Alabama Football: What this team and Nick Saban have done is amazing
By Ronald Evans
The 2023 Alabama Football team is Nick Saban’s best performance in the GOAT’s unequaled career. After winning the SEC Championship Game (Alabama’s 30th) almost all attention is going to what the CFP Selection Committee will do on Sunday.
Even louder than the acclaim Nick Saban should be receiving are the whining complaints from Georgia fans. The Bulldogs had a great run, one of the greatest in college football history. But in Atlanta, in a defining game for both programs, Nick Saban, the Alabama football staff, and the Crimson Tide players were too much.
Crimson Tide fans are justifiably concerned that the Selection Committee will turn away from selecting the four best teams, of which Alabama Football is undeniably one. We should have no concern. An SEC Champion on an 11-game win streak, having beaten four ranked teams, including beating the No. 1 team has to be a lock.
Alabama Football: Nick Saban’s Best
As Nick Saban has often said, don’t dwell on what you cannot control. Instead, let’s celebrate how far the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide has come and the job Nick Saban has done to get them here.
Even before the Sept. 16 game against South Florida was over, a bandwagon of detractors (including some Alabama fans) loudly stated the Crimson Tide could not win eight games.
Not all the disdain was unjustified. While auditioning two quarterbacks, the Crimson Tide was awful against USF. Against the Bulls, even the vaunted Alabama defense looked vulnerable. To many Alabama fans, the 17-3 Crimson Tide win was worse than the loss to Texas.
The Crimson Tide had collapsed in the fourth quarter a week before, losing at home to Texas, by 10 points. After the Texas game, Nick Saban was clear much was still ahead for the Crimson Tide.
"This was a test for everybody. It was a test for the coaches, it was a test for me, it was a test for all the players, and we obviously didn’t do very well. But it’s the midterm, not the final."
Saturday in Atlanta may have not been the Crimson Tide’s final either. A National Championship game would have more import. But unless the Georgia Bulldogs make the Playoff field, Alabama will not face a better team this season.
After the game, Nick Saban praised his team,
"This is a team. These guys here are what you call a team. They play together. They respect each other. They work hard. They are responsible. They take responsibility for their own self determination. This is a great team because they play together as a team. They overcome adversity. They persevere. They did it all year. I’ve never been more proud of a group of guys than these guys in terms of what they accomplished tonight."
And the main reason the 2023 Alabama football team has accomplished so much is because Nick Saban never gave up on them.
