Bishop Media Sports Network
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch January 30
Spreading Their Wings?
By: Buck Blanz
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Looking around the NFL as the Super Bowl gets closer, teams that didn’t make the playoffs this season have begun making beneficial moves for their future.
The Atlanta Falcons, much like the Jacksonville Jaguars, had some soul searching to do while figuring out how to put their best foot forward.
Leaving the fans to speculate on what will happen throughout the crucial 2021 offseason for the Atlanta Falcons.
The Atlanta Falcons franchise has a clean slate, without a General Manager or a Head Coach, to make the 2021 offseason the most important in Franchise history.
First, the Falcons hired former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who throughout the past two seasons led one of the most balanced offenses in the NFL.
This past season Smith’s offense ranked second in defensive efficiency, fourth in points per game at 30.7 and third in yards per game at 396.4.
Looking at Smith’s numbers alone is encouraging for Falcon fans as they have seen their best offense turn into a stand still through the last four seasons.
Unfortunately for Smith, Falcons fans are not going to be easy to work with as the young offensive minded coaches before him (Sean Mcvay, Matt Lefleur, and Kyle Shannahan) have set the bar very high with little time to make their mark.
Arthur Smith will look to do something very similar in Atlanta as he hopes to turn around a franchise with a horrendous record of 4-12.
After the Falcons found their guy to lead them out of the locker room on Sundays, their next mission was to find the best fit for General Manager for the future of the Franchise.
The Falcons decided to hire 40-year-old Terry Fontenot, who has spent the last 18 years working with the New Orleans Saints in various positions.
Fontenot was most recently acting as the assistant general manager and began in the marketing intern before moving his way up through the ranks.
Fontenot attracted the Falcons attention considering the position by demonstrating tough decision making that resulted in championship contending teams year in and year out.
Where does this leave the Falcons?…
For starters… Anyone that is entering the 2021 offseason $37 Million over the salary cap after going 4-12 the season before is in a rough spot.
That is exactly where the Falcons are sitting, so Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith have their work cut out for them in their first season.
Fontenot’s New Orleans experience shows that he has been a part of an organization that has prioritized winning over money and finding ways to make it work. Given his background and the recent success in New Orleans, it seems like the Falcons franchise is in good hands.
The only question that remains is whether or not the Falcons are going to try and win now or begin to rebuild for the future.
From ownership down to newly hired head coach Arthur Smith the goal is to make it possible for the franchise to establish consistent success.
As far as Matt Ryan and Julio Jones’ future in Atlanta, Owner Arthur Blank says that those decisions are completely in the hands of Smith and Fontenot to be able to create their own clear path for success within the Franchise.
Gator Grades
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2020 Florida Gators season has concluded and the team is about to go through some significant changes.
The Gators ended the season with an 8-4 record, which included a very disappointing three game skid (LSU, Alabama, and Oklahoma) at the end.
It is hard not to evaluate this season with mixed results.
Going into the season, the final results (ignoring the horrific performance in the bowl game) would most likely be considered a success. Florida beat Tennessee and Georgia and made it to the SEC Championship game.
On the other hand, they had a horrible showing against a terrible LSU team and an embarrassing on and off field showing in the bowl game.
To me this season was another step forward, but not as big of a step as it could have been.
Florida Gators Offense: The Gators ended the season ranked 4th in ESPN SP+ Metric with 509.8 yards per game (ranked 9th in overall yards per game) with 378.6 yards passing per game (ranked #1 in yards per game) and 131.3 yards rushing per game (ranked 97th in yard per game) and scoring an average of 39.8 points per game (ranked 13th in point per game).
It should go without saying, but the accomplishments that Kyle Trask achieved in 2020 is record setting. You see the numbers but what the numbers do not show is that they were achieved without a rushing game and a below average offensive line.
Kyle Trask ended the season with a Passer Rating of 180 and a QBR of 89.1. He threw for 4,283 yards with a completion percentage of 68.8% with 43 touchdowns and 8 picks. Playing 12 games against all Power 5 schools.
Kyle Pitts is a superstar and even with that I think he slightly outperformed expectations.
Pitts played in eight games in 2020. He caught 43 passes for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns. He finished 10th in the Heisman voting (the first tight end to finish in the top 10 in 43 years), won the Mackey Award and unanimous first team All-American.
