Clips 2014

93
Clips 2014 Links (followed by the copies of the stories) Columns Hooey: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/idea- sec-bias-bunch-hooey/ Kiffin: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/kiffin- gets-trophy-wanted-tennessee-return-cigar/ Autographs: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/allowing- student-athletes-sell-autographs-bad-idea/ LSU: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/another- alabama-lsu-game-ages-tide-wins-20-13-ot/ Hunger: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/hunger- key-alabamas-resurrection-season/ Game SEC: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/2014- sec-championship-will-remembered-one-alabamas-best/ Opener: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/alabama- quarterback-sims-night-remember-first-start/ LSU: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/sims- drive-put-tide-path-national-semifinal/ Feature/breaking Roberts retiring: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama- football/iron-bowl-final-home-broadcast-alabama-legend/ Project: Reclaiming the Crown Part I: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/alabama- reclaiming-the-crown-attitude/

Transcript of Clips 2014

Page 1: Clips 2014

Clips 2014

Links (followed by the copies of the stories)

ColumnsHooey: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/idea-sec-bias-bunch-hooey/Kiffin: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/kiffin-gets-trophy-wanted-tennessee-return-cigar/Autographs: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/allowing-student-athletes-sell-autographs-bad-idea/LSU: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/another-alabama-lsu-game-ages-tide-wins-20-13-ot/Hunger: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/hunger-key-alabamas-resurrection-season/

GameSEC: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/2014-sec-championship-will-remembered-one-alabamas-best/Opener: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/alabama-quarterback-sims-night-remember-first-start/LSU: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/sims-drive-put-tide-path-national-semifinal/

Feature/breakingRoberts retiring: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/iron-bowl-final-home-broadcast-alabama-legend/

Project: Reclaiming the CrownPart I: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/alabama-reclaiming-the-crown-attitude/Part II: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/alabama-reclaiming-the-crown-coaching-staff/Part III: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/reclaiming-the-crown-talent/Part IV: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/reclaiming-the-crown-defense-still-wins-championships/Part V: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/reclaiming-the-crown-history-is-on-the-crimson-tides-side/

Season wrap: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/crimson-tide-team-went-far/

Explanatory

Page 2: Clips 2014

How we got here: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/money-control-took-long-college-football-playoff/Most controversial champions: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/10-controversial-champions-college-football-history/

Column (5)

1. Idea of SEC ‘bias’ a bunch of hooeyOct 29

Before you read any more of this, know that the answer is “Watch the games.”

That’s the only thing that has to be mentioned regarding this whole idea of “SEC bias.”

They’re two words that really shouldn’t go together, like cigars and marathon running, Alabama and Auburn, shag carpeting and, well, anything.

For whatever reason the notion of SEC bias in college football has recently been gaining steam, as the rest of the country is obviously getting sick of seeing the conference dominate the sport.

The league has consistently been at the top of the recruiting rankings, won seven of the last eight national championships and routinely has the most players selected in the National Football League draft.

Five different SEC teams won a national title during the BCS era while the Big 12’s last championship was in 2005. The Pac-12’s only title of the BCS era was vacated. The Big Ten’s last crystal football was in 2002.

Conference records in BCS title gamesConference Record Win Pct.SEC 9-2 .818Big 12 2-5 .286ACC 2-2 .500Big East 1-2 .333Big Ten 1-2 .333Pac-12 1-2* .333Independent 0-1 .000*USC vacated its win in the 2005 Orange Bowl.

Page 3: Clips 2014

The gap between the SEC and everyone else was already vast, but this season in particular seems to have been just a little too much for some people to take. After Alabama and LSU played for the crystal football at the end of the 2011 season, they believed a playoff would make a repeat of that more difficult.

Instead, the initial rankings were dominated by the SEC West with: 1. Mississippi State, 3. Auburn, 4. Ole Miss, and 6. Alabama, with No. 11 Georgia in the East. It won’t end that way, of course, as the teams will knock each other off, but the reaction outside of the region was everything from outcry to lashing out.

This is what we call denial, by people who have obviously not been doing what was mentioned in the first line of this article, or paying attention to the league’s recent dominance.

So they mistakenly contend that the polls are biased even though the voters equally represent the various regions of the country.

They argue that the playoff selection committee is also biased even though Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long is the only one on it from the SEC after former Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning took a leave of absence for a medical condition.

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher even fanned the flames a little during a recent interview with WABM-TV in Birmingham, Ala., when he blamed all of the negative attention the Seminoles have been receiving on “One, ESPN has money in the SEC, and two, we were so dominant last year.”

Right, nobody jumped on Johnny Manziel last season when he did idiotic things, and ESPN made Jameis Winston steal those crab legs from a local grocery store (and everything else …).

I guess he also forgot that ESPN has a 15-year, $3.6 billion deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference, which helps pay for his lucrative salary.

Additionally, ESPN and Fox have a $3 billion deal with the Pac-12, and a $2.6 billion contract with the Big 12. It’s even paying the Big Ten $1 billion through 2016-17, and had the broadcast rights to 33 of last year’s 35 bowl games.

It also is in partnership with Texas for The Longhorn Network, but funny you don’t hear anyone claiming UT bias.

No one points out that CBS has the rights to the biggest SEC game of the week, or that the Mississippi schools are probably the last ones in the league that ESPN wants to see in the payoff due to neither school being part of a major television market.

Page 4: Clips 2014

No disrespect intended to Ole Miss or Mississippi State, which are having remarkable seasons and have earned everything they’ve accomplished so far, but if either makes the title game the ratings wouldn’t be nearly as good as say Notre Dame vs. Ohio State. There’s a lot more money to be made in the Midwest.

Rather, here’s an example of bias in the sport: If you go to the website for the College Football Hall of Fame and do a search for Notre Dame inductees, 49 names come up. If you do the same for Alabama, which has won the most national championships during the poll era, you get 20.

“Deal with it, they're the best,” ESPN announcer Brent Musberger recently said of the SEC, and College GameDay host Chris Fowler called claims of ESPN's SEC bias "stupid, uninformed stuff."

I’ll throw in another word, “insulting.”

2. Kiffin gets trophy he wanted in Tennessee return, a cigarOctober 26

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — They waited for over an hour just to get a glimpse.

Many of the onlookers wore University of Alabama colors while some sported the bright orange of Tennessee, which dictated whether they cheered or booed. Mostly though, like those in neutral colors, they wanted to see what might happen.

There were only a few yards between where the buses would stop and the visitor’s entrance at Neyland Stadium, but more than 1,000 people still crammed themselves into the places where nothing could block their view except for the dozens of police and reporters on hand.

Only Lane Kiffin's return to Knoxville turned out to be not much of anything – which seemed to be just fine with everyone involved.

The only drama in this edition of the “Third Saturday in October” occurred when those waiting Crimson Tide fans thought for a brief moment that they were getting spit on from above, just to find out that they were only being hit by condensation.

Granted, there will always be some lingering bad feelings, like the sign flying overhead reading: “Go Vols. Beat Lane Kiffin,” and despite statements to the contrary some extra precautions were taken — including more than 25 police

Page 5: Clips 2014

officers representing four different law divisions there to welcome Alabama’s buses. Two officers escorted Nick Saban to the locker room, but seven surrounded Kiffin with his California-type sunglasses, lavender shirt and purple tie.

That was it.

Too much has happened to the Volunteers since Kiffin left in January 2010. There’s been too many losing seasons (all of them), and too many problems with players. Butch Jones essentially had to start from scratch when arriving, and while Tennessee is again on the rise, it still has a ways to go.

“I don’t think it affected any of us,” Saban said after the 34-20 victory. “I really don’t.

“Lane’s done a really good job for us all year, the players like him, respond well to him. He’s really a good coach, and I think a lot of people in Tennessee are pissed off at him is because they know he’s a good coach and they were upset when he left. I get that.”

Tennessee fans were definitely reminded on Alabama’s first offensive play. Senior quarterback Blake Sims ran a play-action, bootlegged out to the right and with the linebacker biting junior wide receiver Amari Cooper was left open on the crossing route. The result was an 80-yard touchdown with Kiffin running alongside down the sideline.

“He said that he almost beat me to the touchdown,” Cooper said.

“I didn’t see it myself,” Sims said. “I was too busy running myself, I was so excited. It was a big game for me because I played against my high school teammate, A.J. Johnson.”

Alabama scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives for a 27-0 lead, and while Tennessee did come back and sort of make a game of it Cooper ended up setting the Crimson Tide record for receiving yards in a game with 224.

It wasn’t a perfect welcome back, and Alabama lost fumbles on its last two possessions, but it would do. Sort of like Kiffin’s exit.

On his way off the field, Kiffin stopped to give a 7-year-old girl his visor, which turned into a bit of a tug-of-war when those surrounding him didn’t quite realize the offensive coordinator’s intent. It caused one fan to throw something from the stands, but the only real negative consequence was the frightened girl shedding tears from the commotion.

Page 6: Clips 2014

The former head coach was later one of the last to emerge from the smoke-filled locker room -- per rivalry tradition -- and into the hallway where a security guard had complained about a player having lit up a cigar in a non-smoking area. Kiffin hugged some friends and smiled while heading off to the bus, again surrounded by police officers.

He didn’t have a cigar in hand, but chances were there was one tucked away in his suit pocket.

3. Allowing student-athletes to sell their autographs a bad ideaOctober 20

If the idiom “sign on the dotted line” has been on your mind the past few days, it’s probably due to word association.

Once again the college football world is dealing with the autograph issue, with opinions ranging from “It’s ridiculous that college athletes can’t get any money from signing their own names,” to “These guys are idiots for not waiting a few more months until their careers are over.”

Specifically, Florida State is investigating Jameis Winston’s connection to James Spence Authentication, the company that was linked to suspended Georgia running back Todd Gurley. It has reportedly certified 500-plus autographs from Gurley and more than 2,000 from Winston, and we’re all waiting for the proof that they got paid to do so.

“Kids sign things all the time,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher told ESPN.

In sequential order? Right coach. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. The sand volleyball team’s players did the same thing out of the goodness of their hearts (and yes, the Seminoles do have a team). Anyone who believes that signing his name 2,000 times isn’t a big deal, try doing it. See how long it takes to do, and for your hand to start cramping up.

Having something like that happen with a star player is one of those things that keep coaches up at night, even though there’s not a lot they can do about it other than say “Don’t” over and over again. But boys will be boys, and the moment the coaches turn their backs …

“It's always a concern of ours any time that there's an issue in college football that's very, very difficult to control externally,” Coach Nick Saban said on the subject last week. “We are very vigilant with our process of how we counsel players, teach players. Our compliance people try to do the best possible job that we can so that we don't have those issues.

Page 7: Clips 2014

“There's a lot of folks out there who are trying to do these types of things for their own personal benefit and the player is the one who’s going to suffer the consequences if he doesn't make a good choice and decision.”

For Winston and Gurley, both can already kiss their chances at the Heisman Trophy goodbye, although obviously Winston has a number of other issues to deal with that’s causing his NFL Draft stock to decline. Should he trip over any of them during the next few weeks then you can pretty much write off the Seminoles, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s only legitimate contender for the inaugural playoff.

On face value, yes, anyone should be able to sell his or her autograph to anyone who wants to buy it. Nevertheless, allowing college athletes to do so would open the floodgates, allowing in the kind of people the NCAA has been trying so hard to keep off its campuses:

They include:

Lawyers

Judge Claudia Wilken recently ruled in the Ed O’Bannon case that the NCAA must allow schools to give athletes some of the money they bring in by licensing an athlete’s name, image and likeness (NIL) to companies.

However, lifting the ban on getting paid for autographs could result in copious lawsuits regarding Title IX, the legislation designed to level the playing field and give women the same opportunities in athletics as men.

It says: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Additionally, with the power-five conferences twisting the NCAA’s arms to have more autonomy, it looks like student-athletes in all sports could soon get a significant stipend to help with cost-of-living expenses.

Boosters

“I will give you (fill in the blank) for your autograph if you attend (fill in the blank) school.”

That would end college athletics as we know them today because recruiting would become nothing more than a bidding war.

Agents

Page 8: Clips 2014

There would be more runners and “unofficial” workers of agents doing everything they could to line up players, and there would be no real way to stop them.

Remember Saban’s controversial statement in 2010 comparing rogue agents to pimps who entrap athletes without repercussions? With this, the comparison might be more like The Walking Dead.

What no one is talking about is that the players previously mentioned didn’t need the money. Did Johnny Manziel last year when he was flying around the country to attend major sporting events? Of course not.

Scholarships provide a lot, including tuition, food, equipment and numerous things that most people don’t think about.

“Everybody knows what a scholarship is worth -- that's pretty easy to figure out -- but to do on a per-player basis, what we invest in the player to try to help them be successful,” Saban said in the spring. “We spent like $600,000 last year on personal development programs, all things that directly affect the player having a chance to be successful. I can't even tell you what our academic support budget is, trying to invest in a player and what is the value of him getting an education and graduating from school here? Not just the value of the scholarship. What's the value of him getting an education?

“How much do we actually reinvest in quality of support staff to help develop players that may have a chance to go on and play at the next level, have great college careers, have a chance to win a championship. Pretty significant budget around here, that if you look at it, it really is invested back in the players.”

Under the current setup it’s not like student-athletes can’t sign autographs for money for the rest of their lives, just the years they’re on active rosters, and it’s about the only thing they give up when inking their scholarship papers. That’s not asking for much, and in turn they get the opportunity to earn a degree and live fuller lives.

But somewhere the line has to be drawn.

These football players knew the rules and they knew the penalties. It’s just plain sad when a little responsibility is too much to ask.

4. Another Alabama-LSU game for the ages as Tide wins 20-13 in OTNov. 9

Page 9: Clips 2014

BATON ROUGE, La. — If you’re a fan of mythology or maybe just Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you’re familiar with the idea of having to pass difficult tests to prove being worthy of a quest.

It’s what the University of Alabama football team is going through this November as it tries to land a spot in the inaugural college football playoffs.

Coming off its bye the No. 5 Crimson Tide was looking at having to visit the toughest venue in college football followed by the toughest team in the nation and then play in the toughest rivalry. Win all three and Alabama is guaranteed a spot in the SEC Championship Game and a victory away from the inaugural four-team playoff.

Granted, it’s not “Answer thee these questions three,” but the mythology angle sort of fits.

No. 1 Mississippi State, which visits Bryant-Denny Stadium next week, is kind of like the Scylla, the monster that lived on the other side of a geographic division, albeit a state border instead of a channel of water, and Auburn is similar to the Sirens. With its no-huddle spread offense that tries to get defenses confused, it’s the equivalent of sailors shipwrecking on the rocky coast of their island.

Saturday was reminiscent of facing the Cyclops in his lair, but instead of a single eye in the middle of his forehead he bore a big hat with purple lettering and grass sticking out of his mouth.

"It's Saturday Night in Death Valley ...” the speakers blared to 102,321 fans with the aim of invoking fear in those who dared to trespass, and then LSU tried to pound No. 5 Alabama into submission.

It very nearly worked, but like with a Greek odyssey there was a moment that all hope seemed lost, a hero, and a surprise element that no one saw coming.

The low point of course, came when junior running back T.J. Yeldon fumbled, giving the Tigers first down at the Alabama 6-yard line with 1:13 remaining and the score 10-10. Considering that LSU had dominated the third quarter and would finish with 183 rushing yards, the Crimson Tide looked more than doomed.

Saban’s message to his defense was: “This is when you show you know how to win,” and then aided by a personal-foul penalty only gave up a field goal with time still left on the clock.

The hero was senior quarterback Blake Sims, who had struggled most of the game and would finish 20 of 45 for 209 yards, but led a 47-second drive to get Alabama into field-goal range. Making up for an earlier attempt that clanged off

Page 10: Clips 2014

the left post, sophomore Adam Griffith drilled the 27-yard field goal to send the game into overtime, 13-13.

“That was big,” Sims said.

