Saban, Tide Not Interested In First College Football Playoff Rankings [VIDEO]

Was Nick Saban watching the unveiling of the first-ever College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night? If his comments less than an hour before the current projections were revealed are any indication, think otherwise.

"To me, none of it matters," Saban said. "What does it matter? It only matters where you end up at the end. So what matters to us is how we do in each and every game that we have that we have to play. We have four games left to play. If we can be successful in those games, maybe there’s a chance that we would play in the SEC Championship Game as well.

"None of it matters if we're not successful in our games. I don’t even care, to be honest with you. Don't know and don’t care, because it doesn't matter right now."

Alabama, which is ranked No. 3 in this week's AP poll, came in at No. 6. The top four teams selected by the 12-member committee at the end of the season will play in two semifinal games to determine the national championship participants.

The Crimson Tide still has three ranked teams on its schedule, starting at LSU on Nov. 8 and concluding with Mississippi State and Auburn, which were ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the initial rankings. Florida State and Ole Miss round out the top four at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively.

"I’m happy that we’re in the conversation based on what our team has accomplished at this point," Saban said. "But the fact of the matter is it really doesn’t matter at all, because what matters is the games you play and how you play in the games and how much success that you can have in the games that you play."

With two of the current four CFP teams ranked ahead of the Crimson Tide, Alabama right tackle Austin Shepherd knows it's win to stay alive.

"Pretty much if you lose a game, you’re done," he said. "Coach said it’s kind of our own four-team playoff now."

Injury report

Running back T.J. Yeldon and tight end Brian Vogler will be limited in practice all this week, Saban announced Tuesday.

Yeldon, who missed the entire fourth quarter against Tennessee with an unspecified injury, wore a walking boot on his right foot during Tuesday's practice, while Vogler sported a brace on his right knee after spraining it. Both wore black, non-contact jerseys as they worked with trainers during Tuesday's practice.

"Both guys are just beat up and need a little time," Saban said. "We're hoping they'll be back and ready to start practicing again on Monday."

When asked about the recent kicking issues for Adam Griffith, Saban also revealed that the sophomore kicker has some sort of injury that is hampering him. After starting off the season a perfect 7-for-7 on field goal tries, Griffith has missed two of his last six kicks, as well as an extra point last week against the Volunteers.

"He’s got a little bit of a physical problem that I’m not going to talk about that we’ve had to manage, which has affected his ability to kick maybe in practice as much as he’s used to," Saban said. "He’s still hitting the ball well. He kicked off really well in the last game. I think he slipped on the extra point that he missed, but other than that I thought he did really well in the game."

RB Jones suspended

Alabama running back Tyren Jones will also be out for some time, but not because of injury.

For an unspecified reason, the redshirt freshman from Marietta, Georgia is suspended "for now," Saban said Tuesday.

"If Tyren Jones does what he's supposed to, maybe he'll be back sometime soon," Saban said.

Jones, who was not seen at Tuesday's practice, has rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries this season. He missed time earlier this season due to a torn tendon in his finger.

With Yeldon's current injury and with Kenyan Drake and and freshman safety Ronnie Clark, who moved to running back after the Ole Miss game, lost for the season, Saban said fullback Jalston Fowler will now see more time at running back, alongside Derrick Henry and Altee Tenpenny.

Fowler, who began his Alabama career as a running back, had two carries for 24 yards against Tennessee last Saturday. His second carry, a gain of 20 yards, was fumbled just before crossing the goal line near the end of the fourth quarter.