Alabama finished the regular season with an 11-1 record ranked inside the top 10, with the only blemish being a Week 2 loss to Texas at home. A loss against Auburn in the Iron Bowl would have killed any chances of a College Football Playoff berth for the Tide, but Jalen Milroe’s late-game heroics kept the 2023 season alive.
Because the team avoided disaster and will enter the postseason with national championship aspirations, Alabama is labeled a “winner,” according to USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg.
“With Alabama down 24-20 and facing fourth-and-goal from the Auburn 31-yard line with under a minute left, Jalen Milroe took a shotgun snap, stood in the middle of a clean pocket for seven seconds and then found wide receiver Isaiah Bond in the back left corner of the end zone to steal a 27-24 Iron Bowl win and keep the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes alive entering the SEC championship game against Georgia. Milroe made another late-in-the-day Heisman statement with 366 yards of total offense, including a team-best 107 yards on the ground, and two touchdowns passes without an interception. The miraculous win sends the Tide into December with just the one non-conference loss to Texas, making this season one of the most impressive of coach Nick Saban’s career.”
Though Milroe is not likely going to be this season’s Heisman Trophy recipient and the team still needs a little bit of help to crack the top four in the College Football Playoff rankings, it’s safe to say that this season has already been somewhat of a success.
Many had counted out the Tide after the early-season loss to the Longhorns, Alabama fans included. Instead of spiraling in the wrong direction, the team steadily improved on both sides of the ball and worked its way back into the playoff conversation. For that, Alabama is a winner.
The season is far from over as there will certainly be two more games played: the SEC championship and then a bowl game of some sort. However, Nick Saban hopes to play in a third game: the national championship.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the race to make the College Football Playoff reaches its peak.
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