Following Reuben Foster’s attempt to send Leonard Fournette back into the dark ages with a vicious hit on a kick return, which only gave Alabama even more momentum, offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin dialed up his secret weapon. Brandon Greene, who has gone back and forth between tackle and tight end, entered the game and was left wide open over the middle for a 24-yard gain.

“I was like all right, here we go,” Greene said about the first pass thrown his way – ever. “Everyone on the sideline was telling me to just catch it and tuck … and I caught it man.”

That set up the fatal blow to LSU, the pass to junior wide receiver DeAndrew White, who had missed a big reception earlier in the game.

“I had to get that ball,” White said after the defense held and pandemonium on the Alabama side finally subsided with the scoreboard reading 20-13. It was reminiscent of Alabama’s win here two years ago, but this one even left Saban shaking his head a little before he kissed his wife and said, “That was hard.”

Test No. 2 comes next week.

5. Hunger the key to Alabama’s “resurrection” seasonAug. 29

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ It’s been nearly eight months of hearing about nothing else. Every day someone’s brought up how the University of Alabama football team lost its last two games of the 2013 season, the dramatic defeat to its biggest rival after time expired and how its defensive weakness is apparently to no-huddle spread offenses.

The Crimson Tide knows better on that last one, but that doesn’t mean everyone isn’t tired of the constant reminders.

“You get sick of hearing everything,” senior safety Nick Perry said. “It’s that and some other stuff, but we just kind of want to prove that ’Bama’s back on top. We want to restate order and get back on top of the SEC.”

For the most part it was a quiet offseason in Tuscaloosa, with the rest of the college football world enjoying that for the first time since 2010 another program is the reigning champion. Nobody mentions that it was led by Nick Saban disciples or that Auburn beat Alabama on a special-teams play, but that’s fine. It

Page 11: Clips 2014

has all only helped motivate the Crimson Tide throughout the spring and summer much like the 2010 team’s eventual failures inspired the 2011 run.

At least that what Saban’s hoped, because in terms of pure talent this is his most loaded roster to date.

“I like this team,” the coach repeatedly said during the past month when the Crimson Tide went through 29 practices as part of the buildup to Saturday’s season opener against West Virginia at the Georgia Dome (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2).

He’s liked the players’ approach. He’s liked the camaraderie. He’d like to see a couple more standout leaders, but considering the focus of the entire team, from top to bottom, that may not be necessary. More players are involved – for example Alabama is taking 13 defensive linemen to Atlanta, the most yet for the coach -- and consequently they have more at stake.

All indications are that they have, to use Saban’s preferred term, “bought in.”

That doesn’t mean the Crimson Tide doesn’t have some major question marks. There’s no proven players at arguably the three spots a coach wants them the most: quarterback, cornerback and left tackle. More depth would be preferred at linebacker and Alabama will have both a new kicker and true freshman at punter.

Saban couldn’t do much about all that except get the players in those spots as ready as possible and prepare contingency plans. For the program as a whole, though, he called for a resurrection of its identity, and even went so far as to bring back members of his original coaching staff at Alabama in 2007 to help make it happen.

“I think he just means that we need to be one,” senior right tackle Austin Shepherd said. “We don’t need to be little pods of people in groups. When he talks about it to us, he just says that we need to be a group, get out there, play together, and then once you’re off the field you guys need to hang out because that means you guys are going to click better on the field.”

But as senior fullback Jalston Fowler put it, it also means to “Just get back to playing physical and tough.”

Alabama’s reputation is to grind away on offense and for the defense to get off the field as quickly as possible, something last year’s team had some trouble with when facing quarterbacks like Johnny Manziel, Nick Marshall and Trevor Knight.

The Crimson Tide was actually pretty good last season. After leading the nation in scoring defense during its back-to-back national titles in 2011 and 2012, it was fourth in 2013, allowing 13.9 points per contest.

Page 12: Clips 2014

It still managed to lead the SEC in total defense for the sixth straight season, whereas no program in league history had previously managed to do that for more than two consecutive seasons. Since 2009 Alabama has given up the fewest touchdowns in the nation with 91 over 67 games, 36 fewer than the second most (LSU with 127).

But that’s the difference between being pretty good and dominating. It means recapturing the hunger that took Alabama to the SEC Championship Game in 2008, and three titles over the subsequent four seasons. West Virginia will be the first of 12-plus barometers this fall.

“We've always been known as a defense that's unstoppable,” junior safety Landon Collins said. “You can't run the ball or throw the ball on us. That's how we want to portray our defense like we did in previous years.”

Game story:

1. Crimson Tide will remember 2014 SEC title as truly something special,Dec. 6

ATLANTA — When it came time for Nick Saban to give his quarterback some advice before playing in the biggest game of his life, the University of Alabama coach didn’t exactly hit the mark.

“I told him I want a redo of Cool Hand Luke, and he looks at me and says, ‘Who the hell is that?’” Saban said about the 1967 movie starting Paul Newman about a prisoner who refuses to submit to the system.

The point Saban was trying to make was that he wanted his quarterback not to be too emotional and play with poise and determination.

After the 42-13 victory over Missouri in the SEC Championship Game, though, he could be as emotional as he wanted.

“I don't know that I've ever been so anxious to want to win a game for a group of guys who did a phenomenal job all day long, are working to improve, overcoming adversity, did a great job with their competitive character in some really tough circumstances,” Saban said.

“I've backed them when I needed to back them, and I booted them in the butt when we needed to boot them in the butt, but they've always responded the right

Page 13: Clips 2014

way. I've never wanted a group to have a chance to be successful in a game as I did tonight in winning the SEC Championship.”

Although this was Saban’s fifth SEC title, and third with the Crimson Tide, it stood out for a variety of reasons:

It was led by a quarterback who few thought had a chance to start this season, and also had to work with a new offensive coordinator. The defense had essentially seven new starters and even though the coaches had amassed a lot of talent most of it was on the young and inexperienced side.

Moreover, the SEC West was so tough this season that it caused comparisons to Thomas Hobbes describing the life of man in Leviathan: solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.

In other words, this championship was hoped for, but really not expected, especially after the way last season ended.

Yet here Alabama is, the SEC champion and heading to the inaugural college football playoffs as the likely top seed.

Consequently, the Crimson Tide is going to enjoy this one a little.

“We faced adversity in every game,” junior safety Landon Collins said.

Actually the championship was in many ways like the season. Although many feared an emotional letdown following last week’s Iron Bowl, Alabama blew in, took over from the start and established itself as the team to beat.

Then came the adversity in the form of three long passes: a 32-yard completion on third-and-4, a 63-yard bomb on third-and-10, and a 47-yard throw, again on third-and-10. All involved Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk making something out of nothing, and each came against a different Crimson Tide defender. They resulted in two 33-yard field goals and a 1-yard touchdown pass on fourth down.

Only that was it for Missouri, similar to the eye of a storm passing by. Alabama responded with a 90-yard touchdown drive in which anyone not named Amari Cooper, DeAndrew White or T.J. Yeldon had a big play, Collins forcing and recovering a big fumble, and two Derrick Henry touchdowns.

“Everyone was getting it done and making plays,” said senior wide receiver Christion Jones, who scored on a 6-yard reception and then made the tackle on the subsequent kickoff. “It’s all about patience.”

Page 14: Clips 2014

With that, the Tigers limped back home from Atlanta for the second straight year having been blown out by the SEC West champion – and defensive standout Shane Ray got an early start after being ejected for targeting.

Alabama, meanwhile, acted like it had won its first championship, which for many of the players it was. They didn’t have to play it cool any longer.

“When you look back at some of the things that happened during the season, you look at where we were at against West Virginia or Ole Miss, and some of the weeks we didn’t start out real great,” junior center Ryan Kelly said. “The road that you take to get here, I think that’s what’s special.

We were never perfect or anything like that, there was always a bump in the road and we continued to be resilient.”

“Our chemistry,” senior linebacker Trey DePriest said. “Everyone on our team was making plays and every time something went wrong we kept saying ‘Keep pushing, keep pushing.’

“Every time we just had to have it … ”

So they busted out the championship caps, Sims ran to the stands to grab his daughter, and senior safety Nick Perry put a vice grip down on one of the SEC signs – just like he did in 2011 and 2012.

They hugged, celebrated with fans and then went back to do some more back in Tuscaloosa. Alabama might still have the 24-hour rule to enjoy victories, but this will linger a little past Sunday morning when it finds out the next opponent in New Orleans on Jan. 1.

Maybe by then Sims will have seen the movie his coach was talking about.

“We've got to get that on Netflix or something,” Saban said.

2. Alabama quarterback Blake Sims has night to remember in first start. Aug. 30

It had all been worth it.

After numerous position changes, years as a backup and months of a high-profile quarterback competition to start, fifth-year senior Blake Sims showed why he’s stuck around the University of Alabama for so long, waiting for his opportunity.

Page 15: Clips 2014

While setting program records for most completions and attempts by a quarterback in his debut as a starter, Sims went 24 of 33 for 250 yards and ran for 42 more to help lead No. 2 Alabama to a 33-23 victory against West Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic on Saturday night.

“Felt real good,” he said with a smile afterward. “I’m proud of my team. I’m glad of the way we went out and kept our poise.”

Sims, who initially tried safety, wide receiver and running back before finally becoming a quarterback for the Crimson Tide, didn’t have any touchdowns or any long downfield passes as his biggest play came from senior wide receiver DeAndrew White turning a short catch into a 38-yard gain.

He also wasn’t sacked and had just one interception despite working with a new offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin.

Somewhat similarly the defense played pretty well in spots, especially in the red zone, but it was far from flawless. With two first-time starters at the interior linebacker spots due to Trey DePriest’s one-game suspension, and some continuing problems at cornerback, the Crimson Tide gave up 393 total yards.

The one touchdown it yielded was by wide receiver Kevin White, who got a good chunk of his nine receptions for 143 receiving yards against junior cornerback Bradley Sylve, including a 19-yard touchdown to make the score 10-10 in the second quarter.

West Virginia’s other touchdown came on special teams, a 100-yard kick return by Mario Alford to immediately answer an Alabama score at 17-17.

“They came out in a lot of new formations, we hadn’t seen it on film,” said sophomore defensive end Jonathan Allen, who had one of Alabama’s three sacks. “Nobody panicked.

“Once we started to affect their quarterback, our defense starting taking off.”

Junior safety Landon Collins had something to do with that as well, with one of his team-leading eight tackles being of the vicious variety on an incompletion, and another when Jordan Thompson made the mistake of fielding freshman JK Scott’s first punt of 62 yards at his own 7.

West Virginia managed just 28 rushing yards for the game and 22 total yards in the fourth quarter when it twice went three-and-out. Two other times the Mountaineers had to settle for field goals after having the ball inside the Alabama 10.

“Probably the difference in the game for us,” Nick Saban said.

Page 16: Clips 2014

The longer the game went, though, the more that Alabama physically took control even though it never pulled ahead by more than 10 points. Led by 100-yard performances by three players, while DeAndrew White was on pace to join them before sustaining a separated shoulder, the offense accumulated 538 total yards.

Junior wide receiver Amari Cooper had the most yards with 130 yards on 12 catches, one short of the Crimson Tide’s single-game record set by DJ Hall (2007 vs. Tennessee). Junior running back T.J. Yeldon notched 126 on 23 carries and Derrick Henry 113 on 17 handoffs.

The running backs combined to score three touchdowns and keyed long scoring drives of 14, 13 and 11 plays while Alabama played keep-away with the ball while dominating time of possession, 37:47 to 22:13.

“Their backs were big hard runners,” said West Virginia middle linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, who was credited with 11 tackles (nine solo) while safety Karl Joseph made 18. “The long drives took a toll on us.”

“We wanted to be physical,” senior right tackle Austin Shepherd said. “We set out to do that, we tried to dominate the line of scrimmage, get push. We like those guys to make us look good.”

Yet the night really belonged to Blake, who grew up in nearby Gainesville, Ga., and had been competing with Florida State transfer Jacob Coker through the summer and training camp. Nevertheless, he nearly got pulled in the second quarter when Saban noticed that his quarterback appeared to be rattled and told Coker to start warming up.

“It wasn't in his play, it was he called a couple formations wrong in the huddle, he called a couple plays wrong,” Saban said. “We had to burn a couple timeouts.

“There was confusion on the field. That's when I said to Lane, I said, ‘Hey, let's just go no-huddle and it'll make it a lot simpler for him,' and when we did that he sort of got it back together and then was fine.”

When Alabama finished off one of those long touchdown drives, Sims finally let out the emotion and briefly celebrated with a Tiger Woods-like arm pump -- his favorite moment from the game he’ll never forget.

“I’m just so proud of the guy,” Shepherd said.

3. Blake Sims Leads Charge in Final-Minute Comeback at LSUDec. 30

Page 17: Clips 2014

He didn’t know it at the time, but University of Alabama senior quarterback Blake Sims more than foreshadowed what happened at LSU.

While talking with reporters the previous week the subject of the Crimson Tide’s previous visit to Tiger Stadium came up, when AJ McCarron dramatically led Alabama on what’s been called “The Drive.” The game-winning 72-yard possession lasted just 43 seconds and led to a dramatic 21-17 victory after LSU’s last-ditch effort to answer fell short.

Sims had been on the sideline that night and paid particular attention to McCarron as he guided the offense up the field toward the student section at the toughest venue in college football.

“He got the players talking a lot,” Sims recalled. “Communication’s very good for him. I noticed certain times in the game that he didn’t have to say nothing because the players can look to the sideline or they can look at each other, know the hand signals very well. He kept his composure very well. That was a tight game that year.

“Maybe I can do the same thing.”

What resulted was equally as impressive and could be almost called “The Drive II.”

To set the stage, the Crimson Tide was struggling in the second half against the host Tigers and appeared doomed when junior running back T.J. Yeldon fumbled due to the pain from a defender landing on his ankle, giving LSU a first down at the Alabama 6-yard line with 1:13 remaining and the score 10-10.

Alabama’s defense made a remarkable stand to hold LSU to a field goal with 50 seconds remaining …

After a mistake by LSU, which kicked the ball out of bounds, leaving LSU coach Les Miles with his jaw dropped on the sideline, Alabama got the ball at its 35. The first play was a quick 6-yard pass to tight end O.J. Howard, followed by a downfield incompletion to wide receiver DeAndrew White in which the defender played his arm and not the ball — setting an important precedent for the overtime when LSU fans thought Cyrus Jones should be called for pass interference. On third-and-4, Sims was flushed on a well-time safety blitz to nullify a screen pass, but the quarterback scampered for the first down.

Page 18: Clips 2014

What people forget about the 2012 game was that before completing 4 of 5 passes on the decisive possession, McCarron and the passing game had been ineffective.

After completing 9 of 15 attempts for 93 yards in the first half, he was 1 of 7 for 0 yards before getting the ball at the Alabama 28 with 1:43 on the clock. Alabama had had two passes dropped, two batted down, two broken up and McCarron threw two away en route to finishing 14 of 27 for 165 yards — and the one thing everyone remembers, the last-minute touchdown.

Similarly, the passing game had been anything but proficient. With Alabama continually checking out of runs to try and attack deep, which hadn’t worked, Sims was just 14 of 37 (38 percent) for 129 yards before the crucial possession. His longest completion downfield had been just 10 yards. The Crimson Tide had also converted just 5 of 17 third-down opportunities.

“I'm putting the whole thing on me," Sims said. "If I would have did what I do, the game would have turned out a different way."

With 20 seconds to go at the Alabama 46, Sims again found Howard for a short gain and then hit Amari Cooper on a slant, resulting in a rare drop by the wide receiver. On third down the pass rush again forced Sims to escape, only this time he threw downfield to wide receiver Christion Jones, who made a sliding catch for a 22-yard gain at the 26, which put the Crimson Tide in field-goal range.

The other hero of the 2012 game was T.J. Yeldon, who caught the screen pass that resulted in the 28-yard touchdown that broke the hearts of Tigers fans.

Due to an ankle injury sustained against Tennessee two weeks previous the running back had been limited during the practices leading up to the LSU game, but Alabama likes to put the onus on its best players during big games. So like usual he took the majority of handoffs against the run-tough Tigers.

After LSU pinned the Crimson Tide at its own 1-yard line with 1:56 to go coaches looked to the ground game to get Alabama out of trouble. Yeldon had a 5-yard gain followed by a 3-yard carry in which linebacker Lamar Louis landed on the ankle while making the tackle. The pain on the running back’s face was obvious as he lost control of the ball.

With just 1:13 remaining LSU was poised to beat Alabama for the first time since before the Crimson Tide won their national championship meeting in New

Page 19: Clips 2014

Orleans at the end of the 2011 season. Announcements were being made telling fans not to storm the field.

"I went up to him and told him to keep his head,” Sims said. “'We're going to go win this game. Don't think you lost the game for us because the game ain't over yet. Just go watch, we're going to win this game for you.'"

After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Alabama wanted to get kicker Adam Griffith closer and again looked to White, who made a 16-yard sideline reception at the 10. As the normally raucous crowd continued to get quieter with each snap, perhaps because it had seen this before, Griffith calmly lined up the 27-yard field goal, ironically the same distance of his miss earlier in the game. He drilled it for a 13-13 score.

Coming in the one criticism of Sims was that his numbers on the road were significantly different from at Bryant-Denny Stadium. He was third in the Southeastern Conference in both passing yards and total yards, but the statistic that Alabama coaches paid attention to the most was passing efficiency.

He was fourth in the nation with a 172.68 rating, better than McCarron’s last year as a senior (167.2). At home it was a whopping 209.29 compared to 142.11 everywhere else.

Still, he had shown improvement, including helping lead Alabama to a 27-0 early lead at Tennessee on Oct. 25. But the only last-minute drive he had guided came up short at Ole Miss.

“There was no fear in his eyes,” Cooper said.

Although the 47 second-drive went 55 yards in nine plays, Alabama wasn’t done yet, but combined with one of the hardest hits you’ll ever see, Reuben Foster drilling Leonard Fournette on the subsequent kick return, it had all the momentum. On the first play of overtime, the Crimson Tide showed a different look with five wide including left tackle Cam Robinson faking that he was getting a screen pass to the right. Instead the ball went to the player who had been in his spot, tight end Brandon Greene, who was wide open and nearly scored. It set up White’s 6-yard touchdown reception that held up for the 20-13 victory.

Page 20: Clips 2014

“I was really proud of Blake, because he didn’t have one of his better games, and it was tough,” Nick Saban said. “He hung in there and made some great plays.”

Sims, who said he had no doubt that the Crimson Tide could pull out the win, went 4-for-6 for 50 yards on the drive along with the 5-yard run, and completed both pass attempts in overtime.

“That was big,” he said.

Feature/Breaking

1. Iron Bowl the final home broadcast for Alabama legendNov. 28

Sitting high atop Neyland Stadium in the visitor’s broadcast perch, where the wedged-in University of Alabama radio team was preparing to broadcast the Crimson Tide’s game against Tennessee this season, Tom Roberts reflected on some of his previous trips to Knoxville.

There had been a lot of them over the years, which always had the same determining factor for how good of a trip it would be. That included the first one in 1966, when Roberts was working as the assistant sports editor of the Crimson White student newspaper.

“We left Tuscaloosa at 7 a.m. in a pouring rain, and it rained all day and all through the game,” he said. “That was the one we won when Gary Wright, right down here, kicked it wide right, and we beat the Vols.

“It was wonderful.”

While that game was also highlighted by a 14-play drive led by renowned quarterback Kenny Stabler, with kicker Steve Davis making a 17-yard field goal with 3 minutes and 23 seconds to go for an 11-10 final score, little did Roberts know that it was just the beginning of an illustrious career with Alabama football.

From national championships to highlight after highlight after highlight, Roberts has been there for them all, along with the various coaches and standout players. From being the network’s statistician, a position that he held until turning it over to his son Brian in 1998, he’s nearly the only thing that they all have in common.

“In the summer of ’79, Charlie Thornton called me and said, ‘Tommy, we need someone to do scores on the network. Would you be interested?’ I tell people all of the time, after I got up off the floor I said, ‘Yes! I’ll be happy to do it.’ I never

Page 21: Clips 2014

asked what it would pay or if they would pay for my travel or anything. I was just excited to be on the radio network.”

For years Thornton was Alabama’s assistant athletic director and Alabama’s chief fundraiser, but perhaps best known as being a co-host of the Bear Bryant Show. Meanwhile, Roberts’ “day job” at the time was at WVTM-TV in Birmingham, where over the years he served as a producer, assignment editor, assistant news director, news and sports anchor/reporter. He continued to work in the news and sports departments until taking over as the station’s news director from 1994-99.

On Saturdays, though, he was at Bryant-Denny Stadium or wherever the Crimson Tide was scheduled to play, and his enthusiasm has never waivered.

Nevertheless, when Alabama hosts Auburn this week it'll be Roberts' last home game in the broadcast booth. At the end of this season he's retiring as Director of Broadcasting at Crimson Tide Sports Network, a role held since 1999.

While some know him as the host of the game-day broadcast, the pre-game and halftime shows, and the man behind the microphone for both “Hey Coach” and “The Nick Saban Show,” Roberts has also been the network’s key person behind the scenes as well.

He’s the one who has worked out the contracts with all of the radio stations throughout the state and region to carry Crimson Tide broadcasts – from Nashville to Apalachicola, Fla. -- which annually brings in millions in revenue.

“He’s been our leader both on the air and off, seemingly forever,” said Eli Gold, who is now in his third decade as the voice of the Crimson Tide. “He’s done it all, he’s been part of it forever,”

“There’s nobody who doesn’t know Tom Roberts’ voice. We’ll miss him.”

In turn, Roberts will miss the others on the broadcast team as well, especially the dinner buddies. Among the things the Crimson Tide radio road crew is especially known for is eating at the most desirable restaurant the night before road games. At many places they don’t even need a reservation anymore.

“I’m going to miss the atmosphere on the road,” Roberts said. “I’ll won’t miss the trips. I’ll miss eating. We have a great place to eat in every town we go to. I’m going to miss those.”

Well, Roberts still plans to eat well, just in different circumstances as he and his new wife hope to travel a lot, but also spend more time with their families. Many of the stories he could tell would be worth a lot more than any tip he could leave.

Page 22: Clips 2014

Among the scores of prized memories the national championship games stand out, including Alabama’s win over Miami for the 1992 title and the dominating victory over Notre Dame at the end of the 2012 season. There’s all the venues, the bowls he’s worked, and the games against that “other” traditional opponent as well.

“Wins over Auburn come in there pretty close, too, because they are the rival, and after Cam Newton in Tuscaloosa it became No. 1 on my list,” Roberts said. “Tennessee had always been No. 1 to me. It’s kind of 1 and 1A, now.”

Roberts doesn’t know yet when and where his last game broadcast will originate, only that it’ll be over the next couple of months depending on how well the Crimson Tide finishes up this season. Perhaps it’ll be at a bowl game, but he can’t help but wonder what being part of the inaugural College Football Playoff would be like, with semifinal games at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, and then the championship at A&T Stadium in Texas.

“Obviously I’d love to be playing Jan. 12th in Dallas,” Roberts said. “It would be so wonderful to close it out with a national championship. But if we don’t it won’t be the end of the world because I’ve seen so many great teams, great coaches, great players down through the years. It’s fun regardless.”

Outside of that?

“A win over Auburn,” he answered as a final wish. “You’d love your last regular-season game to be a win over the arch-rival.”

So for now Alabama’s 34-20 victory on Oct. 25 is holding him over: The final time he made the trek to Tennessee, sat in that radio booth and watched the fans in orange try and deal with another loss.

“It is fun to win them, and this place, Tennessee is the most fun of all,” he said. “It’s so much fun to win in this stadium.”

Project: Reclaiming the crown, July 21-25

PART I: Attitude

It comes up each and every day.

Page 23: Clips 2014

Chris Davis catching the missed 57-yard field-goal attempt, racing up the sideline and going more than 100 yards into the end zone as time expired. While the home-team sideline erupted and fans stormed the field, most of the University of Alabama players were simply stunned.

That’s how the Crimson Tide’s reign of college football ended last season, with the incredible 34-28 loss at rival Auburn. It subsequently lost in the Sugar Bowl as well, 45-31 to Oklahoma, but it’s the play now referred to as “Kick Six” that the players can’t get away from at the practice facilities or at home.

Only now it’s being used as motivation, which is why the players are purposely being reminded when they’re in the weight room, locker room or running drills. Even if they weren’t fans still regularly ask about the play and it remains a regular fixture on television.

“I get sick,” junior safety Landon Collins said. “I have to turn the TV (channel).”

Consequently, the Crimson Tide has been working hard during this past offseason to make sure that there will be no repeat; that it rebounds and responds to the way last season ended. Of course there’s only one way to do that, climb back to the top and challenge for another national championship after winning three of the previous five.

If it doesn’t, the Auburn loss won’t just be remembered for ending Alabama’s attempt at becoming the first team during the modern age to three-peat, but it could be known for derailing the Nick Saban dynasty.

Yet few believe that’s what is actually occurring.

Last week, voters in the Southeastern Conference’s poll for Media Days overwhelmingly made Alabama the favorite to win the league championship. Specifically, the Crimson Tide was named on 153 of 293 ballots while Auburn, which played in the final BCS title game, received 75 votes.

“It’s great to have that type of respect,” Collins said.

It followed suit to what most preseason publications and rankings projected, with Alabama second only to reigning national champion Florida State. Even among the dissenters, like The Sporting News opting for Oklahoma at No. 1, the Crimson Tide is considered a strong contender to be one of the four teams invited to participate in the first playoff.

Yet even though Alabama was just one play away from a perfect regular season in 2013, the past few months have been all about getting back to the basics, or re-creating the attitude when Saban first had the program on the rise — like

Page 24: Clips 2014

when a 1980s movie has a montage about someone or a group trying to rediscover whatever it was that initially led to success.

“There's a lot of things that when you try to re-establish an identity that are very, very important,” Saban said. “The first thing is everybody's got to trust in the principles and values that helped you be successful to start with. No questioning anything, no judging anything. You've got to just do it.

“That's what's helped us be successful in the past. Players didn't question it. They just went out and did it, they believed in it, they thought it would help them be successful and that's the way it needs to be. The degree you can get that done is probably how much we will re-establish our identity.”

In coach-speak the term for this is one everyone recognizes, “buy in.”

“You have to trust in it, you've got to believe in it, you've got to check your ego at the door, not be selfish about it, do your part, do your role,” Saban said. “You've got to serve other people.

“You need leadership, you need people affecting each other.”

Although there are numerous theories about what went wrong with the Crimson Tide at the end of the 2013 season, almost none have anything to do with talent.

“We just didn’t come out ready to play,” was Collins’ response this past week, and senior wide receiver Christion Jones told reporters that he thought former quarterback A.J. McCarron’s comments blaming the younger players were unfair.

Others have suggested that there were too many distractions, and an entitled feeling surrounding the team. After Alabama defeated LSU, 38-17, on Nov. 9, the team played as if the championship would almost be a formality.

“We kind of lost focus on what the mission was last season,” senior nose tackle Brandon Ivory said in the spring. “Felt it then. I saw it at the end.”

Saban talked openly of being spoiled by success, which is something he’s seen with the fans as well, and that the players simply didn’t work hard enough.

Sometimes you just have to learn things the hard way.

“Playing for Alabama, we have such a winning atmosphere that you don’t know what it’s like to lose,” junior wide receiver Amari Cooper said. “I think it has definitely humbled us.”

So Saban and company got back to work. In February it was the unanimous choice among national recruiting services for having the best incoming class --

Page 25: Clips 2014

again. Of the three coaches added to the staff two were returning, which helped steer the program back into familiar territory.

But the one thing Saban had to change and have was that buy-in factor, beginning in the spring, because without that it doesn’t matter who the starting quarterback is or who might win the open jobs in the secondary.

Last year proved that, so he’s been reminding the players that they could have easily played for the national championship again last season and didn’t. That’s why the Davis play hurt so much.

“It's not about leading differently, because every leader on the team has the same goal,” Jones said. “It's all about being consistent and how long are you going to lead the team through the ups and downs. The difference between the 2011 and 2012 teams was even though we lost a game leadership didn't let the team bow down, which was kind of different with the team last year. There was a lot of small things that the leadership let get by, didn't concern themselves with, that it should have, which led on to what happened.

“Now, we're really paying attention to detail and the little things and trying to correct the small things, so that the small things in the end won't be the bigger problem. We've got to be consistent.”

Overall, it wasn’t quite hitting the reset button, but the Crimson Tide again feels like it has something to prove. So cue the music from the original Karate Kid movie, followed by the training sequence from Rocky IV …

“It makes you hungry,” Cooper said. “It makes you aware of how losing feels, and you don’t want to feel that way again.”

PART II: Coaching

Mario Cristobal, Lane Kiffin, Kevin Steele, Bobby Williams and, of course, Nick Saban.

All of them are football coaches for the University of Alabama, but they also have something else in common that will have a direct impact on the Crimson Tide this season.

They’ve all been head coaches at the Bowl Subdivision level, and that’s not a coincidence.

“I think it kind of goes both ways,” said Saban, who has been the head coach at Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995-99), LSU (2000-04), and Alabama (2007-present) in addition to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins (2005-06). “I think you learn a

Page 26: Clips 2014

little from them, I think they learn a little from you. I think you can make subtle changes in what you do to make it more effective because of the input you get from your staff.

“The more experience that your staff has, obviously I think the better they understand the big picture and have the kind of foresight that you need to have that you know when you make changes, what the cause and effect of those changes are going to be.”

With director of player personnel Kevin Steele getting back in to coaching and sliding over to again handle the Crimson Tide’s interior linebackers, half of the staff has head coaching experience. He had that role at Baylor (1999-2002), while Cristobal led Florida International (2007-12), Williams replaced Saban at Michigan State (1999-2002), and Kiffin has guided three different teams since 2007 (Tennessee 2009, Southern California 2010-13 and Oakland Raiders 2007-08).

One would think that’s a record, but neither the National Collegiate Athletic Association nor the National Football League could confirm. Additional inquiries with the pro football and college football hall of fames, football historians, and the Southeastern Conference found no one who could recall a similar situation.

“I’ve never seen that before,” said Grant Teaff, who has served as the Executive Director of the American Football Coaches Association since February 1994. “Maybe it’s happened, but not to my knowledge.”

It certainly has the attention of the college football world, though.

Usually things work the other way around with most assistant coaches trying to work their way up to becoming head coaches, and when they get there don’t necessarily want to be looking over their shoulder. There’s also what Bruce Feldman of FoxSports.com pointed out, that “some head coaches probably wouldn't want guys who have been used to running their own show.”

That obviously hasn’t been the case for Saban at Alabama. Going back to his initial Alabama coaching staff in 2007 it included Steele and Williams, Joe Pendry, who had been a head coach at the professional level in the United States Football League, and Curt Cignetti, who has since become the head coach at Division II Indiana University (Penn.).

“New energy, new enthusiasm, new ideas to do some things offensively that would enhance our chances of being successful,” Saban said about Kiffin, who was hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “I'm really excited to have the opportunity to work with him.”

Page 27: Clips 2014

He also added about the 39-year-old who used to coach one of Alabama’s biggest rivals: “I was a head coach once and went back and worked as an assistant, and that's a difficult transition for anybody. I think Lane has certainly handled that very, very well.

Kiffin and Steele were two of the Crimson Tide’s three offseason coaching moves, the other being defensive line coach Bo Davis. He too was on the 2007 staff and like Steele, wide receivers coach Billy Napier and linebackers coach Lance Thompson, left Alabama only to eventually return to the Capstone.

