Alabama has been dominant in the world of college football since head coach Nick Saban took over in 2007. The Crimson Tide have won four national titles, five SEC titles and eight division titles. However, USA Today analyst Dan Wolken believes that the lase decade of Alabama dominance could be over should the Crimson Tide lose to Clemson.
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.@DanWolken: "This has definitely been the decade of Alabama. If Clemson wins two in a row, you have to look at it as a pivot from the era of Alabama to Clemson being considered as an equal or even above."
— The Jay Barker Show (@Jaybarkershow) December 26, 2017
.@DanWolken: "If Alabama doesn't win again this year, it says more about the landscape of college football than the program. Winning in the playoff era is much different than it was in the BCS era."
— The Jay Barker Show (@Jaybarkershow) December 26, 2017
His last tweet makes a very good point in that Alabama's schedule and beat down of cupcake non-conference opponents has helped them get into BCS Championship games. With a committee of people meeting and deciding on four teams, there is much more room for "error" or other decision-making to take place that might not benefit as much as a straight computer readout.
However, credit shouldn't be taken away from Clemson either. Dabo Swinney has been building a powerhouse since he took over in 2008 and has been recruiting like an SEC program too. They obviously beat Alabama last year in the national title game and came close in the 2015 season. They'll meet again for a third time, but this time it's to actually get to the National Championship Game.
The game has a kickoff on New Year's Day for 8:45 p.m. EST.
