Although the loss last week to LSU was a difficult blow to the season, Nick Saban and Alabama have found themselves in this position before. Alabama has earned its way to a national championship game after losing in the regular season as recently as 2015 where the Ole Miss Rebels came into Tuscaloosa and took down the top-ranked Crimson Tide.
That was the last home loss the team has suffered and the last time the team lost in the regular season, and just by going off of those facts one would assume that the odds are in Alabama’s favor. But Saban has had success off of losses his entire career at Alabama, not just recently.
Dating back to 2010 where Alabama suffered a road loss to South Carolina, UA has responded quite well when losing games in the regular season.
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Since that game, Saban led Alabama teams have a record of 6-0 and outscore its opponents 174-40. That gives the team an average margin of victory of roughly 22 points. In other words, not many teams have had a shot at beating the tide following a loss in the regular season.
The last team to come close to beating Alabama since 2010 was Arkansas back in 2014, which was the second game of back to back road matchups after losing at Ole Miss the week before.
The most lopsided win came during the 2012 season after Johnny Manziel defeated Alabama 29-24, once again at Bryant-Denny Stadium. After that loss Alabama took out its frustration on Western Carolina, blowing them out 49-0. Alabama won a championship that year as well.
Today the Crimson Tide looks to extend that aforementioned record to 7-0 against the Mississippi State Bull Dogs. Although there may be a chance the team does not have quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the team performed quite well the last time they were without their lead man.
And just as Nick Saban has been saying all week, he does not want his team to waste a good lesson.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