Kadarius Toney had a phenomenal year. Toney finished 3rd in the SEC in receiving yards (13th in the nation). He had a career high in catches with 62, receiving yards with 831 and all-purpose yards with 1,228.
With respect to the running backs, it can be hard to fully grade them because the offense remained one dimensional.
Not that PFF.com is the absolute data points, the offensive line ranked 76th out of 127 (based on multiple metrics).
When you consider the lack of a rushing game and the lack of clean pockets for Trask, this ranking seems painfully accurate. I’ve said it in the past, ‘stars matter’; the 3.76 average for the line produced an average overall performance.
Overall Offensive Grade: A+
Florida Gators Defense: The Gators ended the season ranked 33rd in ESPN SP+ Metric yielding 404.8 total yards per game (ranked 62nd in total yardage per game), with 258.3 passing yards per game (ranked 99th in yardage), and 146.5 rushing yards per game (ranked 48th).
Florida’s defense had three games where they limited the opposing offense to perform less than their season average (Kentucky, Georgia and Missouri).
Overall, Florida defense struggled with sound tackling, communication issues in the secondary and just getting lined up prior to the snap.
Unfortunately, none of these issues were corrected as the season went on.
Historically, this was the worst Florida defense ever! No matter what position group I reviewed, it was all the same: horrible.
Overall Defensive Grade: F
What started off as a promising season with CFP Playoffs aspirations, suffered a speed bump early with a loss to Texas A&M, but recovered with a major beatdown win over Georgia, only to end with a shocking loss to a very poor LSU squad.
Coach Mullen saw his share of hiccups after the Texas A&M game, a brawl on the field with Missouri, the appearance of Coach Vader and the post LSU shoe tossing comments. Mullens stuck his foot in his mouth more than once this season.
Team Grade: C+
The Big Game
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The matchup for Super Bowl LV is set, Kansas City (14-2) versus Tampa Bay (11-5).
Tom Brady led the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl in his first season with the team and his tenth appearance in the big game.
Tampa Bay will be the first team to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium.
When it comes to this it seems like a technicality because there have been teams that played in their hometown but not stadium.
For instance, the 1979 Los Angeles Rams played Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl. The 1984 San Francisco 49ers played Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium.
This is a matchup of the young upstart QB against the greatest of all time.
The Chiefs are defending champions, led by Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes was second in the league in passing yards with 4,740, 38 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Brady was third with 4,633, 40 TD’s and 12 picks.
Both teams are loaded with offensive weapons. Tight end Travis Kelce is fifth in receptions (105) and second in receiving yards (1,416) in the league, which includes wide receivers. He also had 11 touchdowns. Tyreek Hill had 87 receptions for 1,276 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Tampa Bay’s star play makers have missed a few games this season with injuries.
Mike Evans had 70 catches, 1,006 yards and 13 TD’s. Chris Godwin played in 12 games with 65 receptions, 840 yards and 7 touchdowns. Rob Gronkowski had 45 catches, 623 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Buccaneers also have two talented running backs, Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones.
These teams met in Week 12 in Tampa. Kansas City won 27 – 24, but the game did not seem as close as the final score.
The Chiefs led 20 – 7 at halftime and the Bucs scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. Hill had 13 receptions, 269 yards and 3 touchdowns. The number one priority will be to stop him in this game.
Tampa Bay is 6th in total defense and Kansas City is 16th. The Chiefs are average on defense but in today’s NFL they just need to outscore opponents.
The road to the Super Bowl was very different for these teams. The Bucs were the fifth seed in the NFC, so they had to play three road games. They beat Washington, New Orleans and Green Bay to get here. The NFC Championship was a hard fought 31 – 26 win over the Packers.
“Tom is the GOAT (greatest of all time),” said Bucs receiver Scotty Miller, who caught a 39-yard touchdown pass with 1 second left until halftime. “Last year, we ended 7-9. This year, we’re going to the Super Bowl. He’s the biggest reason.”
The Chiefs were the number one seed in the AFC so they had home field advantage and a bye week in the first round.
They played Cleveland in the divisional round and won 22 – 17. Mahomes was knocked out of the game with a concussion.
In the AFC Championship they beat Buffalo 38 – 24. There were several times in the game where both teams got into scuffles.
