Alabama Football: Top 5 Moments from the 2018 season
The Alabama football season didn’t end nearly the way it was planned, but the Crimson Tide still produced several unforgettable moments in 2018.
A 28-point loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game took some shine off of an otherwise sparkling year. Scribes penned their big-picture narratives in the aftermath of the shocking defeat, pondering whether this is the beginning of the end of the long standing dynasty that Nick Saban built in Tuscaloosa.
Searching for such high-brow takeaways from a single contest, one that was littered with Alabama miscues that, if avoided, would have led to a much different outcome, is nothing short of click-bait. Let me save you some time:
The dynasty is not dead.
Nick Saban is still the best coach in college football.
Alabama isn’t going anywhere.
While it was an unprecedented loss for a team used to being on the other side of the bullying, keep in mind that this was an incredibly young team that happened to have some superb performances by exceptional talents that masked some obvious deficiencies throughout the season. Clemson studied tape, found the weaknesses, and proceeded to pick them apart for sixty-minutes. Tip your hat and move on – the Tigers were clearly the better team.
That’s not an indication of a crumbling dynasty; if anything, it serves as proof that Dabo Swinney has turned Clemson into Alabama’s equal, and more battles between Saban and Swinney, the Tide and the Tigers, are likely on the horizon.
Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class during the early signing period, and Saban is putting the finishing touches on what might end up being his best recruiting class to date in Tuscaloosa. And now he, and the rest of a loaded returning roster, has a chip on their shoulders heading into 2019. They’ll wear that loss to Clemson like a scarlet letter throughout the offseason, fueling the fire as they rampage their way through their SEC schedule en route to a sixth straight trip to the College Football Playoff.
While the season ended on a sour note, there were still plenty of good moments in 2018 that won’t quickly be forgotten. This team still won 14 games, captured the SEC Championship, and won the Orange Bowl to advance to their fourth consecutive National Championship Game.
Nick Saban has raised the standard to National Championship or bust, but it’s difficult to remain disappointed over a season filled with so much success; a season that 128 other teams would have begged for.
It’s almost time to put this season in the rear-view and begin focusing on 2019, as Saban almost certainly already has, but first let’s take a look back at the five best moments from Alabama’s 2018 season: