Saban, Bama seek title No. 6 with old challenges, new faces

TUSCALOOSA, ALA. » Alabama and Nick Saban begin the quest for their sixth national title as college football’s ultimate power couple with many of the same old challenges — and lots of new faces.

The Crimson Tide must replace a bounty of NFL talent, especially on defense, like usual. What’s new: six assistant coaches, both coordinators, pretty much the entire secondary and maybe the starting quarterback .

The quarterback battle between 28- game starter Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa has hogged the headlines, overshadowing the fact that eight members of the nation’s top defense were drafted. Gone are the starting secondary, including AllAmerican Minkah Fitzpatrick , and a top reserve.

“That’s probably the least amount of returning experienced players that we’ve ever had,” Saban said.

Nonetheless, Alabama faces its typical expectations of contending for Southeastern Conference and national titles and keeping a perfect string of four playoff berths intact.

The Tide has won five national championships in the past nine years and is widely considered the favorite to win No. 6 next January. Saban, who also won a title at LSU, and Bear Bryant are the only major college coaches to win

six national championships.

Now, the fit- and- trim 66-year- old is flush with an eight-year, $74 million contract and showing no signs of slowing down. Nor is his program.

Veterans like tailback Damien Harris already are acquainted with the challenges of trying to repeat as national champs. The Tide

fell just short of pulling that feat off in 2016.

“The mindset going into this season is that we know our success isn’t going to be inherited,” Harris said. “Anything we accomplish as a team this season is not going to come from the fact that we won a national championship last year.

“If anything, it is just going to make it that much harder. We know that winning a national championship puts a target on your back.”