I think this is going to be a very close game. Losing the first meeting should give Tampa Bay an advantage because they know what to expect.
Also, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienimy is the hottest candidate to get a head coaching job. This has to provide some distraction for him going in to this game.
Dumpster fire
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As you look around the Southern college football landscape you see the Alabama, Clemson, Florida, and Georgia’s of the world playing a very good brand of football, but you can also look around and see some programs not performing very well.
We have a few programs in our geographical region that currently look like dumpster fires. Let’s take a look at my top five programs that have fallen on hard times.
- Georgia Tech: The Jackets were number one on this list two years ago. Now they are about remove themselves from lists like this. Georgia Tech is doing the right things to not be included on lists like this much longer.
Teams 1-4 on this list need to follow the Jacket blueprint. The Jackets land here as a motivational tool for 2021.
- Florida State: My how the mighty have fallen. This once proud football program has sunk to an all-time low.
Gone are the days of ruling the ACC with an iron fist, and now we see FSU backing out of playing home games against Clemson and using Covid-19 as an excuse after Clemson had already made the trip.
FSU used to be a recruiting machine and now they fight Georgia Southern and South Alabama for 3-star athletes.
FSU will be back eventually but how in the hell should a program of this magnitude ever appear on a list like this? It cost Clemson $250K to travel to Tallahassee for a pre-game meal, but they got to see a top five dumpster fire in person.
- South Carolina: Are you starting to see a pattern of the SEC East yet?
South Carolina is a State with good high school football, Columbia is 80 miles from Charlotte and less than 3 hours from Atlanta. The recruiting base is there.
South Carolina’s biggest problem is that they are Clemson’s little brother and they can’t shake that label.
You mention that to the fan base and they get fighting mad. How can Clemson be so good and South Carolina be so bad currently? I just don’t get it and many football observers in the south don’t either.
Will Shane Beamer fix this dumpster fire?
- Vanderbilt: Vandy has never been very good in football. We all understand that the academic prestige of Vanderbilt presents some competitive challenges for this fine University.
Derek Mason has been fired and been replaced by Clark Lea from Notre Dame.
Vandy needs to get back to work of becoming a competitive football team. The Commodores did not win a football game in 2020, and decided they were just not going to show up and play Georgia in their final game of the season. That mentality alone has to go and makes Vandy a dumpster fire.
- Tennessee: How did we get here Vol fans? You are the biggest dumpster fire in college football currently. A ten-year-old boy and Tennessee fan asked his father “What is it like to beat Alabama dad?” Dad answered “I don’t know son we are Vol fans.”
Tennessee just suffered through the worst decade of football in its proud history. Six head coaches in 12 years.
Now apparently Tennessee has as many as 30 level 1 and level 2 major recruiting violations. Rumors of giving away cash in McDonald’s bags and so on.
Due to NCAA sanctions forthcoming it may be 2025-26 until Tennessee has a full complement of scholarships to offer (they could lose up to 30 over next 4 years).
This program is about to be on life support. Tennessee is having a mass exodus via the transfer portal.
Memphis is the best college football program in the State of Tennessee right now.
Damn, just damn, Big Orange nation you are the biggest dumpster fire in all of college football.
Florida Grades
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college football season is over and Alabama has regained the throne.
For the Big Four in the State of Florida, its year-end report card time.
The biggest question when I go to grade these teams is expectations versus on field performance.
Florida State: The buzz surrounding Florida State Football has been steadily building with the arrival of Mike Norvell. The Seminoles kicked off the season against ACC rival Georgia Tech and ended with Duke.
FSU finished with three wins and six losses. The Noles had three games canceled due to COVID. The signature win was against number 5 North Carolina 31-28. Many fans were excited that the program had finally turned the corner and FSU football was back.
But a week later Louisville routed the Seminoles 48-16.
Florida State has long been considered one of the Elite programs in the country, but if last season is a gauge of the program’s direction, it is in big trouble.
Team stats: Passing 159 for 292 for 1,771 yards, ten touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Rushing 352 attempts for 1,799 yards and 19 touchdowns. Receiving 159 catches for 1,771 yards. Defensively the Seminoles allowed 257 yards passing per game and 199 yards rushing per game. FSU scored 232 points this season and allowed 324.
