WATCH: Nick Saban and crew gets a warm welcome in Los Angeles ahead of Rose Bowl showdown against Michigan

On Jan. 1, the Rose Bowl will host a semifinal match between No. 1 Michigan football and No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide, with the winner advancing to the national title game.

The Alabama football team has already arrived in Los Angeles, California for the Rose Bowl. Upon their arrival, they were greeted with long-stem roses, which were picked by players in their own style while posing for cameras.

Alabama Crimson Tide on AL.com shared the video of the arrival of the coach and players and captioned it via Instagram:

“Will you accept this rose?!”

In front of the welcome sign board, which reads, “Please accept this rose” there is a long but narrow piece of furniture full of red long-stem roses for the athletes.

Notably, the team held their first practice at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles on Tuesday and had a series of events leading up to the game, including a welcome event at Disneyland (Wed) and Lawry’s Beef Bowl (Thu).

Rose Bowl sequel coming for Nick Saban

On Monday, Jan. 1, the Rose Bowl will be hosted and Nick Saban will lead his team to the Rose Bowl for the second time in his career, becoming the first head coach to do so.

Alabama has a tradition of success at the Rose Bowl, with a 5-1-1 record. Their last official Rose Bowl was a triumphant 31-14 victory over Notre Dame in the 2021 playoffs in front of a crowd of 18,373 under Nick Saban.

According to SR CFB, Nick Saban has an impressive win record of 297-70-1 (80.8%) across 28 years, mostly at college football powerhouses. He also holds a 19-11 win rate (63.3%) in bowl games.

Nick Saban’s message to the team?

Alabama’s head coach spoke to the press about the team’s focus during early signing day before leaving town. Nick Saban urged players to “pay the price” for excellence, focusing on details like blocking, tackling, and ball security.

“Excellence is not free,” Saban said. “You got to pay the price up front, and there’s a price to pay for it. Working on fundamentals, finishing the play, pushing yourself through, focusing on blocking and tackling and taking care of the ball.”

Saban believes that these details will rebuild momentum, confidence, and teamwork, which will ultimately help to win football.

Alabama recruits George Helow from Michigan to enhance scouting with his expertise after two weeks of dedicated recruiting efforts.