The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why Saban could dread facing Michigan in Citrus
For the first time in CFP era, Bama isn’t trying to win a title.
As that old jazz standard revealed a long time ago, the stars fell on Alabama.
Sometimes there, the sky does, too. It did Sunday, when the Crimson Tide were officially excluded from the College Football Playoff for the first time since its inception in 2014.
Hours later, Alabama learned it would play in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan in a matchup that has major brand appeal and allure to traditionalists. The program with the most all-time victories versus the institution with the greatest number of national titles in the poll era. What’s not to like?
Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh was all about it. After being rocked by rival Ohio State, Michigan now has an opportunity to slay another of the sports bluebloods and win 10 games for the fourth time under Harbaugh. On Sunday, Harbaugh called Alabama a “very, very elite team” and a model of success.
“They have set the bar for college football over the last many years,” he said. “We’re very much looking forward to it.”
But in Alabama, there wasn’t as much enthusiasm.
“Just ready to get this train wreck of a season over with,” one Alabama fan grumbled on an SEC message board.
The Crimson Tide, it should be noted, are 10-2. On most campuses, the season would be viewed a roaring success. But that’s not true in Tuscaloosa, where coach Nick Saban has created a monster.
After his Tide lost to Auburn in the Iron Bowl on the final afternoon of November, his eyes were downcast and his words filled with lament as he framed the 2019 campaign as a “disappointment.” Eight days later, when the date with Michigan had been finalized, his characterization of the season remained the same. “We want to get back to playing to the standard,” he said.
Saban will begin that process in a game of little consequence with a backup quarterback, Mac Jones, and a defense ranked as low as it has been since 2007, the first year of his Alabama coaching tenure. He’ll tackle that challenge understanding that nine of the Tide’s available players are among the top100 prospects in the 2020 NFL draft and could elect not to play against the Wolverines. It’s a scenario Saban had avoided until this year and one he dreaded.
“I am sure guys are going to make individual decisions based on their circumstance and their situation,” he said.
For the longest time, Saban knew he’d see this day. Even when the team was at its peak, he fretted about how the postseason landscape had changed with the advent of the Playoff, saying it had helped reduce the stakes of the bowls.
“I think when we created the Playoff ... the only focus is on the Playoff,” Saban said three years ago. “But when we all started this, however many years ago it was, I said that you’re going to diminish the importance of other bowl games in college football, which has happened.
“All anybody talks about is the Playoff. We have a whole bunch of other bowl games that people don’t think are all that important. So if you don’t think it’s important, all of a sudden the players don’t think it’s important. So you can’t really blame the players. We created this. We created this. It used to be good to go to the Rose Bowl, when you played in the Big Ten, that was the ultimate experience you could have. When you played in the SEC, going to the Sugar Bowl was that same thing and when you played in the Big 12, it was going to the Orange Bowl. Those things don’t exist anymore. We have a playoff and everybody is interested in the Playoff. Nobody is interested in anything else.”
Saban was right. There is a sense of disillusionment among Alabama fans. They entered this year expecting their team to claim its record 18th national championship. But injuries took their toll. The Tide’s top two inside linebackers were lost for the season before the first game. Saban then turned to two freshmen, Shane Lee and Christian Harris, as replacements. They were inserted into a defense that featured four newcomers and was led by Pete Golding, an assistant who’d been elevated to coordinator during the offseason.
Not surprisingly, struggles followed. Alabama surrendered 23 points to South Carolina and 31 to Ole Miss. In their two losses to LSU and Auburn, they allowed an average of 40. The leaks on defense proved damaging for a team that lost its QB, Tua Tagovailoa, to a devastating hip injury last month.
Alabama lost control over its destiny. Now, the Tide won’t play in a New Year’s Six bowl for the first time since 2010, when it thrashed Michigan State by 42 points.
That was, of course, before the introduction of the CFP that changed the world of college football and helped alter the perception of matchups like Alabama-Michigan. Once upon a time, Alabama would have been excited about facing the Wolverines. But in Alabama, where the sky is falling after a playoff spot wasn’t attained, the interest is muted.