Alabama Back on the College Football Mountain Top

Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide Earn their 18th National Title

After Monday night’s college football championship victory, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide earned their 18th National Football Title, the most of any college. The Crimson defeated Ohio State University 52-24 in convincing fashion. The championship is the Tide’s fifth title in the last decade. 

Comparable with other top-tier National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) football programs, Alabama experiences roster-turnover every year. Their continued success can be traced back to their winning culture created by head coach Nick Saban. This year Alabama's team was accomplished but it was also one of Saban’s best coached seasons. Alabama steamrolled through this year’s unprecedented college football season going 13-0. 

“Well, to me, this team accomplished more than any team,” Saban said. “No disrespect to any other teams that we had or any championship teams. But this team won 11 SEC games. No other team has done that. They won the SEC, went undefeated in the SEC, then they beat two great teams in the Playoff with no break in between.”

The 2020-21 season marked the first time Saban’s Crimson Tide have gone undefeated since 2009, a year where his team finished 14-0. The ‘09 squad featured a backfield consisting of No. 1 (2009) and No.3 (2011) overall NFL Draft Picks: Mark Ingram and Trench Richardson, respectively.

At the start of the 2020 NFL season, Alabama had 57 former players on active rosters for teams across the league. Every year, the number of active Alabama alumni in the NFL increases, with 56 active Crimson Tide players in the 2019 NFL and 44 players in 2018 on opening rosters. Next year, this number will likely rise. A 2021 NFL Mock Draft by CBS Analyst Ryan Wilson projects five Alabama players to be chosen in the first round.

A disappointing 2019 season saw the Tide miss the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the first time in the Playoff’s tournament’s history. They concluded last year with a Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan, but players knew they left wins on the table. The Crimson Tide were motivated to prove last year was a fluke. They wanted to return to the championship and win it. 

Prominent draft-eligible players DeVonta Smith, Najee Harris, Alex Leatherwood and Dylan Moses chose to opt in this season for Alabama and play their senior year together. 

“The guys that did come back, I’m glad they came back,” Smith said. Smith and Alabama’s senior class were able to conclude their collegiate career the same way they began it, with a championship. 

Tua Tagovailoa was taken fifth overall in last year’s NFL Draft, but the return of Smith, Harris, and Leatherwood empowered the offense. Each player had something to prove this year, and they did just that.

Smith was a dominant force. He won the 2020 Heisman Award, an award that recognizes the best collegiate football player –– and one that has not been won by a wide receiver in 29 years. 

Harris gained size and explosiveness to become an intriguing number-one running back with a first round NFL Draft projection. Leatherwood, a 6-foot-6, 316 offensive lineman, continued to show improvement and became a dominant piece in Alabama’s offensive game. Their legacy helped Saban pass Paul Bryant for the most National Titles in college football history. 

Saban won his first championship at Louisiana State University (LSU) in 2003, and won six more with Alabama in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and now 2020.

Saban’s resumé speaks for itself. He is outstanding. Every single Nick Saban recruit that has played in Alabama has won a national championship. The head coach demands excellence from his players, and he receives it in return.  

“He does it the right way,'' Alabama quarterback Mac Jones said. “He recruits well, but more importantly develops great players and young men. I’m just so blessed that he gave me a chance to come here along with all my teammates. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. He’s the greatest to ever do it. He’ll be the greatest for a long time.”

Jones is another premier player that will likely be a first-round draft pick this year. Losing four key offensive players often slows down  a team, but not Alabama. Nick Saban has demonstrated throughout the years that losing talent doesn’t  matter–developing it does. He plans on bringing the Crimson Tide back to the title game, and based on history, he will.