have worked.Remember, this team wasnt always a sure thing. It lost its Heisman Trophy running back, 3,000-yard passer and first-round center from the year before. It saw the heart of its front seven vanish when middle linebacker Reggie Ragland and defensive linemen AShawn Robinson and Jarran Reed turned pro.Alabama didnt have the returning team of Clemson on paper, yet it was the consensus preseason No. 1 all the same.We knew we had a target on our backs at the start of the season, really the entire time, cornerback Tony Brown?said. So we knew we had to elevate our game because everyone would play us harder, and thats what we did every week, in the summer and all of that.If there was ever a season to slip up and let the pressure get to them, this was it.Before the season, there were issues off the field with a handful of player arrests, including that of star left tackle Cam Robinson. Alabama didnt make it out of September before Week 1 starting quarterback Blake Barnett left the program. Then, in late October, star safety and team leader Eddie Jackson was lost for the season with a broken leg.Through it all, Alabama didnt flinch.It didnt matter that true freshman?Jalen Hurts had to learn on the job at quarterback or that the secondary had to rearrange itself with Minkah Fitzpatrick changing positions. Instead of a typical Alabama workhorse, the running game became a rotating cast of underclassmen. When Hurts and the offense struggled, the defense and special teams picked up the slack, scoring a ridiculous 13 non-offensive touchdowns.There were close calls at Ole Miss and LSU, but for the most part Alabama dominated. In eight ranked matchups, the Tide won by an average score of 41-16, and the defense didnt give up a touchdown during the month of November.Rather than rest comfortably as No. 1, Saban drilled home the idea that the playoff didnt start on Dec. 31. Rather, he preached, it was every game Alabama played.These guys have been challenged all year long, playoff game after playoff game, Saban said.According to Williams, the only team that could test Alabama was Alabama.Just dont beat ourselves, man, he said. Just trust in the system and the process. ... We just know that Alabama is built on that: grind, grind, grind. Fight, fight, fight on every play, no matter the circumstance.Theres a reason some racehorses wear blinders.Theres no room for distractions. Theres only the next step, nothing but what lies ahead.Its that way at Alabama.Ryan Anderson said there were times this season when he didnt even know whom the Tide were playing that week, that Saban had trained us to live in the moment.Asked what he thought of going undefeated, Anderson went blank.It was the same story when he was asked what going wire to wire as the No. 1-ranked team meant.We dominated the season we just finished, he said. We have a whole nother season now. Well celebrate tonight. But it is what it is.We didnt come this far just to participate.On Sunday morning, there was no watch party at the Mal Moore Athletic Facility. There was no spontaneous celebration. Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt walked in at 6:15 a.m. to get to work. Players came in around 2 p.m., well after the semifinal pairings were announced.The next nameless, faceless opponent for Alabama to dominate: No. 4 Washington on Dec. 31 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta.Huskies coach Chris Peterson said he didnt even have to turn on film to see what Sabans team was about.It wasnt his idea to hold up a We want Bama sign in the background of ESPNs College GameDay set earlier in the season.Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for, Peterson said.With a month to prepare, it will be interesting to see what Peterson and his coaches come up with to try to stop the Tide.The SEC proved no match for Sabans squad. USC, which proved to be a Rose Bowl-caliber team, had its doors blown off by Alabama in the season opener, setting the tone for the rest of the season.If youre looking for a game plan to knock off the No. 1 team in college football, good luck.Williams advice?Bring your heart, man, he said. Because everyone on our team has heart. Like Coach Saban says, we have some hateful players, some competitors.He added: We know everybody wants to beat us. Were the No. 1 team, undefeated, have all these accolades going for us. So were going to get every teams best. Dennis Rodman Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. 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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Just a few games into the season, its clear 11th-ranked Xavier has some work to do closing out games.The Musketeers nearly let a 16-point second-half lead disappear, but Trevon Bluiett hit some clutch free throws late to help them pull away from Northern Iowa for a 67-59 victory in the Tire Pros Invitational championship game Sunday night.The Panthers came within five points with 1:35 left while Xaviers offense struggled, but then the Musketeers (5-0) hit 9 of 10 free throws in the final 57 seconds. That stalled the rally by Northern Iowa, which seemed poised to overcome a double-digit deficit for the second time in as many games.Id like to have those last four or five minutes back, but its so early, Xavier coach Chris Mack said. Were a little bit better in terms of finishing the game, but we still have a ways to go in that department.Bluiett converted 5 of 6 free throws after missing some critical shots earlier that helped open the door for the comeback attempt.We kind of base everything on a next-play mentality, so you cant really worry over the past plays, said Bluiett, who finished with a game-high 21 points. My teammates do a good job of kind of helping me forget about that.After going into halftime with the game tied 30-30, the Musketeers started the second strong with Bluiett and Edmond Sumner leading the way. Sumner scored 11 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes.But once the Panthers (3-1) found their rhythm against Xaviers 1-1-3 zone and man-to-man defense, the game began to turn late. Jordan Ashton and Klint Carlson hit some big shots to bring Northern Iowa back, but the Musketeers showed poise just in time to pull away.Sometimes you get into the game and teams are maybe not what they seem like on film, but Xavier is every bit as good and in some ways even better, UNI coacch Ben Jacobson said.ddddddddddddWe had a tremendous amount of respect for them even before this game and Ive got more now because they have so many ways they can beat you, offensively everybody can make plays.Now the two teams get to do it all over again when they meet Saturday at Xavier.Honestly, Im pretty excited, Bluiett said. They are good team and I think they are going to bring their A-game when they come back. They kind of have some motivation now and I think we will be ready for it, as well.BIG PICTUREN. Iowa: The Panthers are great 3-point shooters, but their shots were not falling consistently against Xavier. Morgan was the only shooter to show up on Sunday.Xavier: The Musketeers showed a variety of defenses to keep the Panthers off balance, switching from a 1-1-3 zone to man-to-man. Xavier has plenty of fire power on offense with J.P Macura and Quentin Goodin hitting big shots throughout the game.POLL IMPLICATIONSXavier: A win over previously unbeaten Northern Iowa could help the Musketeers standing.DOUBLING DOWNXavier consistently sent double teams at Northern Iowas Bennett Koch in the post in order to limit him, and it worked.Koch was just 4 of 8 from the field for 11 points and turned the ball over six times in the paint.ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMUNIs Jeremy Morgan joined Bluiett and Macura on the all-tournament team along with Oklahomas Jordan Woodard and Davidsons Jack Gibbs. Bluiett was the tournament MVP after scoring 56 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and getting seven assists over the three games. Morgan led UNI with 20 points in this one.UP NEXTN. Iowa: The Panthers travel to Cincinnati to face Xavier again on Saturday.Xavier: The Musketeers host Northern Iowa on Saturday. ' ' '