For the first time in the College Football Playoff era, there will be no Alabama. No Nick Saban. 🦩No Crimson Tide.
The sport’s goliath, which has won it all five times since 2009, won’t have a hand in deciding 💧the national championship. And for the first time s❀ince Saban elevated Alabama to kingly status, there are legitimate questions to be asked about the program.
Questi♓ons about Saban’s defense. Questions about who his quarterback will be. Questions about this program’s d𝔉ominance. Even questions about the man himself, at the age of 68.
Look, a lot went wrong this year for Alabama and it still came within three points of toppling Auburn in the Iron Bowl and remaining in the playoff hunt through championship weekend. The defense was decimated by injuries, most notably the torn ACL suffered by All-American linebacker Dylan Moses in August. Star quarterback Tuℱa Tagovailoa wasn’t 100 percent for the loss to LSU and then suffered a season-ending hip injury the following week. Alabama wins the Iron Bowl going away if he’s under center.
Still, Saban’s calling card in Tuscaloosa has been his defense, the unit that would squash even the most dynamic offenses. It was unrecognizable this year, allowing 18.8 points per game, the most since his first season at Alabama in 2007, and that was against a soft schedule tha🍌t has included just two ranked opponents. It allowed 46 points to LSU, the most a Saban-coached Crimson Tide defense has ever given up. Three weeks later, Auburn hung 48 on Alabama. Even if 14 of those points came on pick-sixes thrown by Mac Jones, Tagovailoa’s inexperienced backup, it still allowed 354 total yards to the Tigers’ 146th-ranked offense, unable to stop them when the game was on the line. Go back to last year’s playoff, when Alabama allowed 34 points to Oklahoma and 44 to Clemson in a rout, and this defense has been trending the wrong way for a while.
It’s too 🦄early to say Saban’s reign is over. His recruiting remains elite. He lost two games this year by a combined eight points. But he’ll likely lose his quarterback, possibly star running back Najee Harris, and top receivers Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and DeVonta Smith are eligible for the NFL draft, too. Florida and LSU are gaining steam as national powers while the Crimson Tide is beginning to lose its championship aura.
Fꦇor the first time in a dec𝄹ade, it’s fair to question the future at Alabama.
Championship weak
Last year’s conference championship games were a bore, ir𝔍relevant or lopsided aside from the SEC title game, and next weekend could feature a repeat of that sad slate. Clemson is an early 28-point favorite over Virginia. Ohio State is giving 18 points to Wisconsin and would still likely be selected to the playoff if it were upset.
The SEC Championship game holds all the intrigue, LSU facing Georgia. A Bulldogs win would almost certainly assure them of the No. 4 spot, rendering the Big 12 and Pac-12 games irrelevant. An LSU win, and those games would be significant, since the winners would be jockeying for position for the l🌄ast playoff 🉐berth. Otherwise, only one of the big five conference championship games really matter. Again.
Between a rock and a Harb’ place
You can look at Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan tenure in two ways. He’s failed to reach the sky-high expectations set for him, failing to reach the playoff or win the Big Ten. He’s lost each time to Ohio State, blown out the last two years. He also has aꦦ chance, with a bowl game victory, to notch four double-digit win seasons in his first five years in Ann Arbor. Michigan had one such season in the eight years preceding Harbaugh’s arrival.
The program is clearly in a better place now than when he arrived, recruiting at a high level and winning far more than it is losing. But the program is also in no-man’s land under Harbaugh — good,♛ but not good enough to be a title contender, hardly belonging on the same field as Ohio State.
Top 10
1. LSU (12-0) (Last week: 1)
It took seven overtimes to decide the LSU-Texas A&M meeting last year.🉐 After 15 minutes, the result of🐠 this one was clear, the Tigers putting up 21 points, on their way to completing their first perfect regular season since 2011.
2. Ohio State (12-0) (2)
The Buckeyes don’t just beat Michigan anymore, they dismantle the Wolverines, backing up last year’s 23-point shellacking with a 56-27 rout in Ann Arbor. The chasm between the rivals has never been larger.
3. Clemson (12-0) (3)
Clemson has now won 27 straight games since losing to Alabama in the 2017 national championship game. All ಌbut three of those victories have come by double figures.
4. Georgia (11-1) (4)
Georgia’s first trip to Atlanta was a success, a 52-7 blowout of Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs’ widest margin of 🎶victory over their in-state rivals. They return next weekend to face LSU in the SEC Championship game, with a chance to lock up a playoff spot.
5. Utah (11-1) (7)
The Utes’ dominance continued Sat✅urday, a 45-15 rout of Colorado their sixth victory by at least four scores du𝄹ring this eight-game winning streak.
6. Oklahoma (11-1) (6)
The Sooners still need help, but they did themselves a favor ♎asꦦ well with a commanding 18-point road win over Oklahoma State. A similar performance against Baylor is needed.
7. Florida (10-2) (8)
The Gators have consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in a decade and completed a perfect home schedule with🍸 a rout of Florida State on Saturday. They own the state right now.
8. Alabama (10-2) (5)
Forget the season-ending injury to Tua Tagovailoa. Alabama’s defense, and the injuries that decimated the unit, is what ultimately will keep the Crimson Tide from the playoff. The de💫fense allowed 46 points to LSU and 48 to Auburn, though 14 came on intercepཧtion returns.
9. Wisconsin (10-2) (NR)
The Paul Bunyan Axe belongs to the Badgers and so does the Big Ten West crown after their 38-17🅰 bludgeoning of Minnesota. Up next for Wisconsin is a shot at rev🔴enge, a Big Ten Championship game rematch with Ohio State, which won the first matchup with ease.
10. Baylor (11-1) (NR)
Matt Rhule has Baylor back to elite status in his third season, equaling a program-record 11 wins and booking a spot in the Big 12 title game.
Dropped out: Minnesota (10-2) and Michigan (9-3)
Heisman Watch
(in predicted order)
QB Joe Burrow, LSU
Th🀅e senior ended the regula🎃r season just how he started it — by lighting up an overwhelmed opponent and throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
QB Justin Fields, Ohio State
Three hundred and two yards through t🐷he air and four touchdowns. Now that’s how you introduce yourself to The Game, the annual Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.
QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
A trip to ꦗNew York City is expected, b🅷ut Hurts is no longer a real contender, playing third fiddle to Burrow and Fields.
DE Chase Young, Ohio State
Aside💟 from two quarterback hurries, Young was blanked on Saturday, his first game this season without at🥀 least half a sack.
RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
Taylor added to his nation-leading touchdown total on Saturday — he now has 25 overall, 20 rushi꧅ng — keying the 🎶Badgers’ Big Ten West-clinching victory over Minnesota.