Alabama, Saban, and Company Makes History Winning National Championship Game

The Alabama Crimson Tide put on an explosive showing of offense as they compiled 621 yards of total offense as they captured their 6th National Championship since 2009. In the process, Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban broke Paul “Bear” Bryant’s record after his victory over Ohio State gave him 7 total titles for his career breaking a tie with the legendary coach.

This victory for Saban without a doubt solidifies Saban as the greatest college coach of all-time. It’s amazing how Saban keeps the same level of consistency year in and year out with different casts of players and coaches. Saban is so good at what he does, Alabama is always a favorite to win the championship, and from the look of things, he isn’t going to stop anytime soon.

The Tide won this game in dominating fashion as they defeated the Buckeyes 52-24, and if you love offense, then this was the game to watch. QB Mac Jones unloaded a vicious aerial assault on the Buckeyes defense while passing for 464 yards and 5 TDs. Jones also broke the FBS record held by former Texas QB Colt McCoy for completion percentage (77.4%) and his 5 TD passes were tied for the most ever in a championship game. RB Najee Harris didn’t disappoint either with his performance as he totaled 178 yards from scrimmage with 3 total TDs. Harris tied an SEC record after scoring his 57th TD of his illustrious college career. He also scored his 30th TD of the season which also is the most by a player in a single season in SEC history. Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith saved his very best for last as it only took him 2 quarters to rip the Buckeyes secondary to shreds as they found no way to slow him down no matter what they tried. Single man coverage, press coverage, zone coverage or double-teamed, Smith just couldn’t be contained as he caught 12 passes on 13 targets for 215 yards on his way to earning Offensive MVP honors. After such a historic season, Smith still wasn’t finished setting records as he became the all-time leader in receiving yards in SEC history racking up 3,965 for his career. He also became the single-season SEC record holder for most receiving yards in a single season with 1,856 yards. To put the icing on the cake, Smith and Harris became the 1st teammates to score 3 TDs EACH in a National Championship game.

Just when we thought we saw the most talented offensive team last season when Joe Burrow, LSU, and company captured the 2020 National Championship, here comes the Tide the very next season averaging 48.5 points per game, the best mark in SEC history. Six titles in twelve years for Saban as he caps off another incredible season. It's a testament to just how great of a coach he is. This season exhibited Saban’s ability to adapt as we are often used to seeing Alabama’s identity more focused on the defense, but this offense and the talented players it features were so lethal, not to slight the Tide’s defense in any way. It wasn't like this offense had to mask any flaws or recover from any mistakes or mishaps the defensive unit made. We are just used to seeing the Tide’s defense setting the tone instead of their offense.

As expected, there will be major roster turnover at multiple positions due to players graduating and declaring for the NFL Draft, but as we all have witnessed over the years, Alabama just reloads and restocks their roster with even more talent and ends up competing for more titles. Once again, Saban and Alabama ended up with the #1 recruiting class in the nation. It features two 5-star offensive linemen, JC Latham and Tommy Brockermeyer, who should get playing time early as freshmen. They will likely fill in the slots that Deonte Brown and Alex Leatherwood are expected to leave behind as projected 1st Round picks in the NFL Draft.

Expectations are always high in Tuscaloosa and it’s very possible that we could see more title runs by Saban and Alabama in the future.