At the end of the night on January 11, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide will be champions of Division 1 college football. It is hard to say whether Clemson or Oklahoma who will fall to the Tide, however, there is no doubt in my mind that Nick Saban will earn his 4th championship and the school’s 15th. Perhaps Nick Saban is why I am so sure that Alabama will be celebrating at the end of the championship game.
Nick Saban is one of the best masterminds of college football. He has proven year after year that he knows how to recruit and win games out on the gridiron. Two of his three current championships came at Alabama and each year it looks as if he is going to win his next.
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This year Saban is facing great football coaches, however, they don't quite compare to his past competition. Last year, the brilliant Urban Meyer out-coached Saban and went on to be the first victor of the College Football Playoff. This year Saban will face Mike Dantonio, and then either Dabo Swinney from Clemson or Bob Stoops, Oklahoma’s long time coach.
Mike Dantonio has proven he is a formidable opponent. He has knocked off defending champions Ohio State and the very talented Iowa, who was very deserving of a spot in the college playoff. However, the talent on that team will fall short to the Crimson Tide due to a lack of talent.
If Dabo Swinney and the Tigers face Alabama in the championship, Swinney will be fighting an uphill battle against Saban’s experience in huge games. Clemson has the talent to pose a challenge to the Tide, but it is hard to imagine Swinney out-coaching Saban. On top of that, Saban and the Tide are looking for revenge. They do not want to end their third consecutive season with a loss. In the 2013 All State Sugar Bowl Alabama was upset by Oklahoma, and then last year the Ohio State Buckeyes upset the number 1 seed Crimson Tide.
The only coach I feel could pose a very difficult challenge to Saban is Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops. As I mentioned, Stoops upset the tide just two years ago and the Sooners will try to do it again if they meet in Glendale, Arizona. However, if this matchup occurs, it will not be the coaching that settles the outcome. The game will be settled by the talent on the field out-muscling the other. Again, the tide will find themselves with the upper hand.
The Crimson Tide have their second Heisman Trophy winner in school history and nations best running back Derrick Henry. It will be seen if Oklahoma’s run defense can stop him. But Oklahoma will have to stop gifted wide receiver Calvin Ridley, QB Jake Coker, and the rest of Alabama’s high powered SEC offense. After that, it is up to Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma’s offense to put up points against the nation’s second best defense. Alabama sports a low 258.2 yards allowed per game. The Big XII champion will have to gain many more yards than that to even consider beating the tide.
So at the end of January 11, Alabama will be crowned champions of college football because they simply have the best coach and team. Where one team would out-coach them, Alabama will out-talent them. And when Alabama does not compare to their opponents talent, they will out-coach them and still be victorious.
