Alabama Football: No clear reason Crimson Tide will not be Champions again

No solid reason 2020 does not end with an Alabama football National Championship.

For Alabama football fans most of 2019 and 2020 have not been right. Optimism is the best default perspective, but sometimes harsh realities intrude.

A 28-point drubbing in the 2018 National Championship game was a foreboding jolt. Crimson Tide worries were not much soothed by an 8-0 start to the 2019 season. Some Crimson Tide fans were not blinded by the series of No. 2 or No. 1 rankings. Defensive weaknesses were evident. Injuries had diminished the offense, defense and special teams.

Against LSU in Bryant-Denny, Joe Brady’s wizardry was too much. A game Crimson Tide, led by an injured Tua Tagovailoa, could not score enough, or stop LSU enough, to win. Losing to Auburn three weeks later was almost anti-climactic pain. Many Alabama football fans admitted in 2019, the Crimson Tide was not CFB Playoff ready.

Under Nick Saban, Alabama football has repeatedly come back from failure and disappointment. In each case, it has fought its way back to the mountaintop. Many across the college football world want to believe the Crimson Tide cannot do it again. They argue a window has closed or is closing on the Alabama Crimson Tide – Nick Saban Dynasty.

Considering the history, there is no solid indication of a Crimson Tide demise. A disappointing two-game slide at the end of the 2008 season was followed by a 2009 National Championship. A hugely dispiriting 2010 season was followed by National Championships in 2011 and 2012.

The 2013 and 2014 seasons can only be considered failures because of unique expectations. Only the Crimson Tide measures the success or failure of every season by a National Championship. Nick Saban inherited those expectations. He would not have it any other way.

What followed was another National Championship in 2015. After a 14-1, 2016 season, another Championship followed in 2017.

History indicates another Championship run for the Crimson Tide in 2020. Those who think not, need to explain why. What has changed? Alabama football still has college football’s greatest coach. Nick has not forgotten how to do his job. If he saw weak links in his 2019 staff, be assured Saban believes the 2020 season will not have the same problems.

Alabama football facilities are unsurpassed. The addition of Dr. Matt Rhea and David Ballou adds another championship-building component. The new Sports Science Center gives Rhea and Ballou every possible tool

Recruiting has not inexplicably passed Saban by resulting in less than Championship talent. Not afraid to adapt, Nick is more willing to change recruiting strategies than most coaches. The Crimson Tide had the No. 1 class in 2019 and the No 2 class in 2020. Because of virus-related restrictions, Saban will not reduce his recruiting attention on future classes. But, he is saving time. No camps and no recruiting travel mean Nick has more time to drill down on the 2020 team and his passion for perfection. The unattainability of perfection does not discourage Saban. It drives him forward.

The only real condition suggesting the 2020 Tide will not achieve another Championship, applies to every elite program. National Championships are exceedingly hard to win. In most seasons, a degree of luck or a lack of misfortune determines the outcome. Toss away any premonition of bad luck lingering from 2019 and the Crimson Tide should be the National Championship favorite. National pundits, Paul Finebaum and even Danny Kanell agree.

Minus misfortune from injuries, or being on the bad luck side of some freak plays in a key game – the Crimson Tide will return to the top of the college football mountain in 2020.