Fear was the main emotion back in the spring and summer.
No one was truly confident that college football would happen this fall, especially with the global Coronavirus pandemic, but the power of sports and the foresight of those who make big decisions were able to pull it off. When it comes to the University of Alabama, the tandem of Greg Byrne (athletics director) and Nick Saban (head football coach) have kept everything in order.
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Despite players testing positive, Saban missing a game and four assistant coaches missing a contest, the Crimson Tide still managed to become the lone program to win all 10 games in a conference-only schedule. Offensively, Alabama was the most explosive and balanced group in the nation. Steve Sarkisian coached his unit to an average of 49.5 points per game, which leads the country and he has three Heisman contenders.
Regardless of a slow start, the Tide has been strong on defense in the last seven games — allowing 11 points per matchup, forcing 15 turnovers and returning three takeaways for touchdowns.
Although he compared this year’s Florida team to the 2019 LSU bunch, in terms of explosiveness on offense, Coach Saban has been highly proud of his team. During his “Hey Coach” show on Thursday, he credits the ‘focus’ of his players as the reason for Alabama being locked on to a Southeastern Conference title.
“This team has been great. We haven’t had issues or problems,” Saban said. “Last week at Arkansas, they could’ve looked ahead to this game and really not went out there and played, but they took care of business.”
Last season, the Tide was set up for a “Revenge Tour.”
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Injuries at critical positions kept it from happening; however, the new strength staff was strong all year. The additions of David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea have served Alabama well, as this team has not suffered a lot of injuries. On top of this, the players have bonded together in making this a special year. When the likes of Auburn and LSU came with trash talk, the Tide dominated both schools and also handled Georgia when it had the best defense in college football.
Florida is the challenge now as Alabama is looking to give Saban his seventh conference title with the program.
This group is locked in for nothing short of a national title.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
