The 10 Greatest College Football Teams Coached by Nick Saban

4 of 11

Dec 6, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Missouri Tigers safety Braylon Webb (9) forces Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Cooper (9) out of bounds in the first quarter of the 2014 SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome. Alabama beat Missouri 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2014 Crimson Tide were the favorite to win the first College Football Playoff national championship when the FBS switched from the BCS system for the 2014 season. They opened October with a 23-17 loss at Ole Miss, but after the Rebels and Mississippi State both faded down the stretch Alabama once again played for the SEC championship. But after winning the conference and making the semifinal as the top-seeded team, the Tide were upset by an Ohio State team forced to start third-string quarterback Cardale Jones in just his second start ever.

Only once has a Nick Saban-coached Alabama team given up more points than the 18.4 conceded per game in 2010, and that was in Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa in 2007. In addition to losing at Ole Miss, Alabama beat Arkansas by only one point the following week and also needed overtime to beat LSU. The wheels fell off completely when he was faced with his old nemesis Urban Meyer, who outcoached him in the Sugar Bowl to play for the inaugural CFP championship.

Home/College Football News