“What struck me is that it would be five guys who came back to work for Saban, whom everyone loves to describe as so difficult to work for,” ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel said. “I think it speaks to the level of success that Saban has had. You can debate whether these guys are good assistants or not. But he has their respect.”

To give an idea of how rare it is for a former Bowl Subdivision head coach to be on a Division I staff, there are just four serving as assistants on the other 13 Southeastern Conference teams combined: Cam Cameron (LSU), Ellis Johnson (Auburn), Randy Shannon (Arkansas), and Mark Snyder (Teas A&M). Florida wide receivers coach Joker Phillips was also on that list before his recent resignation.

A couple more have administrative roles like Steve Kragthorpe at LSU and Rockey Felker with Mississippi State, while Tennessee assistant coach Steve Stripling was the interim coach for Central Michigan in the 2012 Belk Bowl.

Specific to the Crimson Tide, excluding those who served as interim coaches (Joe Kines, Mac McWhorter, Sal Sunseri and Jeff Stoutland), in the pros (Pendry), or at another level (Cignetti and Rick Rhoades), there have been 51 assistant coaches who at some point of their careers served as a head coach at the Bowl Subdivision level.

Prior to Saban’s arrival, just 15 were head coaches before serving a stint as an Alabama assistant coach. There were just four instances in which two were on the same staff together: 1946, 1989, 1994, 1997.

“There's more organization because you've got guys who had to run programs, and know how important organization and communication are,” Matt Hayes of the Sporting News said. “Also, you've got guys with something to prove. If they're no longer head coach, they've likely been fired once they reached the pinnacle of their profession.”

Combined, Saban’s current assistants were 87-121 as head coaches at the Bowl Subdivision level, with Kiffin having the only winning record (35-21, but 5-15 at the NFL level). While defensive coordinator and safeties coach Kirby Smart

Page 28: Clips 2014

appears to be only waiting for the right head-coaching job to come along, it might only be a matter of time before Cristobal and Kiffin get another chance somewhere.

On the flip side, during the 2013 season there were more than 10 former Saban assistant coaches working as a head coach in either the pros or collegiate ranks, with nearly another 20 serving as coordinators. Among them Jimbo Fisher led Florida State to the national championship, Mark Dantonio guided Michigan State to the Rose Bowl, and Jim McElwain took Colorado State to its first bowl game since 2008.

“I have been extremely impressed with Coach Saban over the years,” Teaff said. “I’ve watched him, and while I’m not as close to him as some of the other coaches over the years, he is extremely meticulous and thorough.

“I have not seen him make mistakes. You see him with the recruits that he’s recruiting and the people he has around him and there’s usually not a mistake.”

Teaff once had a former head coach on his staff and liked having someone with that kind of experience around, especially when he wasn’t in the room during meetings. If there was a question about responsibilities or how something should proceed, no one had to wait for a decision although everyone still knew who had the final word.

“A lot of that depends on leadership because head coaches are different from assistant coaches,” Teaff said, the former Baylor head coach (1972-92) who is enshrined in eight different halls of fame. “They wrestle through the ranks, they earn their stripes, they become head coaches and so they will have more of a tendency to think like head coaches.

“It takes a great leader to not only select the right one, but to lead former head coaches in the direction the program needs to go. I think that again falls under the direction of the genius that is Nick Saban. He is one guy who can do that without question.”

Summarized Teaff, who recently had Saban as a marquee speaker at this year’s AFCA convention in Indianapolis: “I know that he’ll make it work.”

Alabama assistants who were also head coachesAlabama assistant coaches, pre-Nick Saban (2007), who also became head coaches at the Bowl Subdivision level during their careers. Those bolded indicate that they were a head coach before a stint as an Alabama assistant coach:

Page 29: Clips 2014

Bruce Arians 1981-82, 1997; Temple 1983-88Charles Bernier 1920; Virginia Tech 1917-19; Hampden-Sydney 1925, 1938John Bobo 1986; Arkansas State 1993-95Tommy Bowden 1987-89; Tulane 1997-98, Clemson 1997-2008Charley Bradshaw 1959-61; Kentucky 1962-68Paul W. “Bear” Bryant 1936-39; Maryland 1945, Kentucky 1946-53, Texas A&M 1954-57, Alabama 1958-82Neil Callaway 1997-2000; UAB 2007-11Pete Cawthon 1942; Texas Tech 1932-40Jerry Claiborne 1958-60; Virginia Tech 1961-70, Maryland 1972-81, Kentucky 1982-89Sylvester Croom 1976-86; Mississippi State 2004-08John David Cow 1969-71; Louisiana-Monroe 1976-80Phil Cutchin 1958-62; Oklahoma State 1963-68Paul Davis 1981-82; Mississippi State 1962-66Red Drew 1931-41, 1945; Birmingham-Southern 1924, Ole Miss 1946, Alabama 1947-54Mike DuBose 1983-86, 1990-96; Alabama 1997-2000Pat Dye 1965-73; East Carolina 1974-79, Wyoming 1980, Auburn 1981-92Rockey Felker 1983-85; Mississippi State 1986-90Danny Ford 1959-69; Clemson 1978-89; Arkansas 1993-97Curley Hallman 1973-76, 1996-97; Southern Miss 1988-90, LSU 1991-94George Henshaw 1983-86; Tulsa 1987Dixie Howell 1946; Arizona State 1938-41, Idaho 1947-50Rob Ianello 1987-89; Akron 2010-11Ellis Johnson 1990-93, 1997-2000; Southern Miss 2012Al Kincaid 1974-75, 1989; Wyoming 1981-85, Arkansas State 1990-91Tom Lieb 1946-50; Loyola Marymount 1933-38; Florida 1940-45Jim McElwain 2008-2011; Colorado State 2012-13Bud Moore 1972-74; Kansas 1975-78Jess Neely 1928-30; Clemson 1931-39; Rice 1940-66B.J. Noonjin, 1915-16; Samford 1912Bill Oliver 1971-79, 1990-95; Chattanooga 1980-81; Auburn 1998Charley Pell 1963; Clemson 1977-78, Florida 1979-84J.G. Pritchard 1907; LSU 1909Tom Rogers 1966-70; Wake Forest 1951-55Rip Scherer 1987; Memphis 1995-2000Howard Schnellenberger 1961-65; Miami 1979-83, Louisville 1985-94, Oklahoma 1995, Florida Atlantic 2004-11Jimmy Sharpe 1963-73; Virginia Tech 1974-77Steve Sloan 1968-70; Vanderbilt 1973-74, Texas Tech 1975-77, Ole Miss 1978-82, Duke 1983-86Homer Smith 1988-89, 1994; Davidson 1965-69; Pacific 1970-71; Army 1974-78Gene Stallings 1958-64; Texas A&M 1965-71; Alabama 1990-96Dabo Swinney 1996-2000; Clemson 2008-13John Thompson 1987; East Carolina 2003-04; Arkansas State 2012-13

Page 30: Clips 2014

Carl Torbush 2001-02; North Carolina 1997-2000Bob Tyler 1971; Mississippi State 1973-78; North Texas 1981Bully Vandegraaff 1921-26; Colorado College 1926-37J.B. Whitworth 1932-34; Oklahoma State 1950-54, Alabama 1955-57Richard Williamson 1964-71; Memphis 1975-80Sparky Woods 2003-06; South Carolina 1989-93

The Saban coaching treeHaving worked for Nick Saban can look awfully good on a resume, but none of his former protégés have beaten him as a head coach yet. Assistants who have gone on to be head coaches after working for Saban (through 2013):

Name, head coaching job (initial assistant coach role under Saban)Curt Cignetti, Indiana University (Pennsylvania), 2011-13 (Alabama wide recovers 2007-10)Mark Dantonio, Cincinnati 2004-06, Michigan State 2007-13 (Michigan State defensive backs 1995-2000)Derek Dooley, Louisiana Tech 2007-10, Tennessee 2010-12 (LSU tight ends 2000-02, LSU running backs/special teams 2003-04), Miami Dolphins tight ends 2005-06)Jimbo Fisher, Florida State 2010-13 (LSU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks 2000-06)Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys 2011-13 (Miami Dolphins quarterbacks 2005-06)Michael Haywood, Miami (Ohio) 2009-10 (LSU running backs/special teams 1995-2002)Scott Linehan, St. Louis Rams 2006-08 (Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator 2005)Jim McElwain, Colorado State, 2012-13, Alabama offensive coordinator 2008-11Mike Mularkey, Jacksonville Jaguars 2012 (Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator 2006)Will Muschamp, Florida 2011-13 (LSU defensive coordinator/linebackers 2001-04, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator 2005)Pat Shurmur, Cleveland Browns 2011-12 (Michigan State tight ends coach 1990-97)Bobby Williams, Michigan State 2000-02 (Michigan State running backs 1990-99)Sal Sunseri 2009-11; Pittsburgh 1992-i

i – interim

PART III : Recruiting

Page 31: Clips 2014

It was the most talked about quote from the Southeastern Conference’s Media Days last week, although Steve Spurrier insists that he wasn’t taking a verbal shot at University of Alabama coach Nick Saban … at least not this time.

“I think they've had five number one recruiting classes out of the last six years, which has got to make him the greatest recruiter in the history of college football,” the South Carolina coach said. “Arguably, they've got the greatest collection of football players ever assembled for a college team if the recruiting services are correct, and they're pretty much correct.

“So they're the favorites.”

Those who have been around the league and Spurrier for some time immediately recognized and noted two things from his comments, that: 1) The Ol’ Ball Coach believes he has a really good team this year and could potentially see Alabama in the SEC title game, and 2) He’s essentially correct.

Although the numbers vary with each recruiting service, according to 247Sports the Crimson Tide has failed to have the nation’s best recruiting class only once since 2008 (2010).

“I give him credit for it,” continued Spurrier, who mentioned that he had only two top-rated classes when he was at Florida (1990-2001). “They do it the right way. He runs a good program. It's just amazing to me how they've been able to stack and keep loading up players every year.”

In addition to measuring incoming talent, those rankings have also been a decent indicator of which teams may be in the national title hunt a couple of years later.

Of course Alabama has won three of the last five crystal footballs, but Notre Dame was second in 2008, LSU in 2009, and Florida State was second in both 2011 and 2012.

Consequently, even though Alabama has question marks at arguably the three most crucial spots this season -- quarterback, offensive line and cornerback – it’s still considered the prohibitive favorite to win the conference title.

Granted, the SEC preseason media poll usually predicts the champion poorly, getting it right just four times since 1992 (18 percent) and not once with Alabama, it also had nine Crimson Tide players tabbed as first-team All-SEC.

That Alabama is loaded at so many other spots, including all the playmaker positions, is why so many people including ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill are so high on the Tide.

Page 32: Clips 2014

“There are so many components that go it, but I know one component that you (must) have to have a chance and that’s talent,” Luginbill said. “You have to have a quarterback and you have to have talent. If you have a quarterback and you have talent, you have an opportunity, in my opinion, every year to compete for some level of a championship.

“Coaching is one thing, but you have to have the thoroughbreds in the stable to run the race.”

If there were no other factors like scheduling or injuries, Luginbill said that if he had to pick the playoff favorites based on talent alone “Alabama certainly comes to mind.” The other schools he mentioned were Oklahoma, Ohio State “is close,” Oregon “maybe,” and Florida State.

Here’s why. Going back to 247’s rankings, which uses a star system with a 5-star player being the best and able to make an immediate impact, Alabama has 15 players who were rated as 5-star recruits on the roster, six on offense and nine on defense.

There’s also a whopping 50 4-star players, which combined with the 5 stars make up an incredible 76.5 percent of the 85-man roster.

That’s what Spurrier was referring to, but as Luginbill alluded to the key to the Crimson Tide’s season may be a player who wasn’t on the Media Day All-SEC ballot because he has yet to even participate in an official practice.

Jacob Coker, a transfer from Florida State, still has to compete with senior Blake Sims and redshirt freshman Cooper Bateman for the starting job. He’s obviously considered the player to watch at quarterback during training camp, but has a long way to go and no one knows how well he’ll work with new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Lane Kiffin.

“He’s never been in an Alabama uniform before, he has no rapport, he has no understanding of what the guys around him strengths are,” said ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, a former Crimson Tide quarterback under Saban. “If I was in his shoes, yes, I would struggle in that situation.”

Although Coker was initially considered a three-star recruit many consider the 6-foot-5 player with a strong arm to be the most physically-talented quarterback Saban’s had at Alabama yet. So while McElroy predicts a two-loss season for the Crimson Tide, the second being to Spurrier in the SEC Championship Game, he considers the numerous unproven quarterbacks to be the league’s biggest story this fall.

Page 33: Clips 2014

“According to everyone I talk to he’s the real deal,” McElroy continued about Coker. “I’m anxious to see him in person. I think he’s going to have a good year, but I’m really curious, I still think he’s a tremendous question mark.

“I think he’ll realize quickly that being the quarterback at the University of Alabama is 50 percent playing the game and 50 percent being the leader everyone expects you to be, dealing with the media, living the life day in, day out. (It’s) all those things and respecting the fans and appreciating the fans, because that’s part of the aspect that makes Alabama a really special place to go to school. The fans and the passion are tremendous.”

Meanwhile, early enrollee Cam Robinson is slated to start at left tackle while fellow 5-star rookies Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey could challenge for playing time at cornerback. Sophomore Eddie Jackson is coming off a knee injury and the spring starters were a pair of converted wide receivers who now have some experience under their belt, Bradley Sylve and Cyrus Jones.

But for a little perspective go back to the 2009 recruiting class, of which reserve Antony Orr is the only player remaining on the roster and already has his degree. There’s been five first-round selections in the NFL Draft (James Carpenter, D.J. Fluker, Dre Kirkpatrick, Trent Richardson and Chance Warmack), an NFL Rookie of the Year (Eddie Lacy), and 11 players are set to be in NFL training camps this year.

“I really do think the most accurate way to be able to rank any recruiting class would be three years down the road, because I think the challenge for all these young men that got recruited today, wherever they're going, is to be able to stay focused on what they need to do to improve as players and do the things that they need to do to become very effective college football players,” Saban said on National Signing Day. “And it is a challenge to go from high school to college. Maybe the biggest challenge of all, maybe even more so going from college to the NFL.”

Meanwhile, this past May, Texas A&M had three players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, and became just the fifth program during the common draft era to have a first-round pick at least four straight years: Alabama (2009-14), Miami (FL) 2002-05, Ohio State 1994-97 and Southern California 1993-97.

However, after Mike Evans, Johnny Manziel and Jake Matthews, the Aggies didn’t have any other players selected.

“You look at the top of our league, LSU, Alabama have nine and eight guys drafted, that speaks to depth across the board, whether they're seniors, juniors, underclassmen or not,” Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. “For us to be where we need to be, we need to be talented but we need to increase our depth.”

