The University of Alabama football program is the most decorated college program in the history of the sport.
Period.
Or, as former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin once said, “Period, period, period,” which, ironically, would mean an ellipsis, which means there’s more to come.
But regarding that first statement – it’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.
No college football program has won more championships than Alabama. The coach of the year award is named for Paul “Bear” Bryant, who was for decades considered the best college football coach of all time, and now many people think Bryant might not even be the best coach at Alabama – that it might, in fact, be Saban.
It’s hard to argue. It’s almost impossible to argue, in fact.
But coach Saban and the Tide have had rough waters the last two weeks, after a non-conference loss to Texas, then a sub-par performance in Tampa against South Florida, although it should be noted that sometimes Alabama fans can be spoiled. After all, it was a win. And the Tide is still very, VERY much still in the hunt for a national championship – they haven’t played their Southeastern Conference opener yet.
That happens Saturday, on Alabama’s campus at the famed Bryant-Denny Stadium, when Alabama (2-1) hosts Ole Miss (3-0) in a top-15 SEC West showdown. And yes, it is another battle between Saban and a former assistant, as Lane Kiffin coaches the Ole Miss Rebels.
Chris Low on Thursday had this story on ESPN – Nick Saban, Alabama face ‘test of humility’ amid ‘bump in the road’ – ESPN – and it had the following quote, from the coach himself.
“The standard here doesn’t change, but this is also a test of your humility,” Saban said. “You say, ‘Hey, I don’t care what anybody says. I know what the expectations are.’ But, I mean, how many people have been able to go 16 years and not have a bump in the road?”
In Low’s story, Saban is pretty much publicly challenging his team to rise to the occasion on Saturday against the visiting Rebels. And Alabama needs to. They do have an interesting few upcoming weeks: Saturday at home against Ole Miss, Sept. 30 at Mississippi State (although that looks a little less intimidating after the Bulldogs’ performance against LSU last week), and Oct. 7 at Texas A&M, one of the most difficult environments for a visiting team in college football.
Saban has seen just about everything in stints at Michigan State, LSU, the Miami Dolphins and of course, at Alabama since 2007, where he resurrected Bryant’s storied program and perhaps made it greater than ever.
The coach put the pressure on himself in Low’s piece, as well.
“Look, my pride in my performance and the standard that I have and what the product we’re putting on the field is not what I want it to be,” Saban said. “I don’t need anybody else to tell me, and that’s the disappointment to me. But I’m trying to channel those feelings in a direction that’s going to help us get better.
“I’m not going to get mad about it. I’m not frustrated about it. I just want to do better for our team and our players.”
It’s been well-reported that Saban has re-installed Jalen Milroe, the team’s original starting quartrerback this season, back at starter for this week. Milroe almost led the Crimson Tide to a comeback over the Longhorns two weeks ago. It’s also been well-noted that following the win over USF, there was a players-only meeting. So internally, the Tide have been trying to take care of business, off the field.
The first test to see whether or not things have improved on the field for Alabama starts Saturday at home against Ole Miss.