The few bright spots from this season were Jordan Travis, Lawrence Toafili, Amari Gainer and Emmett Rice.
Mike Norvell’s first season grade: F
UCF: The Knights entered 2020 with the goal of winning the AAC. That goal was not accomplished.
The Knights blew two big halftime leads to Tulsa and Memphis. That set the tone for the remainder of the season.
Central Florida finished with a 6-4 record but that did not meet the expectations of the program.
Offensively the Knights did put up record breaking numbers led by Sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Marion Williams.
Gabriel was 248 for 413 for 3570 yards, 32 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Williams recorded 71 catches for 1039 yards and ten touchdowns.
UCF was very defensive in 2020. The Knights gave up 299 passing and 192 yards rushing (average per game).
In UCF’s four losses, the Knights allowed Memphis 41 first downs and over 700 yards of total offense, they also allowed Tulsa 23 first downs and over 450 yards of total offense. Cincinnati had 28 first downs and over 500 yards of total offense and BYU had 34 first downs and over 650 yards of total offense.
UCF fans have great expectations but realize that 2017 & 2018 are long in the past.
Josh Heupel’s grade: C+
Miami: The Canes finally had a standout starting quarterback in D’Eriq King and he helped bring some of the swag back to South Florida.
The Hurricanes took strides forward from Manny Diaz changing the culture in Miami.
Miami finished 2020 with eight wins and three losses.
King was a difference maker for the Canes. He was 211 of 329 for 2,686 yards passing, 23 touchdowns, only 5 interceptions, 538 yards rushing, and 4 touchdowns.
The Hurricanes struggled against top tier ACC teams with blow out losses to Clemson (42-17) and North Carolina (62-26).
In these games, Miami was plagued with errors whether it be penalties, missed assignments, drops, or lack of effort.
The offense took a step forward, but Miami’s defense looked unmotivated, porous and undisciplined.
Despite great performances against Duke and Florida State, the defense surrendered too many yards on the ground to North Carolina (554).
They also allowed Oklahoma State’s quarterback to throw for 300 plus yards and four scores.
Manny Diaz grade: B
Changing Winds
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When it was announced the Atlanta Falcons had hired Arthur Smith as their new head coach I immediately thought “‘the guy who wrote Dueling Banjos is still alive…and he’s going to coach the Falcons?”
Ok, so maybe the latter part is a bit of an embellishment, but that is the first Arthur Smith that came to mind.
Even with my knowledge of Smith’s football career limited to his last two years as Tennessee’s Offensive Coordinator, the hire shouldn’t really be that much of a surprise.
Atlanta has a history, particular in recent years, of hiring first time head coaches. While some organizations seemed determined to only hire former head coaches, Smith’s hire will be the fourth consecutive time the Falcons have handed the reigns of their team over to someone with no NFL head coaching experience.
Even when they have gone the “recycled” route, the last two coaches to fall under that category were Jim Mora and Dan Reeves- neither of which were considered bad hires at the time.
Whether that is the best is way for them to proceed or not is completely subjective, but I do give them credit for not falling in to the relationship trap of “oh, I know who they were beforehand, but they’ll be different with me.”
What intrigues me more about the hire is what it might say about the direction the franchise is heading and what exactly the expectations are for Smith.
Typically, when you see a young head coach join a team that has several high-profile players on the backside of their career, you automatically think it’s time to tear down and rebuild.
In Atlanta’s case, bringing in a highly regarded offensive coordinator, combined with an aging quarterback and the fourth overall pick in the draft, is the ideal situation to start moving onto the next phase of the franchise’s future.
However, with Matt Ryan hopefully still having another 2-3 productive years left, and Smith’s record of success in Tennessee, however limited it may be, it wouldn’t shock me if those plans are simmering on the back burner for at least another season.
If the Falcons are trying to make one last push before their franchise quarterback rides off into the sunset, bringing in someone who revived a lesser quarterback’s career isn’t a bad place to start.
If I had to guess, how the Falcons choose to use that fourth pick will give us a pretty good indication of what their plans are, and how much leeway their new head coach is going to received.
Trevor Lawrence won’t be available, and I imagine Justin Fields will be off the board as well, so is Atlanta enamored enough with either Zach Wilson or Trey Lance to draft them that high, knowing they probably won’t see the field for a year or two?
