Through four weeks of the 2016 season, the majority of the country believes that Alabama is the best team in college football. The Crimson Tide have received more than 88% of the first-place votes across the two major polls and, as the defending champions, Nick Saban's team receives the benefit of the doubt with good reason.
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However, ESPN's Matt Barrie has a different opinion, and he shared it in a public forum on Monday. Let's just say that it didn't go over well given that the comments arrived... during a speech in the state of Alabama. Craig Stephenson of AL.com brings the specifics, as Barrie chooses Urban Meyer and Ohio State at the top of the heap:
"I believe that they [Ohio State] do a lot of the little things perfect, if that makes sense. I believe that they're the fastest team in the country. J.T. Barrett's got an offense he's comfortable with. He's got skill players with experience.
"The reason I don't think Alabama, at least at this point in the season, has shown themselves to be the best team in the country, I still have to see more of Jalen Hurts, and see what he can do as a true freshman quarterback. And as he continues to develop, Alabama's got the skill on the defensive side of the ball. They've got Calvin Ridley and O.J. Howard, they've got the skill positions in place."
The reasoning is certainly sound, as Barrie leans heavily on the presence of J.T. Barrett at the helm to justify his pick. Alabama's Jalen Hurts has been electric at times in his first quartet of games, but Barrett is the (much) safer, more established choice, and with Meyer on the sideline to tap into the vast talent base for the Buckeyes, it isn't an insane pick.
Still, anyone challenging Alabama's superiority will be ridiculed until the Crimson Tide lose a game and, even then, we've seen what Saban's team can do when backed into a corner with an early loss. Maybe, just maybe, though, we'll see these two teams on the field in January.
