By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Alabama Crimson Tide come into the 2016 season as the defending national champions, and has become a pipeline to replenish NFL rosters.

The defending champs don’t rebuild anymore they just reload. Until someone knocks the king off of the throne then they are my pick to win the SEC.

Offense: Yes the Tide lost quarterback Jake Coker and Heisman winning running back Derrick Henry. So what?

At quarterback it’s likely that they’ll go with Cooper Bateman or couple of other talented players. The Tide has replaced National Championship QB’s before. Remember Greg McElroy, and A. J. McCarron?

Whoever wins the job will have Calvin Ridley to throw to. Ridley may be the best WR in all of college football.

While Alabama is known for defense the offense was a beast in 2015. Bo Scarborough will be the running back, and he is a monster 6-2 and 230 pounds. The Tide has also lost Trent Richardson, TJ Yeldon, Eddie Lacy, and Mark Ingram too under the Saban watch.

Is the reloading theme starting materialize yet?

Offensive line led by Cam Robinson will maul people again in 2016. Lane Kiffin may be the best OC in all of college football.

Defense: They lost Jarran Reed to Seattle and A’Shawn Robinson to my Detroit Lions on the defensive line.

Jonathan Allen returns and he is better than the two mentioned above. Nobody in college or the NFL is deeper along the DL as Alabama has been. Reuben Foster will be the thumper at LB replacing Reggie Ragland. Reload, reload, reload, and reload.

What Alabama brings to the table that nobody else can is Nick Saban. Saban is the best football coach in the business right now and that includes any NFL coach you want to name.

Saban has .847 winning percentage in Tuscaloosa and 4 National Championships, and Alabama has been ranked number one in the polls at one time or another in every season since 2008. That is a dynasty folks.

The man knows how to coach, recruit, and hire coaching talent, and handle the media better than anyone. I love watching his press conferences where he plays the media like a fiddle at a Bluegrass festival.

2016 Alabama Schedule W/L predictions:

Sept. 3 USC @ Dallas/W

Sept. 10 WKU/W

Sept. 17 at Ole Miss/W. Losing streak to Ole Miss ends.

Sept. 24 Kent State/W

Oct. 1 Kentucky/W

Oct. 8 at Arkansas/L. Alabama has one game every year where they struggle, and Arkansas matches up well with Alabama.

Oct. 15 at Tennessee/W. I’m not sold on Tennessee as a playoff contender.

Oct. 22 Texas A&M/W

Nov. 5 at LSU/W. Alabama is in LSU’s head.

Nov. 12 Miss State/W

Nov. 19 UT-Chattanooga/W

Nov. 26 Auburn/W

11-1 regular season and a win over Tennessee in the SEC title game.

Alabama will enter the 4 team playoff and win in the semifinals and lose in a rematch to Clemson for the National Championship to finish 13-2.  The arm chair quarterbacks come out in force and question whether the game has passed Saban by.

Alabama starts the season ranked at number 1. The critics will say Alabama lost too much talent to be ranked number one, but nobody manages a roster better than Nick Saban and this team has five-star talent stepping in to take over for departing five start talent.

As long as Nick Saban is at Alabama they will never rebuild the will just reload.

Alabama is the gold standard of College Football.