Page 34: Clips 2014

Alabama eligibility trackerName, Class, Stars as a recruit, Overall national rank (247Sports)Quarterbacks (5)David Cornwell, 2014, 4, 79Cooper Bateman, 2013, 4, 80Blake Sims, 2010, 4, 275*Jacob Coker, 2011, 3, 532 (FSU)Alec Morris, 2012, 3, 569

Running backs (7)Derrick Henry, 2013, 5, 12Bo Scarbrough, 2014, 5, 16-zT.J. Yeldon, 2012, 5, 28Altee Tenpenny, 2013, 4, 53Tyren Jones, 2013, 4, 66Kenyan Drake, 2012, 4, 130-yJalston Fowler, 2010, 4, 220

Wide receivers (9)Robert Foster, 2013, 5, 23Chris Black, 2012, 4, 45Amari Cooper, 2012, 4, 46Cameron Sims, 2014, 4, 84ArDarius Stewart, 2013, 4, 86DeAndrew White, 2010, 4, 107Derek Kief, 2014, 4, 221Raheem Falkins, 2013, 3, 361Christion Jones, 2011, 3, 365*

Tight ends (5)O.J. Howard, 2013, 5, 19Malcolm Faciane, 2011, 4, 190Brian Vogler, 2010, 4, 228Kurt Freitag, 2012, 3, 480Ty Flournoy-Smith, 2014, 3, 103 (JC)-x

Offensive line (15)Cam Robinson, 2014, 5, 4Grant Hill, 2013, 4, 61Ross Pierschbacher, 2014, 4, 74Brandon Greene, 2012, 4, 125Dominick Jackson, 2014, 4, 2 (JC)JC Hassenauer, 2014, 4, 172Arie Kouandjio, 2010, 4, 173Ryan Kelly, 2011, 4, 237Alphonse Taylor, 2012, 4, 266

Page 35: Clips 2014

Joshua Casher, 2014, 4, 280Leon Brown, 2013, 4, 19 (JC)Isaac Luatua, 2011, 3, 391Montel McBride, 2014, 3, 422-zBradley Bozeman, 2013, 3, 471Austin Shepherd, 2010, 3, 623

Defensive line (15)Da’Shawn Hand, 2014, 5, 5Jonathan Allen, 2013, 5, 16*A’Shawn Robinson, 2013, 5, 33Dee Liner, 2013, 4, 46Josh Frazier, 2014, 4, 85Korren Kirven, 2012, 4, 166Jarran Reed, 2014, 4, 13 (JC)-yD.J. Pettway, 2011, 4, 206 (2014, 4, 14 JC)Dalvin Tomlinson, 2012, 4, 217O.J. Smith, 2014, 3, 398Johnny Dwight, 2014, 3, 429Dakota Ball, 2012, 3 432Darren Lake, 2012, 3, 584Brandon Ivory, 2010, 3, NAAnthony Orr, 2009, 3, 582

Linebackers (14)Reuben Foster, 2013, 5, 6Rashaan Evans, 2014, 5, 15Trey DePriest, 2011, 5, 29Xzavier Dickson, 2011, 4, 34Christian Miller, 2014, 4, 39Reggie Ragland, 2012, 4, 41Ronnie Clark, 2014, 4, 70Ryan Anderson, 2012, 4, 78Tim Williams, 2013, 4, 82Dillon Lee, 2012, 4, 101Denzel Devall, 2012, 4, 139Shaun Dion Hamilton, 2014, 4, 203Keith Holcombe, 2014, 4, 281Walker Jones, 2013, 3, 658

Secondary (14)Landon Collins, 2012, 5, 7Tony Brown, 2014, 5, 9Marlon Humphrey, 2014, 5, 12Cyrus Jones, 2012, 4, 43*Laurence “Hootie” Jones, 2014, 4, 50

Page 36: Clips 2014

Geno Smith, 2012, 4, 61Maurice Smith, 2013, 4, 84Bradley Sylve, 2011, 4, 106*Jarrick Williams, 2010, 4, 130Nick Perry, 2010, 4, 250Anthony Averett, 2013, 4, 273Jabriel Washington, 2011, 4, 285Eddie Jackson, 2013, 3, 349Jonathan Cook, 2013, 3, 524

Special teams (3)Adam Griffith, 2012, 3, 656JK Scott, 2014, 3, MACole Mazza, 2013, 3, NA*Wasn’t necessarily recruited at the position now playingx-Flournoy-Smith went to Georgia Military College to quality academicallyy-Currently suspendedz-Has yet to qualify academically

PART IV: Defense

It was the breakthrough year of the no-huddle in the age of hurry-up offenses, and the University of Alabama football team was far from having the only defense that struggled to make key stops.

There’s no denying that 2013 was a season for offenses in the Southeastern Conference, especially with there being so many veteran quarterbacks like Johnny Manziel, Aaron Murray, AJ McCarron and Zach Mettenberger.

Yet even though those quarterbacks have moved on the number of teams in the league trying to speed things up continues to rise.

“Last year was an anomaly,” said Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com, who still believes that defense wins championships.

“I think we have to redefine what good defense means,” he continued. “It used to be if you held someone to under 17 points you were a pretty good defense. Now it’s under 21 on average, is what I’m talking about.

“It’s about holding teams out of the end zone or keeping them from making big plays, getting that difference-making nose guard, or end, or Jadeveon Clowney, or somebody like that who can make big plays. I think there’s so much talent dispersed on both sides of the ball, but so much of its seems to going to the offenses that it’s tilted against the defenses.”

Page 37: Clips 2014

Last year’s numbers back that up. Conference-wide, the 14 teams combined to average 31.7 points, 432.5 yards of total offense, and 197 rushing yards per game, all league records since it expanded from 10 to 12 teams in 1992. Passing yards just missed at 235.5, topped only by the 245.1 in 2001.

Correspondingly, their statistical defensive counterparts were all the highest the league had seen: 24.8 points, 379.8 total yards, 161.0 rushing, and 218.7 passing.

Similarly, Alabama uncharacteristically yielded 628 total yards at Texas A&M, 348 passing yards to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and 296 rushing yards at Auburn, resulting in its two losses and a near-miss on the road.

In the four “major” categories (total defense, pass-efficiency defense, rushing defense and scoring defense), which Alabama led the nation in each during the 2011 season, the Crimson Tide had some of its worst national rankings since Nick Saban’s first year at the Capstone in 2007.

Year TotalPE RushScore 2007 31 38 28 272008 T3 14 2 72009 2 2 2 22010 5 6 10 32011 1 1 1 12012 1 7 1 12013 5 26 7 4

Alabama also had its worst showing in turnovers gained, ranking tied for 80th in the nation out of 123 teams, and in third-down defense – which may have been the statistical key to the season as the Crimson Tide defense couldn’t get off the field when it needed to the most.

Going back to those previously mentioned games and Texas A&M converted 62.5 percent of its third-down opportunities against Alabama(5 of 8), Auburn was 53.3 percent (8-15), and Oklahoma 46.7 (7-15). LSU was at 58.3 percent, but lost to the Crimson Tide anyway.

Overall, opponents converted 61 of 176 opportunities, or 34.7 percent, which in turn led to more opportunities and points. In 13 games last season Alabama defenders were on the field for 771 plays, resulting in 3,725 yards, and averages of 4.83 yards per play and 286.5 per game.

For a little perspective consider that in 2011 opponents converted 45 of 184 third-down opportunities, for 24.46 percent. The Crimson Tide defense was only on the field for 720 plays, during which it gave up 2,287 yards, 3.32 per snap and 183.62 per game.

Page 38: Clips 2014

Here’s the difference on the scoreboard: In 2011 opponents scored just 12 offensive touchdowns, compared to 21 last season.

Alabama’s third-down defenseYear,National rank2007 732008 32009 T62010 122011 12012 132013 24

Granted, comparing any defense to the 2011 Crimson Tide may be unfair as it’s on the short list for best ever, Alabama’s coaches have no problem doing so.

“We kind of have a standard here at Alabama,” defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said during one of his few media sessions last year as Saban assistants are usually off-limits to reporters. “A lot of people think our standard is to be first in the SEC, be first in the country, first in our red zone and run defense. We really don't go by that motto.

“We go by be the best Alabama defense there's been. We compare ourselves to the last five years of Alabama defenses. When you do that, last year's defense was not exactly up to par, not exactly spectacular. We put in a lot of work to improve on defense.”

Two crucial factors in 2013 were the struggling pass-rush and no consistency at cornerback, where four players made their first starts: Cyrus Jones (five), Eddie Jackson (four), Bradley Sylve (three), and Maurice Smith (one).

“We've not gotten the consistency we want out of that position, and we don't have the depth that we've had in the past,” Smart said at the Sugar Bowl. “So it's been a struggle.”

But help appears to be on the way.

In addition to the Crimson Tide having a lot of depth on the defensive line led by sophomore A’Shawn Robinson, Smart is back coaching the safeties during practices after spending the past few seasons handling the interior linebackers. The move stemmed from former defensive coordinator Kevin Steele’s return to coaching, while Bo Davis is back overseeing the defensive line following a three-year stint at Texas.

Page 39: Clips 2014

“We just weren’t aggressive off the ball,” said sophomore defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury. “This year we're just more aggressive and firing out. I think we're going to get to the quarterback a lot more this year.”

Meanwhile, if sophomore linebacker Reuben Foster can stop hurting himself with his vicious tackles during scrimmages, and defensive lineman Jarran Reed (currently suspended) and linebacker Dillon Lee can get out of Saban’s doghouse after DUI arrests, the rest of the front seven could be scary good. Even without them there’s still Trey DePriest, Reggie Ragland, Jonathan Allen … you get the idea.

“The big thing that stands out, they do a great job,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said about Alabama’s defense. “You usually have to earn what you get. They make you earn it. They got very good players at each position.”

Combined with some older cornerbacks competing with some extremely talented freshmen (Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey), and standout junior safety Landon Collins, and Alabama’s defense may not start off looking like one of Saban’s best, but it could potentially end up that way.

“We were young at the time,” Collins said. “We had to see what everyone had to put on the table. Everyone knows what’s going on, everyone knows what to do.

“We have to teach the younger guys. It puts less pressure on the safeties, the defensive linemen and the linebackers, when you have two corners who are capable and reliable.”

Even if things don’t initially click as well as hoped the defense will still likely be among the nation’s best if for no other reason than it’s led by Saban and Smart.

Over the past three seasons the Crimson Tide has held opponents to seven or fewer points 20 times, while no other SEC defense has more than eight. Alabama also had three shutouts last year, and 10 since 2011.

Consequently, Dodd is picking Alabama to win the conference title.

“I think they’ll be right there,” he said.

PART V: History

It was the initial big topic of discussion at the Southeastern Conference’s Media Days in Birmingham last week, so naturally it didn’t take Nick Saban long to be asked about the inaugural year of the college football playoff and its potential expansion.

Page 40: Clips 2014

Like usual, the University of Alabama coach used the opportunity to make a couple of points.

“In our league you have 15 games to win and if you expanded the playoff more than that,” he said. “Maybe you could expand the playoffs and eliminate the conference championships if there was an eight-team playoff, because every time we play in it it is a playoff game. We played Georgia, they were No. 3 and we were No. 1. We played Florida two years in a row and were both 1 and 2. So it’s a playoff game. Whoever wins goes in and whoever loses goes home.

“So in our league I guess we already have an expanded playoff.”

The way Saban emphasized the last sentence drew laughter from listening reporters, but there was a lot more to what he said than expressing concern about the wear and tear of players. He also reinforced the idea that history is on the Crimson Tide’s side, even though the “going home” part may no longer be true in the post-Bowl Championship Series era.

A perfect example why was last season, because even though Alabama took the dramatic 34-28 loss at Auburn to close the regular season, it would have remained in the title hunt had the playoff already existed. At the time the Crimson Tide was 11-1 and still ranked in the top four of the BCS standings behind Florida State and Ohio State, both 12-0, and 11-1 Auburn. With the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta featuring Auburn vs. No. 5 Missouri (11-1), and one of those teams having to lose, Alabama would have been a strong bet to play in the semifinals.

A week later, after Auburn won and Ohio State lost to Michigan State for the Big 10 title, had there had been a selection committee it almost certainly would have paired 1. Florida State vs. No. 4. Michigan State; and No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 3 Alabama. Yes, there would have been a rematch at a neutral site.

“The committee will select the best four teams, period, no strings attached,” executive director of the college football playoff Bill Hancock explained. “They won't monkey with the pure seeds. If the pure seeds are 1, 2, 3, 4, Auburn is 2, Alabama is 3, they'll leave them right there and they will be a rematch. There's no dropping of lines in the College Football Playoff.”

By that same logic, the previous five pairings would likely have been as followed:

2012: 1. Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Oregon; No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Florida 2011: 1. LSU vs. No. 3 Stanford; No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State 2010: 1. Auburn vs. No. 4 Stanford; No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 TCU 2009: 1. Alabama vs. No. 4 TCU; No. 2 Texas vs. No. 3 Cincinnati 2008: 1. Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Alabama; No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 Texas.

Page 41: Clips 2014

In short, Alabama would have been in every playoff minus one, 2010. No other program would have been in more than two.

While the Crimson Tide’s absence in the title game last year has helped lead to some coaches taking verbal shots at Saban while they can (including Bob Stoops, Rich Rodriguez and Dana Holgorsen), oddsmakers have done the exact opposite. According to Bovada, reigning champion Florida State with Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston is the team to beat this season, with the Seminoles 11/2 favorites, just ahead of Alabama at 6/1. But history also suggests that no one should bet against Alabama from at least making the playoff either.

After winning the 2011 and 2012 BCS titles, last season the Crimson Tide was the 11th program to go for a three-peat since the Associated Press poll came into existence in 1936. Of course, all failed. But how many would have qualified for a theoretical playoff the subsequent rebound year?

For our purposes two teams can be dismissed because they had coaching changes: Bernie Bierman left Minnesota (1940-41) to serve as a Marine during World War II, while Bob Devaney stepped aside from Nebraska (1970-71) and assistant Tom Osborne took over. Also, Southern California has since vacated the 2004 title following NCAA penalties, while its 2003 championship wasn’t consensus. Although the AP had USC at No. 1, LSU under Saban took home the crystal football.

So here’s how well the other seven programs rebounded:

1944-45 Army: A scoreless tie against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium snapped Army’s 25-game winning streak for a No. 2 finish in 1946, when the Fighting Irish was awarded a controversial national title. Earl “Red” Blaik went 5-2-2 in 1947, and was narrowly out of the top four after a tie to Navy in 1948 (8-0-1), but Army almost certainly would have qualified in both 1949 and 1950.

1946-47 Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish followed the two controversial titles with a 9-0-1 season to finish second to Michigan in 1948. Frank Leahy’s team responded with a perfect 10-0 season to claim the 1949 championship.

1955-56 Oklahoma: The titles came during Oklahoma’s amazing 47-game winning streak that was eventually snapped by Notre Dame in 1957, which prevented the three-peat. Bud Wilkinson’s program came back to post a 10-1 record in 1958, which had it at No. 3 heading into the bowls.

1964-65 Alabama: The Crimson Tide benefitted from the AP’s decision to move the voting for its final poll to after the bowl games were played, but regardless in 1966 went undefeated only to be snubbed in favor of Notre Dame and Michigan

Page 42: Clips 2014

State, which had played to a lackluster tie. In the rebound year Alabama went 8-2-1 to finish the season ranked in the top 10.

1974-75 Oklahoma: After a 10-0-1 and No. 2 finish in 1973, Barry Switzer’s teams lost just one game over the two-title season before posting a 9-2-1 record in 1976. The Sooners were the preseason No. 1 team in 1977 and ranked second at the end of the regular season before losing to Arkansas in the Orange Bowl.

1978-79 Alabama: Crimson Tide fans point to the controversial No. 2 finish in 1977 as robbing the program of the three-peat, but after going 10-2 in 1980 Alabama rebounded well and was No. 3 at the end of the 1981 regular season.

1994-95 Nebraska: After the two perfect seasons Nebraska’s 26-game winning steak was snapped at Arizona State in 1996. The Cornhuskers responded with a 13-0 season and controversial split national championship with Michigan.

In short, every program was in the running during the rebound year, and all but two would have likely been part of a four-team playoff. Alabama hopes to do likewise on Selection Sunday, Dec. 7th, and subsequently reclaim its crown as the kings of college football.

“Personally, I don’t talk about it,” junior wide receiver Amari Cooper said. “At the end of the day, it’s the same thing. You have to win. You have to win and win to win the national championship.”

Sugar Bowl: This Alabama team went as far as it couldJan. 2

It was false hope, you see.

Everything on the surface seemed to favor the University of Alabama football team heading into the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night. The Crimson Tide was ranked No. 1, had just won the Southeastern Conference championship, and a team from the league had been in every national title game since 2005.

Only under the surface the reality was different. Call it having over-achieved or exceeded expectations, but this group had gone as far as it could – just no one quite knew it yet. Considering how far the Crimson Tide had come, and having pulled off three comeback wins, the warning signs were easy to gloss over because Alabama kept recording Ws.

