With last nights resounding victory over Ohio State, Nick Saban and Alabama have won 6 of the last 12 national titles. That’s rare air in any era of college football, in any sport as a matter of fact. What is even more fascinating is that fact that the Crimson Tide are not done, their domination of the college football world most likely is not coming to an end anytime soon.
Why, you ask? Just look at the recruiting classes that Saban continues to bring in, since their run of titles began in 2009, the lowest ranked class was 5th in 2018, with 9 of those classes having the top distinction by the 247Sports composite. Of those nine, 7 of them came in a row from 2011 through 2017. They have been first or second since their fall from the top in ‘18.
Absurd, it’s something that we may never see again. We are witnessing history right in front of our eyes. Notre Dame has had a similar run in college football, winning 4 titles in 7 years after Minnesota’s that saw the Gophers win 5 titles in 8 years. But that was over 70 years ago! Yale had an amazing run as well, in the 1870’s and 80’s, so they’re included in the conversation but that is nothing close to what modern football is now.
The SEC tent pole program now needs to be compared to some of the best dynasties in all of sports, the Chicago Bulls of the 90’s, UCLA basketball in the 60’s and 70’s, the Yankees in the 50’s and that’s probably it. There have been plenty of shorter term runs, but the Crimson Tide has put themselves into extremely elite territory.
What is currently happening in Tuscaloosa is something we probably won’t ever see again in college football or really in any sport due to the extreme parity now with elite athletes everywhere. That’s what makes this Alabama dominance so impressive in my eyes. Their run is one for the ages, which has earned them a place with the greatest dynasties of all time.
When it is all said and done, we will probably look back and marvel at what the Tide have been able to accomplish across two decades of college football. They will undoubtably go down as one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports.