Alabama Football: National Championship pressure, real and imagined

When the Paul Finebaum show came up with the 10 teams having the most pressure to win a National Championship in 2019, Alabama football was No. 1.

Alabama football fans cast a wide net seeking worthwhile, offseason content about college football. Media sources love to make lists because they often rile up plenty of fans. Though not truly ‘riled up’ we have some comments on a recent list.

At the outset, a couple of disclaimers. Those of us who create content face constant consumer appetite for new information. All of us try our best to meet that demand. Offering meaty content used to mean enough ‘thought-through’ ideas to give a consumer something to chew on. Today’s media too often gets caught in immediate sizzle, caring little for any actual substance.

The Paul Finebaum Show list below is an example of a goal to maximize immediate sizzle.

To consider the list, it must first be asked what is the source of the supposed pressure. Based on the list above, the pressure comes from the fans of nine schools and some collection of fans from all 12 of the Pac 12 schools.

The “Anyone in the Pac 12” item is, of course, utter nonsense. No majority of Washington State, Washington, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Oregon State fans will feel a pressure relief because their rival wins a national championship. At most of the Pac 12 schools, the ‘pressure’ is more about not enduring another season of mediocrity. A minority of Pac 12 schools may dream of a national championship but none are under any 2019 pressure to actually achieve it.

The other laughable list entries are Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and LSU. Michigan has not won a Big Ten Championship since 2004 when the title was shared with Iowa. The Wolverines have not won a bowl game since 2015, losing three straight to Florida State, South Carolina and Florida. Michigan may again win another national championship. The last one for the Wolverines was in 1997, but nothing indicates a Jim Harbaugh coached Michigan team will ever win one.

Other than among the gigantic and loyal Fighting Irish fanbase, no one sees Notre Dame as a real national championship contender. The Irish might have been a Top 10 last season but in no way should a CFP berth have been awarded. Any feigned pressure is an illusion.

Texas might be a much-improved team in 2019. The Longhorns have one National Championship since 1981. It was 2005, under Mack Brown. Needing (hoping) to win a national championship roughly every 20-plus seasons is no pressure at all.

Then there is LSU. The Bengals Tigers have not been able to take down Alabama football since November of 2011. The Tide win streak is at eight games. After losing to the Crimson Tide 24-10 in 2017, Ed Orgeron claimed his Tigers were catching up to Alabama football. Last season the Tide win was a 29-point shutout. If lusting for a national championship was enough to win one, maybe pressure would exist in south Louisiana. But it isn’t and it doesn’t.

Georgia under pressure to win a national championship is another false contrivance. The Bulldogs have not won one since 1980. Georgia has only won three SEC Championships this century. The Dawgs will be good in 2019, though maybe not as good on defense. But good enough to be a CFP contender. The real pressure (potentially) is finding some way to make it past another date with Alabama football. The Bulldogs last beat the Tide in 2007, Nick Saban’s first in Tuscaloosa.

It is fair to argue Oklahoma and Ohio State are under legitimate pressure to win a national championship. The remaining pair from the Finebaum list have either normal pressure or no pressure at all.

The Alabama Crimson Tide ALWAYS has pressure to win a national championship. It is a given in Tuscaloosa and since anything less than a national championship is unacceptable, there is no added pressure in 2019. It is business as usual.

Clemson has zero pressure. Dabo is playing with house money and that situation is not likely to change soon.

There you have it Tide fans. The many ways the Paul Finebaum Show was wrong. And a couple of instances where perhaps the ‘blind squirrel’ premise led to sensible conclusions.