Page 43: Clips 2014

You know, things like the long completions and red-zone stops that masked all the yards the defense was yielding. The running game that didn’t rank among the league’s top five, and the pedestrian turnover margin.

It all came to light, though, during the 42-35 loss to Ohio State in the national playoff semifinal, which was anything but a good game for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rushing performance this season, yet running back Ezekial Elliott had a whopping 230 on 20 carries and two touchdowns to be named the game’s offensive MVP. It was outgained 537-407, and third downs were a disaster on both sides of the ball.

That’s all despite Alabama jumping out to a 21-6 lead midway through the second quarter, when it appeared to be on the verge of already pulling away. Yet Saban knew better, especially since Ohio State had significant advantages in all of the major statistical categories.

“We really weren't stopping them,” he said. “We kind of had the momentum of the game because of the turnovers that we got and converted those into scores. But we weren't really playing and executing the way we needed to even then.”

The result was 28 unanswered points beginning with Elliott the first Buckeye to reach the end zone on a 3-yard run and a terrific reception by Michael Thomas on a fake end-around with wide receiver Evan Spencer throwing the ball to where only his target could get it and a foot down in the end zone just before halftime.

A 47-yard touchdown pass when sophomore cornerback Eddie Jackson fell down on the first possession of the third quarter gave Ohio State the lead, followed by senior quarterback Blake Sims having an interception returned 41 yards for a touchdown by defensive end Steve Miller.

The band with the same name had a song called “My Dark Hour,” and it surely was for the Tide. It managed to counter Elliott’s 85-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but was still a touchdown short when the clock ran out.

“We just couldn't contain the edge at points,” said junior safety Landon Collins, who had 12 tackles despite repeatedly injuring his shoulder.

Before the season started Alabama’s three major areas of concern were quarterback, cornerback and left tackle – in addition to essentially having seven new starters on defense – and obviously two of those positions struggled against the Buckeyes.

After not playing a game since Dec. 6, Sims appeared to revert to some of the things that made fans wonder over the summer if he was Alabama’s best option behind center. He completed 22 of 36 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns,

Page 44: Clips 2014

but was intercepted three times in the second half including his Hail Mary attempt into the end zone.

He also wasn’t efficient running the two-minute offense at the end of the game, while some of offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s play-calling has to be questioned as well.

For example, sophomore Derrick Henry led the Alabama ground game with 97 yards and a touchdown, and 54 receiving yards on two catches, but had just 13 carries.

The best wide receiver in college football, Amari Cooper, wasn’t much of a factor down the stretch and the threat of the deep ball was non-existent.

“I was kind of anxious to see us take more shots down the field,” Saban said. “I don't think we, maybe, did that enough early in the game, and they did a nice job.

“We did a little better job in the second half when we went no huddle, we played faster and did better, (but) I think there's obviously a lot of things that we wish we would have done differently to attack their defense.”

Sims came in having completed an incredible 71.8 percent of his passes on third downs. Overall, Alabama converted just 2 of 13 opportunities, while Ohio State was 10 of 18.

“Ohio State's a great defense,” Sims said. “They played with a lot of passion today.”

Perhaps this team just didn’t have anything left after surviving a brutal November, when it visited the toughest venue (LSU), topped the nation’s No. 1 team (MSU), and then won the biggest rivalry (Auburn). It’s probably not a coincidence that all three of those opponents lost this week as well, in addition to the only team that had managed to beat Alabama during the regular season, Ole Miss.

The SEC West peaked in October, Alabama did in November, but Ohio State is doing so now.

Yet one also can’t help but conclude that the gap with the other conferences has more than shrunk. Granted, the SEC West was 25-0 against non-league opponents before bombing in the bowls with five losses – but the individual standouts just weren’t there either.

The conference had only two consensus All-Americans on offense, and three on defense. It boasted just two big winners of postseason awards – Cooper with the Biletnikoff for best receiver and Auburn’s Reese Dismukes claiming the

Page 45: Clips 2014

Rimington Trophy as best center. There was no big-name quarterback with a cannon arm, or defensive standout who could really scare the opposition.

So yes, it was an overdue down year for the league, but not quite deserving of Oho State linebacker Darron Lee, the Sugar Bowl defensive MVP, tweeting after the game: “RIP SEC.”

(If Oregon wins big on Jan. 12, does the Big Ten go back to being considered overrated?)

Regardless, Alabama’s journey this season was still pretty remarkable, especially considering how the players pulled together. Consequently, this loss was certainly disappointing for Crimson Tide fans, but not especially heartbreaking.

“I'm very proud of what this team was able to accomplish and winning the SEC as well as winning 12 football games in a very tough conference,” Saban said.

“I think there's a lot of winners on this team, and I don't think you necessarily have to get a trophy to be a winner. And I do think that there's a lot of guys on this team, two of them sitting right up here with me right now (Sims and Collins), and many, many more in that locker room, who have been winners all year and did a fantastic job for our team.”

They just won’t be national champions.

Explanatory:

1. Money, control are why it took so long for college football to have a playoffOct. 28

With the selection committee finally gathering and conducting its initial voting, College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock called it "a very important milestone, not only for the playoff, but also the game of college football."

It only took more than 100 years to get there.

The first year that college football was played, 1869, there were only two teams in existence, and they played twice. Rutgers defeated Princeton 6-4, and in a rematch Princeton beat Rutgers 8-0. Years later, three services retroactively named Princeton the national champion, with one splitting the title between both schools (“Everyone’s a winner!”). Thus, hindsight provided the first controversial title.

Page 46: Clips 2014

Although schools would occasionally self-proclaim themselves champions in general, or regional champions, etc., the notion of a national title really didn’t begin to take hold until the 1920s, when college football really started to grow exponentially in popularity and the pool of teams went from single digits to 100-plus.

The first All-American team was named in 1889, while the first conference, which would eventually become known as the Big Ten, played its first organized season in 1896 (won by Wisconsin). The NCAA was founded, but one crucial mandate the NCAA never handed down was how its Division I champion would be determined. Due to geographical limitations, with teams traveling by train, football was a mostly-regional sport with cross-country contests rarely played. But with football continuing to grow at an alarming rate (an estimated 120,000 fans attended the Southern California vs. Notre Dame game at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 1927), and campuses beginning to construct massive permanent stadiums in an effort to meet demand, it was only a matter of time before the game took its next steps.

The Rose Bowl

In 1902, the Tournament of Roses decided to host the first-ever postseason college football game, and nearby Stanford (3-0-2) accepted an invitation to face Midwest powerhouse Michigan, which had compiled an impressive 10-0 record without giving up a single point. The game wasn’t close as fullback Neil Snow scored five touchdowns and Fielding Yost’s “Point-A-Minute” team crushed Stanford, 49-0, to finish the season with a scoring advantage of 555-0.

Unfortunately, the lopsided outcome temporarily soured organizers on football, and in 1903 they tried polo instead, which attracted only 2,000 people. That was followed by Ben-Hur-style chariot races, which remained the feature draw for 11 years. However, when the horses drew only 25,000 in 1915 and interest had clearly wavered, football was brought back, with organizers pairing Washington State against Brown for another exhibition.

By the early 1920s the Rose Bowl was becoming synonymous with the best college football had to offer, which would soon be copied with the creation of the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl (both in 1935) and the Cotton Bowl (1937). The 1925 game, in particular, had the most hype yet with the Four Horsemen’s final ride for Notre Dame (9-0), which was matched against Stanford (7-0-1).

However, what gained the Rose Bowl its biggest notoriety nationally was one play during the 1929 game, between Georgia Tech (9-0) and California (7-1-1). When Cal center Roy Riegels recovered a fumble, he took off in the wrong direction only to be tackled by his own teammate, Benny Lom, at the 1-yard line.

Page 47: Clips 2014

When Cal was unable to get a first down, Tech’s Vance Maree blocked Lom’s punt, resulting in a safety, but “Wrong-Way Riegels” captured the nation’s attention. Georgia Tech was considered the consensus national champion by most of the ever-growing services raking teams, but a new debate was beginning to take hold, whether or not postseason games should count toward final rankings. At the time, the NCAA was against it.

The First Polls

In the early 1920s, Frank Dickinson, a professor of economics at the University of Illinois, began tinkering with a mathematical formula to rank teams and declare a national champion. In 1926, he unveiled it, and one of the first persons to become enamored with Dickinson’s system was Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, who asked him to backdate the last two years to 1924 when the Fighting Irish went 10-0 and won the Rose Bowl. With Notre Dame the clear and logical choice, it became the first “scientific” championship in college football.

Dickinson’s formula weighed a team’s wins based on the score and the quality of each opponent. However, while it may been the first official ranking system, and the basis for awarding the Rissman National Trophy and later the Knute Rockne Intercollegiate Memorial Trophy, it wasn’t long before others developed better reputations. For example, in 1925 when nearly every other service that went back to rank teams at season’s end had 10-0 Rose Bowl-winner Alabama No. 1, Dickinson opted for Dartmouth (8-0). It only lasted until 1940.

A number of competing ranking systems were quickly devised and developed, beginning with the Houlgate System (1927-58), a mathematical rating developed by Deke Houlgate of Los Angeles. Like Dickinson, his rankings quickly became popular in newspapers, and also published in the annual Football Thesaurus (1946-58). Houlgate backdated his rankings to at least 1885.

In 1929, they were joined by the Dunkel Index, which is still one of the most respected mathematical ranking systems ever devised, with a formula that has remained unchanged. One of the unique aspects of the numerical ratings was that they could be used to predict the scoring differential of a game. The power index system, created by Dick Dunkel Sr., was one of the computer services used by the Bowl Championship Series (1999-2001) until organizers decided they didn’t want scoring margins to factor into any of the computer calculations. Factoring into the index is strength of schedule, won-loss record, most-recent performances and upsets.

Another longstanding system was created by William Boand in 1930. Known as the Boand System, and/or the Azzi Ratem System, it appeared in newspapers and both the Illustrated Football Annual (1932-42) and Football News (1942-44 and 1951-60), and Boand went back and determined national champions from 1919-29.

Page 48: Clips 2014

The Williamson System, developed by New Orleans geologist Paul Williamson, who would later serve on the Sugar Bowl committee, began in 1932 and was syndicated throughout the South. For years, Williamson was the only system to rank teams and name its national champion after the completion of the bowl schedule.

By the time the Poling System, a mathematical rating system created by former Ohio Wesleyan player Richard Poling and published annually in the Football Review Supplement, came around in 1935 (and lasted until 1984), college football was ready for more bowl games and a significant change that would dramatically alter the national championship landscape, the creation of the Associated Press Poll.

A New Age: Newspaper Polls

In 1935, Alan J. Gould, the sports editor of the Associated Press who was described by Time Magazine as a “slight, bow-tied, cigar-chomping newsman,” started ranking his own list of top 10 teams in his weekly column. For the record, his top three that year were Minnesota, Princeton and Southern Methodist. But Gould didn’t clarify a No. 1 team, which didn’t sit well with Minnesota fans, who were otherwise enjoying a consensus national championship (“East Coast Bias!”).

Gould knew he was on to something and in 1936 he created the Associated Press poll, with 44 sportswriters voting that first season. Even though Minnesota lost to Northwestern, 6-0, the Golden Gophers finished No. 1 and were the popular choice ahead of LSU and Pittsburgh.

“It was a case of thinking up ideas to develop interest and controversy between football Saturdays,” Gould later said. “Papers wanted material to fill space between games. That’s all I had in mind, something to keep the pot boiling. Sports then was living off controversy, opinion, whatever. This was just another exercise in hoopla. Making it a top 10 was an arbitrary decision. It seemed logical to confine it to that number. It was tough enough to pick a top 10 in those days, let alone 15 or 20.”

The Associated Press (or AP) poll, the first based solely on opinion, immediately became the foremost rankings in college football, and the most widely circulated. With the championship, a trophy has traditionally been awarded. In 1947, Notre Dame retired the Williams Trophy, which had been named after Minnesota coach Henry Williams and sponsored by the M Club of Minnesota. In 1956, Oklahoma retired the Reverend Hugh O’Donnell Trophy, named for the Notre Dame president and sponsored by Notre Dame alumni. The award was known as the AP Trophy from 1957-83, when it was renamed the Paul Bear Bryant Trophy.

Page 49: Clips 2014

The Associated Press poll has had two important fluctuations, the number of teams ranked and whether the final poll should be held before or after bowl games. Gould’s first poll ranked 20 teams, but from 1962-67 only ten were listed. It finally expanded to 25 teams in 1989.

As for the postseason, bowl games were still essentially considered exhibitions, so the NCAA encouraged any final polling to take place at the end of the regular season. One notable exception occurred at the end of the 1947 season when Notre Dame didn’t play in a bowl game and Michigan accepted an invitation to play No. 8 Southern California in the Rose Bowl. After the Wolverines won, 49-0, a special poll was conducted and voters changed their minds, selecting Michigan No. 1. However, the poll didn’t supersede the final regular season poll.

In 1950, United Press news service, which was in direct competition with the Associated Press, decided it needed a poll of its own and created the coaches’ poll, with 35 participants. Although United Press merged with International News Service (which had its own poll from 1952-57), becoming United Press International, the coaches’ poll continues to exist today as the Amway Coaches Poll (FYI, from 1982-96, it was the USA Today/CNN poll and then the USA Today/ESPN poll).

Naturally, that first year with two major polls resulted in a controversy, but not a split title. Both had Oklahoma No. 1 at the end of the regular season, but the Sooners subsequently lost to Paul W. “Bear” Bryant’s Kentucky Wildcats in the Sugar Bowl, 13-7. It only took four years for the polls to select different champions. In 1954, the Associated Press sided with Ohio State, while the coaches’ poll preferred UCLA.

The first time a bowl game featured a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup was 1962, one year after Ohio State’s faculty council voted 28–25 to turn down a Rose Bowl invitation, citing its discomfort with the school’s overemphasis on sports. No. 2 Wisconsin scored three touchdowns and a safety in the fourth quarter to make a massive comeback against No. 1 Southern California, but ran out of time, 42-37. The following year also saw No. 1 play No. 2 in a bowl game, with top-ranked Texas defeating Navy and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Roger Staubach, 28-6.

By 1964, the thinking that bowl games should only be considered exhibitions was changing. At the conclusion of the regular season, Alabama and Arkansas were both undefeated and both polls had the Crimson Tide No. 1. But after Arkansas defeated Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl, Alabama lost to Texas in the Orange Bowl.

The following year, the Associated Press pushed its final voting back until after the bowl schedule. At the end of the regular season, Michigan State (10-0), Arkansas (10-0) and Nebraska (10-0) were all undefeated, and UPI went ahead

Page 50: Clips 2014

and crowed the Spartans its champion. Meanwhile, Bryant’s Alabama team was No. 4 at 8-1-1, with its lone loss in the season-opener to Georgia considered controversial. When he figured out that there was still a way to finish No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and claim the national championship, the Crimson Tide turned down an invitation from the Cotton Bowl to face No. 3 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

When Michigan State lost to No. 5 UCLA in the Rose Bowl, 14-12, and Arkansas lost to LSU in the Cotton Bowl, 14-7, the Tide had its chance. Despite facing a much-bigger team, Alabama outgained Nebraska 518 to 377 yards to pull out an amazing 39-28 victory and defend its opportunistic, albeit controversial, title.

Due to pressure, the Associated Press went back to voting before the bowl games for two more years, before making the change permanent. The coaches stubbornly held out until after the 1973 season, when No. 1 Alabama (10-0), already named the UPI’s national champion, lost to No. 3 Notre Dame (10-0) in the Sugar Bowl, 24-23.

The Bowl Championship Series

In 1984, the entire landscape of college football became primed for major change thanks to what was symbolically an end zone spike by the United States Supreme Court.

In NCAA v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma and Georgia Athletic Association, the court was asked by the NCAA to overturn rulings made at the District Court and Court of Appeals levels that said the parent organization couldn’t limit the number of televised football games. The litigation was triggered by the NCAA’s response by the College Football Association, an organization of the more dominant football-playing schools and conferences, to develop an independent television plan (and in the process make a lot more money).

