End of Alabama's Dynasty?

If you know anything about college football, you know about Alabama’s triumphant run since the mid 2000s. With six national championships since 2009, Alabama has been a force to be reckoned with, and a squad that many teams fear when it is their turn to play them. This all didn’t just happen out of the blue--the Crimson Tide’s reign of dominance is led by all-time great coach Nick Saban, an offensive mastermind and a master recruiter. After Saban came to Alabama in 2007, they have produced the most NFL players; and since Saban has become head coach, Alabama has had 4 Heisman Trophy winners. Since the birth of the four team college football playoff in 2014, Alabama has only missed it twice.

Last season was Nick Saban’s second two-loss regular season, the other being his first season in Tuscaloosa. Even though they were led by potential number one overall draft pick quarterback Bryce Young, the Crimson Tide were defeated by both the University of Tennessee and Louisiana State University. This year has also been a struggle for the Tide as well, as they recently lost a Week 2 matchup vs the University of Texas.

Alabama’s recent struggle has people proposing the question: Is Alabama’s dominant run finally over? Well, the simple answer is “no”. This isn’t Coach Saban’s first struggle at his tenure in Alabama, and it also hasn’t been the first time that this question has been asked. In 2012, future Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel, came into Alabama’s home stadium and beat Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide. Many critics counted Alabama out for the rest of the season and didn’t even include them in their top 8 bowl games. But this didn’t bother Coach Saban, as he regrouped and changed his game plan--and despite all odds, came back from the dead to win the national championship.

 In 2015, Coach Saban fell to his former offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffen, and the Ole Miss Rebels. The game was a Week 3 matchup and the Ole Miss Rebels were Alabama’s first top 15 opponent. After the loss, many assumed that this just wasn’t Alabama’s season and another team would take the throne. Of course, this didn’t happen, as Alabama went on to defeat five more top 15 teams and claim yet another national championship against Clemson University. 

And of course, in 2013, a game that still haunts Coach Saban to this day, a game that many believe as the most unbelievable moment in the history of college football, took place on the night the infamous “kick six” was born against Alabama’s bitter rival, Auburn. 

Writing this as an Alabama fan hurts. I remember when I watched this game: I was very young but I was old enough to realize that Alabama was my favorite team, and Auburn was my least favorite. With one second remaining, and tied at 28, Alabama lined up to kick a 57 yard field goal. Auburn had cornerback Chris Davis stay back in case the kick was short. But surely even if it was short the most Davis would return would be 30-40 yards right? Right? Well, that didn’t happen, and with the clock at 0, Davis found his way through the Crimson wall to score the game winning touchdown. It was an ending no one would expect--a game Auburn fans would remind Alabama fans about for many years to come. Coach Saban and Alabama were shocked. It was the last game of the season and because of this loss, Alabama lost their bid to play in the national championship (this game was before the current four-team playoff style). Coach Saban has stated that this loss changed him. It stuck with him; but it motivated him. This motivation led him to win two of the next four national championships. 

Sure, Alabama is off to a shaky start following a disappointing season from last year and Alabama's roster isn’t as loaded as years in the past… but there are three things I’ve learned that are guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and Nick Saban always finds a way to win.

- Will Derryberry

Sports Writer