🏈 Is Alabama Done?

[AFF]

I like his perspective.

Alabama has won three national titles under Nick Saban and came within a Tim Tebow fourth quarter, a miraculous kick return, and a tough loss to Ohio State from likely making it six in seven seasons.

Is Alabama Done? Utah's Win, Run Antonio: Cavalcade of Whimsy, Sept. 29

“When you’re fresh meat, kill and throw them something fresher.”
Alabama has won three national titles under Nick Saban and came within a Tim Tebow fourth quarter, a miraculous kick return, and a tough loss to Ohio State from likely making it six in seven seasons.

Over the last eight years at Alabama under Saban’s watch, the Crimson Tide have gone 87-12. Those 12 losses?

– 2008 SEC Championship, Florida, 31-20. Lost to a Gator team that went on to win the national title. Tebow was Tebow in the fourth to pull it out. This was the true national championship game.
– 2009 Sugar Bowl, Utah, 31-17. Loss to a jacked up and ultra-focused Utah team that went 13-0.
– 2010 at South Carolina, 35-21. This is the one aberration. The Gamecocks were just okay.
– 2010 at LSU 24-21. A thriller in Death Valley to a team that went 11-2 and won the Cotton Bowl.
– 2010 Auburn 28-27. Cam Newton and the 14-0 national champion Tigers were pretty good.
– 2011 LSU 9-6. An all-time defensive slugfest against the eventual SEC champion. Bama got revenge by beating LSU for the national title.
– 2012 Texas A&M 29-24. Johnny Manziel wins the Heisman. Alabama wins the national title.
– 2013 Auburn 34-28. Lost in the historic kick six game was that if Bama actually makes the field goal, it at least gets to the national title game vs. Florida State.
– 2014 Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma, 45-31. You’ll have to sort of forgive Alabama for not getting up off the mat for this one.
– 2015 at Ole Miss, 23-17. Interception in the end zone. If Blake Sims finds O.J. Howard instead, Bama pulls it out.
– 2015 Sugar Bowl, Ohio State, 42-35. People still act like the Crimson Tide got blown out by 40. This was the true national championship game.
– 2015 Ole Miss, 43-37. The Rebels got every break, every miraculous play, and was +5 in turnover margin and Bama still almost pulled it out.

We don’t know what this year’s Ole Miss team is going to do, but outside of the 2010 loss to South Carolina – which ended up winning nine games – nine of the other losses came to teams that won at least ten games, last year’s nine-win Ole Miss team ended up going to a New Year’s Six bowl, three of the losses came to the eventual national champion, two came to the eventual runner-up for the national championship, and two came in BCS bowl games following soul-crushing defeats.

It took historical performances by championship-level teams to beat Alabama over the last eight seasons with only one double-digit loss out of the last nine defeats.

Throw all of that in with the No. 2 recruiting class in the country coming in next year according to Scout.com – and after finishing second this year and No. 1 in 2014 – and even then, people are actually writing and talking about the demise of Alabama football. Today, I was asked this question on a radio appearance (think when Belichick was asked last year around this time whether or not Tom Brady was still the starter).

“If Alabama loses to Georgia, is Nick Saban in trouble?”

(Heavy sigh)

 

[Rolltide24]

Anyone remember a team that entered the 2008 season with tons of potential, playmakers all around the ball, 5-star recruits in many positions, an upperclassman QB that had been the backup 2 years earlier on a championship team, one of the top coaches in the game, and lost to Ole Miss at home in September with a number of uncharacteristic turnovers contributing to the loss? Anyone remember what happened to that team? They ran the table and won the championship. Now, here we are, very similar circumstances, but with one huge difference - we don't have a Heisman QB at the helm of our offense and I will argue that we don't have a singular leader providing the leadership qualities of the QB for that Florida team. Now, I submit that we do have as many playmakers as that Florida team, if not more. We also have a better defense, in my eyes, though their D was tough other than that Ole Miss game. I also submit that we have a group of leaders versus one. So, with comparable talent, coaching, schedules (they played Arky, LSU, Miami, FSU, UGA, UT, USCe, S. Carolina, a pretty challenging schedule), expectations, etc..., will we rise up and overcome the one loss? Will our leadership step up and carry the team, create some momentum, and focus and sustain that momentum through January? We will find out Saturday afternoon. Either we play to less than our potential and come away with our season goals pretty much off the table, or we rise up, every guy gives 100%, remains focused, and we start a new season with no holds barred, taking no prisoners and achieve what our guys set out to achieve. I can't wait to find out on Saturday. This season isn't done just yet...

Of note, after the loss to Ole Miss, that Florida team did not have a win by less than 28 points the remainder of the regular season. That's playing 2 more Top 10 teams and 2 other Top 25 teams. We will have similarly ranked teams remaining on our scheduled based on current projections.

 

[18Champs]

BREAKING NEWS: Lane Kiffin uses a flip phone.
Can a coach be suspended for “violation of team rules?”

I hate this stuff. Someone, either step up and prove you have something, or step up and show your face for starting these rumors.

_____

guess we know where that's coming from

 

[Max]

Of note, after the loss to Ole Miss, that Florida team did not have a win by less than 28 points the remainder of the regular season. That's playing 2 more Top 10 teams and 2 other Top 25 teams. We will have similarly ranked teams remaining on our scheduled based on current projections.

It's a very salient argument you're bring up here. We'll have to see how the Tide's schedule shakes out with game rank versus end of the year rankings. As I recall, out of those teams you mentioned earlier, only UGA ended up with 10 wins on the season. (Bama and OU did ... post season games ... still UF wins by double digits.)

 

[BigCrimson]

Alabama is a quarterback away from being dominant again. It is the most important position on the entire field. For anyone who says Alabama is done would have an argument if we weren't still bringing in top flight talent. But that's not the case. The main problem is we don't have a QB. Fix that and these articles and murmurings of Bama being done go away.

 

[Slickmullet]

Alabama is a quarterback away from being dominant again. It is the most important position on the entire field. For anyone who says Alabama is done would have an argument if we weren't still bringing in top flight talent. But that's not the case. The main problem is we don't have a QB. Fix that and these articles and murmurings of Bama being done go away.

Agreed.

 

[psychojoe]

Loaded with top flight talent at every position is hardly 'done'.

 

[PhillyGirl]

Alabama is a quarterback away from being dominant again. It is the most important position on the entire field. For anyone who says Alabama is done would have an argument if we weren't still bringing in top flight talent. But that's not the case. The main problem is we don't have a QB. Fix that and these articles and murmurings of Bama being done go away.

Amen. Which is why I am looking forward to BB6 and the future of Bama football. The class of 2016 is stacked.

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

They are either swinging on Bama's balls or doing their best to kick them in the balls. There is no middle ground. I am not complaining because I remember well the years when we were less than an after thought or worse the butt of a shitty joke

All hail the polarizing Tide

 

[SpecThis]

No


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[rick4bama]

No


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I will agree with you! NO!

 

[psychojoe]

The reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.

 

[Bamabww]

@AFF, this is weird as hell, but I thought about this thread during the ballgame.