If this doesn’t sound like a big deal, consider that cable television was still a relatively new concept at the time and college football was all but limited to a handful of games each weekend, if that.

The Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA was essentially regulating free trade, performing illegal price fixing and “restricted rather than enhanced the place of intercollegiate athletics in the Nation’s life.” In the process, the court also rejected the NCAA’s arguments that widespread broadcasts could curtail live attendance and that competition on the airwaves would be bad for the game.

The deregulation sent every conference into a tizzy, looking for ways to maximize the financial potential. However, nearly all were already locked into a pre-existing bowl agreement, like the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-10 meeting every year at the Rose Bowl. The same year as the Supreme Court’s ruling, No. 6 Ohio

Page 51: Clips 2014

State played No. 18 Southern California in Pasadena, while the national championship came down to whether or not surprise No. 1 Brigham Young could defeat unranked Michigan in the Holiday Bowl (it did, 24-17).

It led to the era of superconferences, and eventually the Bowl Championships Series. At about the time the first of the big independents joined a conference, Penn State with the Big Ten in 1990, SEC commissioner Roy Kramer realized that his 10-school league could take advantage of a loophole in NCAA rules to create an extra revenue-enhancing championship game, but in order to do so needed a membership of at least 12 teams. Arkansas jumped at the opportunity, which simultaneously served as a deathblow to the troubled Southwest Conference, and was later joined by South Carolina.

Instead of adhering to a television contract extension with ABC and ESPN, negotiated by the College Football Association, the SEC signed a landmark five-year, $85 million deal with CBS, which had just lost the National Football League to Fox. Days later, the Atlantic Coast Conference signed an $80 million deal with ABC and ESPN, and CBS quickly added the Big East, which formed in 1991, for $75 million including basketball games. Florida State signed on with the ACC and Miami with the Big East (but later jumped to the ACC with Boston College and Virginia Tech).

But college football had another, lingering problem, the championship. Over the previous 29 years, there had only been eight bowl games matching teams ranked first and second, with growing concern that Congress might soon intervene should some sort of playoff system not be implemented.

One of the fathers, if not the father, of the Bowl Championships Series was ACC executive Tim Mickle, who supposedly one day started scribbling down ideas for a new bowl format on a restaurant napkin. It grew into rotating a championship game between the major bowls. Among those instrumental in getting the major bowls to actually agree to it was Kramer.

Although it’s been a financial windfall for all involved, it should be noted that Mickle’s original intention was to move the bowl system a step closer to a playoff system, and in the meantime establish the potential for No. 1 to play No. 2 every year.

“Maybe I should have kept it to myself,” Mickle told writer John Feinstein years later, after school presidents in the bigger conferences used the BCS as a preemptive strike and excuse for not creating a playoff. By doing so, not only did they stay in control of the sport, but strengthen their grip on football revenues and bowl payouts so they wouldn’t be equally distributed among the entire NCAA membership.

Page 52: Clips 2014

Which brings us to today. Although the BCS was continually tweaked, with a formula used to determine the two teams in the national championship game and the pecking order for the participants in the major bowls, it largely met the original intent of annually pairing the two top teams in a title matchup.

With the conference landscape continuing to shift and pressure continuing to build for a playoff, the critical juncture occurred in 2012 -- fresh off the all-SEC West title game between Alabama at LSU. With the BCS television contracts due to expire and the potential for a huge financial windfall, a series of extensive meetings led to the creation of the four-team playoff with the teams determined by a 13-person selection committee.

EPSN subsequently paid $7.3 billion over 12 years to show the title game, semifinals and four major bowl games every year. The average revenue of the playoff was estimated to be about $500 million annually, 75 percent of which to be split by the schools making up the “Power Five” conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC).

Consequently, Division I football stopped being the only division in any NCAA sport that didn’t have a tournament of some sort at the end of its season. Along the long road Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty became an advocate for a playoff after the controversial ending to the 1966 season, and in 1975 the NCAA appointed a 17-member Division I Football Championship Feasibility Committee. A vote was never held on its proposal for a four-team playoff.

There were also scores of compromises along the way in an effort to maintain the established revenue streams and preserve the bowl system. Among them was adding the 12th regular-season game so schools not playing in a league with a conference championship could have the money from an extra home game.

“Well, I don’t have to worry about that playoff any more,” South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier said in 2006, after the SEC won the first of an unprecedented seven national titles. “I do think it is tougher for the top SEC teams to be one of the final two. It’s tougher. It can be done. Heck, we’ve proven it can be done. I was reading something in the local paper here that in ’92, of course, Alabama won it all going through the championship game. Of course, Tennessee did it one year. We did it one year.

“It can happen. But it is difficult. It is difficult with so many top SEC teams, whereas all the other sports, I mean, men’s basketball national champ, Florida Gators, South Carolina beat them twice, Tennessee beat them twice, but that's the regular season. End of the season, the Florida Gators were by far the best team in the country. That’s sort of how sports is if you have a tournament and playoff system.

Page 53: Clips 2014

“Since we don’t have that, a lot of it has to do with scheduling, voting instead of determining it on the field. But that’s the way college football seems to want to do it. The presidents and athletic directors and commissioners, that’s just the way they want to do it. I remember Commissioner Kramer was here back in about ’90. I said, ‘Why do you want a playoff for the SEC championship but you don't want one for the national?’ He just looked at me funny. He couldn't answer it either. He didn't have the answer for that one.”

2. The 10 most controversial champions in college football historyOct. 28

History does not record whom the first person was to come up with the idea of a national championship in college football, but chances are he or she certainly had no idea of what they instigated.

10. Slippery Rock’s No. 1! (1936)

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the first Associated Press poll in 1936 brought about the first controversy when Minnesota was declared the national champion, completing a very unusual season for the Golden Gophers.

With Bernie Bierman wanting to beef up the schedule, Minnesota was set to open against Washington in Seattle, a four-day trip by train. Bierman scheduled two practices along the way, but while staying overnight at the Florence Hotel in Missoula, Montana, the players were forced to flee at approximately 3 a.m. due to the building being on fire. No one was hurt, but most of the hotel was destroyed. With Julian Alfonse intercepting three passes at the goal-line, Minnesota also escaped the Huskies with a 14-7 victory, and went on to post impressive wins against Nebraska, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, Texas and Wisconsin.

Heading into a Halloween showdown with Northwestern, which many thought would likely determine both the conference and national championship, Minnesota was No. 1, the Wildcats ranked third. Played in wind and driving rain, the Gophers, who hadn’t lost since the season finale of the 1932 season to Michigan, a streak of 28 games, couldn’t reach the end zone while Northwestern punched in a touchdown for a 6-0 victory. Fullback Steve Toth scored from the 1-yard line on third down shortly after reserve Don Geyer had fumbled with Minnesota tackle Ed Widseth penalized for punching Geyer during the scramble for the loose ball.

However, after sitting atop the poll for three weeks, Big Ten champion Northwestern was pounded by Notre Dame, 26-6, and would finish seventh in the final poll.

Page 54: Clips 2014

Even with the one loss, voters put Minnesota back up to No. 1, ahead of LSU (9-0-1), Pittsburgh (7-1-1), and Alabama (8-0-1), and with the regular season complete the Gophers secured the consensus national championship. Three services: Boand, Football Research and Houlgate, proclaimed Pitt their national champion. LSU lost to No. 6 Santa Clara in the Sugar Bowl, 21-14, Pittsburgh beat Washington in the Rose Bowl, 21-0, and Alabama didn’t play in a bowl.

Also controversial that year was Arkansas being snubbed for the Cotton Bowl, even though it was the Southwest Conference champion. Instead, Texas Christian received the invitation because it would be quarterback Sammy Baugh’s final collegiate game. The Horned Frogs beat Marquette, 16-6.

One sportswriter came up with a unique winner for the mythical title, and after backtracking the season’s results made a case for Slippery Rock in an article that was reprinted throughout the country. Here’s why: Slippery Rock beat Westminster, which defeated West Virginia Wesleyan, which beat Duquesne, which upset Pittsburgh, which defeated Notre Dame, which beat Northwestern, which beat Minnesota.

That’s why you’ll still occasionally hear an announcer or broadcaster mention a Slippery Rock score.

9. What game was he watching? (2002)

The 2002 national championship game between Miami and Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl was one of the most exciting title games ever if for no other reason than it went to double-overtime. However, Hurricanes fans are still calling foul.

Miami forced overtime when Todd Sievers made a 40-yard field goal on the final play of regulation for a 17-17 score. The play everyone remembers, though, occurred in the first extra frame. On fourth-and-3 and the 5-yard line, Buckeyes quarterback Craig Krenzel threw into the right corner of the end zone where Chris Gamble was being defended by cornerback Glenn Sharpe. As Gamble reached for the ball, he got his hands on it, but couldn’t pull in the reception. Moments later, with fireworks prematurely going off and Miami beginning to celebrate, field judge Terry Porter threw the flag to call pass interference. With the first down, Ohio State scored three plays later and the game went to a second overtime.

Buckeyes freshman tailback Maurice Clarett scored on a 5-yard run for the final 31-24 score.

“It feels unreal,” Miami fullback Quadtrine Hill said. “After the game was over, it felt like we had one play left. It can’t be over. It’s something I never want to feel again.”

Page 55: Clips 2014

It was arguably the most controversial call in a title game since the Rose Bowl at the end of the 1978 season, when Michigan linebacker Ron Simpkins stripped Southern California running back Charles White of the ball as he crossed the goal-line. There’s also what happened in 1953.

No. 1 Notre Dame was 7-0 heading into a late-season meeting against No. 20 Iowa (5-3). The Hawkeyes led 7-0 when an official stopped the clock with 1 second remaining in the first half because a Fighting Irish player appeared to be injured. With the extra play quarterback Ralph Guglielmi threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Dan Shannon to tie the game.

Again Iowa took the lead, 14-7, when with less than a minute remaining the game two more official timeouts were called due to apparent Notre Dame injuries. Guglielmi found Shannon for another touchdown, this time 9 yards and with 6 seconds remaining.

Although the season-ending game finished in a 14-14 tie, Iowa left South Bend furious, and the following day Hawkeyes coach Forest Evashevski told a pep rally that they had been “gypped.”

But Iowa also got the last laugh. Notre Dame, which had been ranked No. 1 all season, was being hailed nationwide as the “Fainting Irish” and in the subsequent Associated Press poll was bumped down to No. 2 in favor of 10-0 Maryland. That’s how the final polls had it at the end of the regular season, only to see Maryland lose to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, 7-0.

Not surprisingly, both schools claim the title.

8. The Bear did it (1950)

Although the first Associated Press poll was in 1936, the debate on whether or not to move the final tabulation until after the bowl games didn’t start to heat up until 1950, in part because there were so few bowl games – not to mention that they still had the air of being exhibitions.

That year, Oklahoma was already declared the national champion when it arrived at the Sugar Bowl to face Paul W. “Bear” Bryant’s No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats. Naturally, the Sooners, riding a 31-game winning streak, were considered heavy favorites and no one seriously thought that Bud Wilkinson wouldn’t find a way to win convincingly.

But led by linemen Walt Yowarsky and Bob Gain, the Wildcats lived up to their No. 2 national ranking defensively. Wilbur Jamerson scored two touchdowns, including a 14-yard touchdown pass from Babe Parilli, and Yowarsky was named game MVP as Kentucky won, 13-7.

Page 56: Clips 2014

Had voting taken place after the postseason a number of teams would have certainly received title consideration, including 11-1 Tennessee, which defeated No. 3 Texas in the Cotton Bowl, 20-14, and was the only top-five team to win a bowl game.

At Alabama, Bryant was able to take advantage of the changing times and attitude after the 1964 season, when Arkansas posted four less-than inspiring wins before shocking No. 1 Texas and then going on an epic roll, outscoring the final five opponents 116-0.

The Associated Press ranked only 10 teams at the time, so coming off a 5-5 year Arkansas was essentially a preseason afterthought. Even after defeating the Longhorns, the Razorbacks were still behind the Crimson Tide in the polls, and when both finished the regular season it was: 1. Alabama; 2. Arkansas. However, the Crimson Tide lost 21-17 to Texas in the first Orange Bowl played under the lights (which came down to a controversial call at the end of the game) while the Razorbacks defeated No. 6 Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl, 19-7.

Ranking services waiting until after the bowls to declare their champions, including the Football Writers Association of America and the Helms Athletic Foundation, had Arkansas No. 1 instead of Alabama. Consequently, the Associated Press changed its procedure the following year, but only for the 1965 season. Almost unbelievably, it worked to Alabama’s advantage again.

After beating LSU 31-7, and Auburn 30-3, Alabama was ranked fourth and turned down an opportunity to play in the Cotton Bowl to meet No. 3 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and keep its dim national championship hopes alive. Bryant’s thinking was that if No. 1 Michigan State lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl, and No. 2 Arkansas had its 22-game unbeaten streak snapped by LSU in the Sugar Bowl, the Crimson Tide would have a chance to defend its title against No. 3 Nebraska.

That’s exactly what happened.

The Associated Press reverted back to holding its final poll at the end of the regular season, but switched for good in 1969. The coaches’ poll by United Press International held firm until 1973. The Cotton Bowl at the end of the 1970 season, when No. 6 Notre Dame defeated No. 1 Texas, 24-11, giving Nebraska a split title, brought it to the threshold. What crossed it was the Sugar Bowl concluding the 1973 season, when No. 3 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Alabama, and Bryant, 24-23, in a game featuring six lead changes and a late field goal. Although the Irish were the clear popular national champions, the Crimson Tide still claims 1973 as one of its 12 national titles.

7. Who’s No. 2? (2000)

Page 57: Clips 2014

The biggest problem the Bowl Championship Series, and its previous incantations, has regularly experienced in determining which two teams should play for the national title hasn’t been “Who’s #1?” but which team should be No. 2.

The 2006 season was a perfect example. When Ohio State and Michigan closed their regular seasons against one another, both were undefeated and for the first time they met ranked 1-2 in the polls. After the Buckeyes won 42-39, the Wolverines remained at No. 2, but not for long.

Lurking at No. 3 was Southern California, which subsequently won its ballyhooed matchup with No. 6 Notre Dame, 44-24. After moving up in the following week’s poll, all the Trojans had to do was defeat UCLA in their season finale to secure a spot in the championship game against Ohio State.

Only the Bruins pulled of a 13-9 upset.

Meanwhile, at the SEC Championship, No. 4 Florida began lobbying for a chance immediately after finishing off Arkansas, 38-28.

“We’re going to tell a group of young men who just went 12-1 with the most difficult schedule against six ranked opponents that they don't have a chance to go play for a national championship?” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “I’m going to need help with that one.”

“Michigan already had its chance,” game MVP Percy Harvin said. “I think we deserve a chance.”

Florida got it, but barely, and took advantage of the opportunity by crushing, or in this case chomping, on the Buckeyes 41-14 to win the title.

Of course, it wasn’t anything new for the BCS. Even in its first year, 1998, there was a similar dispute with nearly everyone in agreement that 12-0 Tennessee was No. 1, but Ohio State fans felt the Buckeyes were more deserving to play for the championship than Florida State (11-1). The following year, the Seminoles were the undisputed top choice, but Virginia Tech (11-0), and Nebraska (11-1), both thought they deserved a shot at the title.

In 2000 there were three worthy candidates between Miami, Florida State and Washington with the computers overruling the humans and putting the Seminoles in the title game where they lost 13-2 to Oklahoma.

6. Splitsville (1997)

Page 58: Clips 2014

In 1954, Associated Press voters favored Ohio State, while the coaches preferred UCLA. The only thing they could agree upon was that Oklahoma was No. 3, even though all three teams were undefeated.

However, instead of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting in the Rose Bowl, out of the three only Ohio State played in a postseason game and was paired against Southern California (8-3) because both the Big Ten and Pac-10 had rules prohibiting teams from playing in the Rose Bowl in consecutive years. UCLA had lost to Michigan State the year before, 28-20, and returned after the 1955 season only to lose again to the Spartans, 17-14.

