Saban, Tide to again vie for title
COLLEGE FOOTBALL COUNTDOWN: NO. 1 ALABAMA
Alabama entered last season in a rare position: with something to prove. A gutwrenching loss to Clemson on the final play of the 2016 national title game ended coach Nick Saban’s bid to tie Bear Bryant’s record six national titles in the modern era.
Saban’s squad eventually earned a 26-23 overtime comeback win in the 2017 championship game against Georgia. Alabama, as always, is loaded again and Saban is back for national title No. 7.
Alabama is No. 1 in Orlando Sentinel college insider Matt Murschel’s 2018 preseason college football rankings. Murschel ranked all 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country. The Sentinel staff takes a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 129 to our projected No. 1 team.
Alabama Nick Saban (132-20, entering 12th season, 223-62-1 overall)
13-1, 7-1 in Southeastern Conference; second in West Division
Alabama was not truly challenged until November. Saban’s bangedup squad fell 26-14 at Auburn, raising the specter of missing out on the playoff semifinals.
Awarded the fourth seed by the selection committee, Alabama steamrolled Clemson 24-7 in the semifinals to avenge the 2017 title game loss. Then trailing Georgia 13-0, Saban switched quarterbacks at halftime, benching two-year starter Jalen Hurts for little-used backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The rest is history, capped by Tagovailoa’s game-winning touchdown pass.
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DB Minka Fitzpatrick, DL Da’ron Payne, WR Calvin Ridley, LB Rashaan Evans, S Ronnie Harrison
QB Jalen Hurts, QB Tua Tagovailoa, RB Damien Harris, DL Raekwon Davis, LT Jonah Williams, C Ross Pierschbacher, LB Mack Wilson, WR Jerry Jeudy
Hurts entered the national title game 24-2 as a starter, but he has been an afterthought since Tagovailoa’s heroics. Either QB will have the luxury of handing the ball to Damien Harris, who cleared 1,000 yards each of the past two seasons. He will run behind an offense line that returns virtually intact.
The Crimson Tide return just three starters on defense. It’s the side of the ball where Saban has made his name, so do not expect a severe dropoff.
Plenty of inexperienced players will have to prove themselves in the interior line, where Da’Ron Payne was a huge loss.
The back end of the defense has been hot and cold during recent seasons and suffered some major losses after last season.
Until another program consistently challenges the Crimson Tide, they are the team to beat, regardless of who Saban has to replace.