Today’s era of college football has become definable by one unlikely movie quote: “If you’re not first, you’re last.” While the similarities with Talladega Nights begin and end there, this often quoted line fits the views and beliefs of most modern day sports fans. As far as college football goes, nearly every fan of a Power 5 team believes their team should be competing for championships yearly, and when they fail to meet those lofty expectations the season is chalked up as a failure.
Alabama is one of those rare exceptions, much like USC in the early 2000’s, where the team does in fact seem to be competing every year. With that, of course, comes those insanely high expectations that can and have become more of a curse than a blessing.
For instance, last year Alabama started a true freshman at quarterback for the first time in the legendary Nick Saban era. That true freshman, while not being given a lot of down the field throwing opportunities, led the team to a national championship game with a handful of his own clutch plays throughout the year. Once again this season, Hurts has the Tide ready to compete in the College Football Playoffs against #1 Clemson with a side of vengeance on the line.
Despite all this, many have called for Hurts’ benching in favor of the five star freshman, Tua Tagovailoa. However, what the average fan may not see during live game action is the loss of an offensive identity and shaky pass protection around him. For that reason alone, Hurts makes Alabama a better team by being able to escape inconsistent play calls and busted protections.
So, without suddenly morphing into the second coming of Tom Brady, how can Hurts erase those doubts and secure his legacy?
Easy. He needs to win a ring. Today’s success in all sports is measured by the amount of Super Bowls, NBA Finals, or National Championships a team has won. Had Alabama stopped Deshaun Watson and Co. at the end of last year’s game – making Jalen Hurts’ final touchdown run a game-winner – Alabama fans would have lauded him as the second coming of Joe Namath or God himself. Instead, all people seem to remember is the bad stat line at the end of the night, in spite of the fact that Lane Kiffin had unexpectedly pulled out of town a week before, leaving Steve Sarkisian as the full-time play caller for the first time at Alabama.
For this reason, Hurts does not need to drop a spectacular stat line next year, nor does he need to go on a Heisman-winning tear to secure his well deserved legacy. All he has to do is get that national championship trophy making its way back to Tuscaloosa. That may seem like a lot to accomplish, and for most teams it is, but the sophomore quarterback has his team two games away from doing just that.
