Saban in Rockne, Bryant territory
TAMPA, Fla. — Nick Saban and Alabama are on the verge of rewriting college football history.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide face Clemson on Monday night in a College Football Playoff national championship game rematch. A victory would give Alabama five national titles in eight seasons, a feat that hasn’t been completed at the highest level of the sport during the poll era.
The Tide (14-0) can become the first FBS program to finish 15-0, along with the first to win four titles in six seasons, going back-to-back twice in that span.
A case already can be made that Alabama’s current run is the greatest in history. Better than Notre Dame back in the grainy black-and-white footage days of Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy. Better than Miami’s run of dominance in the 1980s and early ’90s. Better than anything Alabama did when Bear Bryant was leading the Tide in the 1960s and ’70s.
Another title would give Saban six during the poll era that began in 1936, including a BCS crown at LSU in 2003, matching Bryant for the most of any major-college coach.
“I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, an Alabama native who grew up worshipping Bryant and ended up playing for a national championship Tide team in 1992. “Every year is kind of that season of its own and you have your challenges, and it’s a journey of its own. But to be able to regroup and create that edge and meet those challenges, continue to manage your staff and your roster and compete at the highest level, I mean, it’s just unbelievable what has happened.”
Swinney’s team stands in the way of another Alabama championship. The Tigers have not won a national title since 1981. As Swinney and his players have said, it is the only box left for the program to check as it has taken a place among the elite in college football.
Heisman Trophy runner-up Deshaun Watson said he knew when he decided to come to Clemson in 2012 that he was joining a program poised for big things.
“I felt the energy, I bought into what coach Swinney was saying and what he thought the future was going to bring to this program and I wanted to be a part of it,” said Watson, a junior almost certainly playing his last college game.
Clemson is working on a streak of six 10-win seasons, topped only by Alabama’s 10 straight.
Watson, the quarterback from Gainesville, Ga., has been maybe the biggest reason why Clemson has become Alabama’s final and greatest challenge the last two seasons. He was spectacular against the Tide in the title game last year with 478 total yards. Unable to stop Watson, Alabama used a surprising onside kick to swing the game its way and win 45-40.
The Crimson Tide defense enters the game ranked tops in the nation in total defense, rushing defense, yards per play allowed and points allowed. It is also responsible for 12 of the team’s stunning 15 non-offensive touchdowns.
Clemson, meanwhile, is coming off its best defensive effort for the season in a 31-0 Fiesta Bowl win against Ohio State.
The Tide has won 26 straight games. The Tigers are 27-2 the past two seasons.
“Frazier-Ali type of fight,” Alabama tight end O.J. Howard said. “Two great teams, and we’re going to go at it, and it’s going to be a great game Monday night.”
Howard added: “We’re Ali.” Briefly: Alabama’s Jalen Hurts could become the first true freshman quarterback to lead a team to the national title since Jamelle Holieway did it with Oklahoma in 1985 . ... A win would be Clemson’s first victory over a team ranked No. 1 and would give the Tigers five victories against ranked opponents this season, the most in school history. ... Alabama has won 16 straight games against ranked opponents, matching USC’s record streak during the Pete Carroll era (2001-09) . ... As of Sunday afternoon, ticket prices on StubHub ranged from $1,599 for a ticket in the upper deck to $17,820 for a sideline seat in the lower bowl in the 70,000-seat stadium . ... Tuscaloosa, Ala., is 572 miles northwest of Tampa. Clemson, S.C., is 572 miles northeast.