A ten year streak that may never be duplicated, but only one undefeated season. (Photo-Cedric Mason)

Alabama Flirting With Only Second Undefeated Season Under Saban

By: Larry Burton

Yes, no coach has greater streak of wins than Nick Saban in 10 years as Saban has had at Alabama. Yet in this, his 1oth season at Tuscaloosa, this is only the second time his team has a chance of going undefeated. Not since the 2009 season has a Tide team gone undefeated.

Yes, as dominate as the Crimson Tide has been on the national scene since that 2009 championship, they’ve gone six years without another undefeated season despite winning three more additional national championships. That alone is reason for this team to be both humble and hungry.

The fact that Alabama has struggled to duplicate the record of that 2009 team takes little away from the fact that for the last 10 years under Saban. Alabama has simply let other teams play in their universe. They have owned college football during that time and while many say all records are meant to be broken, I doubt that this ten year stretch will ever be duplicated.

This is supposed to be the age of parity. With equal scholarship availability and such a huge pool of talent, no team is supposed to dominate the way Alabama has, yet there they are, the undisputed kings of college football. But still, that single undefeated season is a stat that just jumps out at you.

While dominate over the last decade, Alabama still needed help from others to get three of their four national titles. Some worked out in almost unbelievable ways. Take for example, had it not been for the conversion of a fourth and forever multi lateral, hope and a prayer play by Arkansas over Ole Miss, the Tide would not have even had the chance to have played for one of those national titles.

Therefore, taking care of business yourself has never had a higher premium and yet Alabama has done it only once under Saban.

This season’s team seems to have that “team of destiny” mystique around it. It is built around a soul crushing defense and an opportunistic offense being run yet again for the third year in a row by a rookie starting quarterback that in some games makes fans scream in agony one play and then rejoice a few plays later. This is a team that won’t be defined as lucky, but as a team that is just gutty. They’ll do whatever it takes on either side of the ball to come up with enough plays to pull off a win. It’s a team where every aspect chips in. The defense has scored touchdowns in all but one game, the special teams chip in too and the offense always seems just to have enough to ensure it all works out.

Alabama will finish the season playing against teams they should be favorites against, heavy favorites by Las Vegas standards, yet if you follow college football, you know that on any given Saturday, lightning can strike as has been proven in nine of the last ten seasons in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama may have six more opportunities to make this only the second undefeated season under Saban. That’s three more regular season games, one SEC Championship Game and possibly two College Football Playoff games to go. At 9-0 right now, they are just 60% through that gauntlet, but something just says that this is the team that can finally finish. And as you know, finish is one of Nick Saban’s favorite words. Las Vegas has Alabama as the odds on favorite to win out and right now, it would be foolish to bet against it.

Larry has been published in almost every media outlet for college sports and now primarily writes here for Touchdown Alabama. Follow Larry on Twitter for inside thoughts and game time comments at https://twitter.com/LBSportswriter

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