Despite playing in the rain, Woody Hayes’ first bowl trip to Pasadena proved to be successful. USC’s lone touchdown came on a punt return and Ohio State left victorious, 20-7.

With the mathematical rankings declaring their champions after the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was considered the popular national champion. The Associated Press poll held its final voting after the bowl in 1965, and permanently in 1969. The coaches’ poll didn’t do so until 1973.

Split national champions since 1950Year Writers’ champion (AP); Coaches’ champion (UPI/USA Today)1954 Ohio State; UCLA1957 Auburn; Ohio State1965 Alabama; Michigan State1970 Nebraska; Texas1973 Notre Dame; Alabama1974 Oklahoma; Southern California1978 Alabama; Southern California1990 Colorado; Georgia Tech1991 Miami; Washington1997 Michigan; Nebraska2003 Southern California; LSU

The toughest choice may have been in 1991, the last season before the bowl alliance was created. Both Miami and Washington were 12-0, with impressive credentials. Miami edged preseason No. 1 Florida State (on a missed last-minute field goal, in typical fashion for that rivalry) and crushed Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 22-0. Washington also defeated the Cornhuskers (36-21 at No. 9 Nebraska in September) and handily beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, 34-14.

The most controversial, though, was 1997, when the Bowl Alliance was in place, but didn’t include the Rose Bowl.

Page 59: Clips 2014

No. 1 Michigan (11-0), with Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, was heavily favored against Washington State, but didn’t live up to lofty expectations while pulling out a 23-16 victory.

So the Wolverines were No. 1, correct?

Well, not exactly. At the Orange Bowl, undefeated Nebraska had a much better showing against No. 3 Tennessee, handily winning 42-17.

No major college football team had gone 13-0 and not been declared the national champion, but no No. 1 team had ever won its bowl game and been dropped by voters either. The writers’ poll wasn’t close, Michigan was the clear choice, while with Tom Osborne retiring Nebraska won the coaches’ poll by a mere two points.

“Being a coach, I know a little bit how they think,” Osborne said. “They probably looked at the fact we were 13-0, and to be unrewarded in some way would be ... I don’t mean to say an injustice. But it wouldn’t be a good thing."

5. The Fifth Down (1990)

Undefeated Colorado was trailing at Missouri, 31-27, on October 6, 1990, when it had first down at the Tigers’ 3-yard line with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

On the first play, quarterback Chris Johnson spiked the ball to stop the clock.

Following a 2-yard carry by running back Eric Bieniemy on second down, Colorado called time out, which is when officials failed to realized that it was, in fact, third down.

After Bieniemy was stopped for no gain on what should have been fourth down, quarterback Johnson downed the ball to stop the clock. With the extra down, Johnson ran off the right tackle, a quarterback sneak for a touchdown and 33-31 victory, though Missouri also maintains that he was down before reaching the end zone.

“If we screwed this up, nobody’s going away from here feeling any worse than we are,” umpire Frank Gaines said after referee J.C. Louderback’s crew conferred for nearly 20 minutes on the matter before upholding the score.

Missouri coach Bob Stull was livid, saying it made him feel ill. Colorado coach Bill McCartney ripped Missouri’s artificial turf, comparing it to a playing on an “ice rink,” and Missouri athletic director Dick Tamburo responded, “If he’s complaining about slipping on the turf, then I’m complaining about the seven officials who can’t count.”

Page 60: Clips 2014

Missouri’s chancellor, Haskell Monroe Jr., appealed to the Big Eight, asking that the Tigers be declared the winner. They weren’t, but the conference suspended the officials for two weeks and then broke up the crew. Meanwhile, Colorado continued its march toward the national title. Unlike the previous year, when the No. 1 Buffaloes blew “the opportunity of a lifetime” according to McCartney, with the 21-6 loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, Colorado narrowly won the rematch, 10-9.

Yet the coaches still didn’t vote Colorado No. 1. Instead, Georgia Tech (11-0-1), suddenly found itself moving up despite not playing in one of the major bowl games (it defeated No. 19 Nebraska in the Florida Citrus Bowl, 45-21), resulting in a split championship.

4. Auburn (1957)

For years Auburn was able to claim only one national championship, 1957, when Ralph “Shug” Jordan’s team yielded only 28 points, seven of which to an SEC opponent. It shut out six of the 10 teams it played that season, including Alabama (40-0), and Georgia (6-0), with the win against the Bulldogs highlighted by two goal-line stands.

The problem was the Tigers were banned from playing in a bowl game due to recruiting violations and on National Collegiate Athletic Association probation – though both polls would still rank sanctioned teams, and thus still consider them for the national championship. Still, it was a split championship. Had the Associated Press not considered Auburn, Ohio State, No. 1 in the United Press International rankings, would likely have been its national champion (although No. 4 Oklahoma could have made a strong case after its 48-21 victory against No. 16 Duke in the Orange Bowl, while the Buckeyes barely edged Oregon at the Rose Bowl, 10-7).

The rule was partially changed in 1974, when an agreement with the American Football Coaches Association made teams on probation ineligible for ranking and national championship consideration. The team directly affected that season was Oklahoma, which was serving a two-year penalty, and had finished second or third in each of the three previous years. The undefeated Sooners averaged 508 yards of total offense and defeated its opponents by an average final score of 43-8, but UPI’s champion was Southern California, the AP runner-up.

Auburn had a similar situation arise in 1993, when first-year coach Terry Bowden led the Tigers to an 11-0 finish, including wins against No. 4 Florida and defending national champion Alabama. But the Tigers were again under probation, keeping them off television and out of any potential bowl. Auburn was ranked No. 4 by the Associated Press, with 12-1 Florida State winning the national championship.

Page 61: Clips 2014

What really gets Auburn fans, though, was 2004.

The Tigers were coming off an unimpressive 8-5 season when they were supposed to contend for the national championship, and had endured a tumultuous offseason with school officials visiting Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and offering him the head coaching job even though Tommy Tuberville was still under contract.

“I had already filled out my application at Wal-Mart to be a greeter,” Tuberville joked much, much later. “I was done.”

Due to the scandal Tuberville was set for at least one more season, with Auburn ranked No. 17 in the preseason poll. Only the Tigers didn’t lose. With four players – quarterback Jason Campbell, running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, and cornerback Carlos Rogers -- who would be selected in the first round of the following National Football League draft, and the nation’s top defense, Auburn defeated No. 4 LSU (10-9), No. 8 Tennessee (34-10), and No. 5 Georgia (24-6), en route to a 11-0 regular season.

But even after defeating Tennessee again in the SEC Championship Game, 38-28, the 12-0 Tigers were still only third in both major polls and the Bowl Championship Series standings. Instead, No. 1 Southern California (12-0), and No. 2 Oklahoma (12-0), which had maintained their rankings through the whole season, would meet for the title in the Orange Bowl.

“Neither team is better than us,” Tuberville said after Auburn defeated Virginia Teach in the Sugar Bowl, 16-13. “We’ll play them anytime, anywhere.”

Southern California, which had been the odd team out of the previous championship game, crushed Oklahoma, 55-19.

3. Wait, I want to vote again (1947)

After the AP poll was created in 1936 it took only two years for the bowls to cast doubt on teams already selected the national champion. Led by Davey O’Brien, Texas Christian went 10-0 during the 1938 regular season, with the quarterback inspiring a second-half comeback in the Sugar Bowl to defeat No. 6 Carnegie Tech by the unimpressive score of 15-7. Meanwhile, No. 2 Tennessee and No. 4 Oklahoma, both 11-0, played in what’s become known as the “Orange Brawl,” a brutal 17-0 victory for the Volunteers, while No. 3 Duke lost to Southern California at the Rose Bowl, 7-3.

Had the poll been recast, there’s a decent chance that the Volunteers, instead of the Horned Frogs, would have been No. 1.

Page 62: Clips 2014

What helped spark the debate about when the final polls should be held was a four-year period in the early 1950s in which the national champion subsequently lost, including Maryland in 1953. The Terrapins were the only unbeaten and untied major college football team in the county before falling to No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, 7-0. Notre Dame had been No. 1 until it tied Iowa, 14-14, thanks to snapping Georgia Tech’s 31-game unbeaten streak, only to see coach Frank Leahy (107-13-9) collapse at halftime and retire at the end of the season.

National champions which subsequently lost in the postseasonSeason, Bowl, Teams (AP rank) 1950 Sugar: No. 7 Kentucky beat No. 1 Oklahoma 13-71951 Sugar : No. 3 Maryland beat No. 1 Tennessee 28-131953 Orange: No. 4 Oklahoma beat No. 1 Maryland 7-01960 Rose: No. 6 Washington beat No. 1 Minnesota 17-71964 Orange: No. 5 Texas beat No. 1 Alabama 21-17

In 1947, Michigan and Notre Dame had taken turns atop the Associated Press poll, and wouldn’t meet on the field. The Irish were at No. 1 in the initial rankings that season, released October 6, only to see the Wolverines replace them a week later, with Notre Dame back on top by the end of the month, and so forth. They switched places three times even though neither sustained a loss or tie. At the conclusion of the regular season, both teams were 9-0.

The Irish and Wolverines had two common opponents, Pittsburgh and Northwestern. Notre Dame won 40–6 and 26–19, respectively, while Michigan did likewise in the same order, 69–0 and 49–21.

In the final poll, released December 8, Notre Dame was listed first, and its season was complete. The Irish were in the midst of a 45-year stretch (1925-70) in which it rejected all bowl invitations, primarily citing academic reasons and that the games would interfere with final exams.

Michigan, however, had no such policy, and Fritz Crisler’s team accepted the invitation to play No. 3 Southern California (7-0-1) in the Rose Bowl. The game was a slaughter, with the Wolverines celebrating a crushing 49-0 victory, at that point the worst loss in USC history. Afterward, every mathematical ranking opted for Michigan as the national champion except the Williamson System, which like the Associated Press issued its final report prior to the postseason.

Due to the outcry, the AP held a special non-binding postseason poll on Jan. 6, 1948. It had 1. Michigan, 2. Notre Dame, by vote total of 226-119, only it didn’t supersede the final regular season poll. Thus, Notre Dame (which defeated Southern California earlier in the season, 38-7) was considered the “official” national champion, with Michigan the more popular choice.

2. The most famous tie in football (1946)

Page 63: Clips 2014

College football had never seen a lineup like the one Army boasted beginning with the 1944 season. Under the direction of Earl “Red” Blaik, the Cadets destroyed the competition by an average score of 56-4.

Leading the team was the Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside backfield of fullback Doc Blanchard and halfback Glenn Davis. They finished second and third in Heisman Trophy voting behind Ohio State’s Len Horvath in 1944 (Davis was second), Blanchard won the award in 1945 with Davis second, and Davis finally took home the trophy in 1946 with Blanchard finishing fourth.

In 1946, Army appeared poised to become the first team in the modern era to secure three straight national titles when it arrived at Yankee Stadium for another showdown with Notre Dame, with both teams again undefeated. The two years previous, the Fighting Irish lost 59-0 (the worst defeat in program history), and 48-0, and both times the Fighting Irish had been ranked second in the Associated Press poll. However, after two years serving in the Navy, Frank Leahy was back coaching Notre Dame.

This time it was different, and the media buildup could only be described as intense.

“It was almost eerie along the sideline,” Notre Dame’s George Connor was quoted as saying years later. “I’ve never felt like I did that day on a football field. Everybody was very tense, everything was electric.”

Six times Army had the ball inside the Notre Dame 30-yard line, only to be rebuffed, with the Fighting Irish crossing midfield three times, yet for the same result.

With both coaches playing more not to lose rather than to win, the pivotal moment came in the second quarter, after Notre Dame drove all the way to the Army 4 in the second quarter, when Leahy supposedly turned to kicker Fred Earley and asked, “Can you make it?”

“Sir, it’s like an extra point to me,” was the reply regarding the 21-yard attempt.

“No, we need six, not three. Three points will never win this game,” and Leahy went for the first down, only to be unsuccessful.

Army’s best chance to score may have been when Blanchard broke into the open field, only to be stopped by a sensational open-field tackle by Johnny Lujack.

“I guess I should be elated over the tie,” Leahy said after the game. “After all, we didn’t lose. But I’m not.”

Page 64: Clips 2014

Army remained at No. 1, but Notre Dame, after dominating Northwestern (27-0), Tulane (41-0), and No. 16 Southern California (26-6), narrowly surpassed it in the final Associated Press poll. Although the Fighting Irish won the national championship, the 0-0 tie haunted Leahy for years.

1. “Tie One for the Gipper” (1966)

It was dubbed the “Game of the Century,” if not more, long before the teams even took the field. No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Michigan State on November 19, 1966, had been building up for two years due to the circumstances regarding those seasons. In 1964, No. 1 Notre Dame lost in the final moments of its season finale against Southern California, 20-17, costing it the national championship. In 1965, Michigan State made it through the regular season with a 10-0 record, only to be upset by No. 5 UCLA in the Rose Bowl, 14-12, nullifying the title when for the first time the Associated Press held its final voting after the postseason.

The expectation was for a rare winner-takes-all type of showdown.

Things looked bleak for the visiting team after Michigan State jumped out a 10-0 lead. Notre Dame was already without leading rusher Nick Eddy, who slipped on the ice while getting off the train in East Lansing and aggravated his shoulder injury, and quarterback Terry Hanratty had to leave the game with a separated shoulder following a hit from massive defensive lineman Bubba Smith (with Charley Thornhill helping out). But Coley O’Brien, a diabetic who required two insulin shots a day, connected with backup sophomore receiver Bob Gladieux for a 34-yard touchdown.

The score stood at 10-7 until Joe Azzaro made a 28-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to tie it at 10. However, he missed a 41-yard attempt with 4:39 remaining that could have been the difference.

With just 1:24 left, Notre Dame got the ball back at its own 30 with plenty of time to at least try and reach field-goal range, when Ara Parseghian told his players to run out the clock for the 10-10 final score.

Notre Dame football player Rocky Bleier wrote in the book “Fighting Back,” that Parseghian told them in the locker room: “Men, I’m proud of you. God knows I’ve never been more proud of any group of young men in my life. Get one thing straight, though. We did not lose. We were number one when we came, we fell behind, had some tough things happen, but you overcame them. No one could have wanted to win this one more than I. We didn’t win, but, by God, we did not lose. They’re crying about a tie, trying to detract from your efforts. They’re trying to make it come out a win. Well, don’t you believe it. Their season is over. They can’t go anywhere. It’s all over and we’re still Number One. Time will prove everything that has happened here today.”

Page 65: Clips 2014

Despite the widespread criticism that Parseghian accurately foresaw, including Dan Jenkins of Sports Illustrated writing that the Irish “tied one for the Gipper,” the AP rankings remained No.1 ahead of Michigan State. But there was also the issue of No. 3 Alabama, which some believe had its best team yet under Paul W. “Bear” Bryant. The Crimson Tide was coming off national championships in 1964 and 1965, was the preseason No. 1 selection, and finished the regular season as the only team with an unblemished record, 10-0.

Alabama was paired against No. 6 Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl and won convincingly, 34-7. But still the Crimson Tide didn’t move up in the polls, and felt it was robbed of its place in history as the first program to win three consecutive national titles.

What can’t be measured was the impact civil rights had on the voting. At the time, Alabama, the state, was the focal point of the national debate, and tensions were at an all-time high. The football team had yet to integrate, with Bryant publicly saying the time wasn’t right yet while helping some standout black athletes land at other top programs, including, ironically, Michigan State and his friend Duffy Daugherty. Alabama yielded only 37 points the entire season and five opponents failed to score, including LSU (21-0), and Auburn (34-0).

As for his reaction to the Notre Dame-Michigan State tie, Bryant said: “At Alabama, we teach our men to win.” Meanwhile, Daugherty became an advocate for college football having a playoff, a position he maintained for the rest of his life.