Alabama 2008 Fits the Profile of a National Champion

by Nico2.0 on Feb 4, 2008 1:29 PM CST in Football Comment 6 comments

Yes, this headline is meant to grab attention. No, I don't think Alabama will win a national title in 2008 (that's the disclaimer for all of the troll/lurker fans of other teams that'll try to use this headline as a weapon.) That being said, a recent Rivals.com mentions five characteristics all BCS Champion teams have had in common. In 2008, only six team meet those five criteria and our Crimson Tide is one of them. The other five are Georgia, USC, Wake Forest, Rutgers and Kansas.

My rank of the order of possibility of those six teams for winning from greatest to least would be:

USC
Georgia
Alabama
Kansas
Rutgers
Wake Forest

I'm not going to steal their thunder and rewrite their article, but it is interesting to see how few teams in 2008 meet the criteria of the 10 champions.

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ok ok ok

We have Saban, a young talented football team, a good coaching staff, a GREAT recruiting class, and a team that is hungry to win. Sure if you add all that up it CAN add up to be a National Championship but we still have a VERY long way to go before we are near a USC type caliber team. IF Saban can put together a few more years like he did this year then hell yes i say its possible.Im not going to go around talking about championships hopes anytime soon and for the love of god i hope no one around here does either.

by bammer on Feb 4, 2008 2:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Probably put KU 3rd...

They have the system in place, gelled talent, play in the weaker division of a weaker conference. They do lose some talent, but they are legit (never, ever thought I'd say that about the Jayhawks). Their skeddie isn't quite as cupcake-licious as last year, so we'll see

But, for the traditional big boys, there is absolutely no way that we or UGA go undefeated. We're young, getting our system in place, and relying heavily on potential for this year. USC always seems to trip over themselves at least once a season. And, despite Richt's best efforts, there is always AT LEAST one game a season when the Dawgs just don't show up (see, awBarn, UF, UT, recently).

by Stuck in the Plains on Feb 4, 2008 2:30 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Like I said...

...it was an attention grabbing headline...and I don't even remotely think we'll win it all, nor win our division in the SEC. We'll be dang lucky to go 7-5 or 8-4 considering our road schedule.

Roll Tide!

by Nico2.0 on Feb 4, 2008 3:48 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I believe that

The kids we have now (current Jrs. and Srs. for the most part) kind of got disillusioned with the program. Having to "buy in" to something different every few years. Last year definitely showed improvement passion-wise though. I honestly believe that Arkansas, Houston, and Ole Miss would have gone the other way with a Shula coached squad. They would have laid down. And FSU, UGA, and LSU would have been worse than they turned out to be .

I think another year of Saban-ology, and we'll start to see this team gel.

by TNBamaboy85 on Feb 4, 2008 3:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

It's not disillusionment, it's a lack of talent.

I don't think it has a whole lot to do with "buying in" to Saban's program so much as it has to do with a general dearth of talent in the program. Mike Shula was a decent recruiter, considering the negative public perception caused by probation and the revolving-door head coaching position. Obviously, Saban's a better recruiter than Shula is, but let's not get carried away attacking the heart or dedication of the players Shula recruited. It's ridiculous to apply ad hoc labels to every Shula recruit of "well, X just doesn't care" or "X isn't buying in to the program." I think it would be damn-near impossible to play college football without "buying-in" and trying your hardest. True, the kids that don't buy in won't play under Saban, but I don't think it's very respectful or honest to label all Shula's recruits as lazy and all Saban's recruits as hard-workers. I'm sure there's plenty of both mixed in both groups.

by Bama philosophe on Feb 4, 2008 5:54 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Would Shula's team have lost against ULM?

We can't draw any conclusions about who is the better overall coach, Saban or Shula, based on just last season. Certainly, Saban's getting far better recruits, but his team lost their last four regular season games, including against Mississippi State (which Shula got fired for the year before) and Louisiana-Monroe. It's totally unfair to claim that Mike Shula's team would've "laid down" against Ole Miss, Houston, and Arkansas last year, just like it would be unfair for me to say that a Shula-coached-team would've definitely won against Louisiana-Monroe. Be fair. If you're going to be tough on Shula, then be tough on Saban, too. After all, he only went 7-6.

by george teague on Feb 4, 2008 7:32 PM CST reply actions 0 recs