Obviously, there are other aspects to take into consideration when you’re trying to figure out the direction of a football franchise, but none will speak louder than Atlanta drafting a quarterback that early.
Like with any hire there will always be questions- are two years enough to judge how Smith will run a team? Were there better options out there?
Regardless of how you answer you those questions, the hire falls right in line with who the Atlanta Falcons have been. Now it’s just figuring out exactly what that means.
Acuna Matata
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Pitchers and catchers report in just a few weeks.
The Major League Baseball season is quickly approaching and it is time to start talking baseball, while the Kansas City Chiefs are in the process of winning back-to-back Super Bowls.
Back to my topic, who the most exciting player in baseball?
That answer is easy to me his name is Ronald Acuna Jr. Is there a more beautiful swing in all of baseball than his? The ball just explodes off his bat.
I have been watching videos of him hitting bombs this offseason in his native Venezuela with the classic bat flip and doing some humanitarian work in a once great country that has been ravaged by a dictator.
The pandemic shortened season of 2020 kept Acuna from chasing the 40-40 HR/Stolen base club. He blasted 14 home runs in just 46 games and 202 plate appearances.
Acuna recorded 40 hits with 25 of them going for extra bases. He battled a nagging wrist injury that hampered him all of last season. Acuna had an OBP of .406 which is outstanding and walked 38 times in those 202 plate appearances.
The offensive stats are always going to be there with Acuna. The consistency of where he plays in the field has not.
Cristian Pache’s arrival in center field means that Acuna will move permanently to his natural spot of right field, where he can settle in defensively. Acuna has been blessed by the Baseball God’s with a cannon for a right arm.
Back to Acuna and the 40/40 club discussion. Becoming a member of the 40–40 club is an elusive achievement in modern American baseball, as very few players possess both the power to hit 40 home runs and the speed to steal 40 bases in a season.
Generally, a player with the strength to hit 40 home runs will not have nearly the speed necessary to steal 40 bases, and vice versa.
There are only four members of the 40/40 club in the history of baseball:
Members of the 40–40 club:
Year/Player/Team/HR/SB
1988 Jose Canseco Oakland Athletics 42 40
1996 Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants 42 40
1998 Alex Rodriguez Seattle Mariners 42 46
2006 Alfonso Soriano Washington Nationals 46 41
In 2019 Acuna barely missed the elite club by belting 41 HR’s and stealing 37 bases. Acuna could be the first player to achieve this milestone more than once in his career.
I actually think in the next 5 years Acuna will be the only man in MLB history to reach the 50/50 club.
The 2021 Braves are good enough to win the World Series. Probably should have beat the Dodgers in 2020 but we will chalk that up to lack of playoff experience.
I do know this, if I’m looking for one player to build a baseball team around it would be Ronald Acuna Jr.
He is a generational talent, and I would not be surprised if he wins the NL MVP in 2021.
The Braves have him signed to a long-term deal, but soon will have to renegotiate that deal to make Acuna one of the highest paid players in the game.
Braves fans, baseball season is almost upon us, and I hope we enjoy the next few years because they have the potential to be special, and Ronald Acuna Jr. will be the best player in baseball during that run.
The All-Time List
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Over the last 20 years, it has become easier to discuss the top five college football teams of the new millennia.
It’s a great time for debates. College football fans are very passionate and love to argue about their favorite teams!
I measured the teams by their on-field dominance, their overall talent level and the success on the gridiron.
Ranking these teams during the past 20 years brought back a lot of memories.
- University of Florida 2008:The Gators had a 13-1 record, averaged 43.6 points per game, allowed 12.9 points per game.
The Gators’ defense was led by Consensus All-Americans Brandon Spikes and Joe Haden. Carlos Dunlap and Janoris Jenkins were 1st round draft choices in the NFL.
The offense was led by 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow (2008 Maxwell Award, Manning Award and Wuerffel Trophy) and 2nd team All American Percy Harvin.
The key moment for Florida, was a one point loss to Ole Miss at home. In the post-game press conference, Tebow delivered his famous “Promise Speech”. Love him or hate him, Tebow proved to be one of the best and inspirational college football players in the last 20 years.
Tebow kept his promise! No team came closer than 10 points to the Gators the rest of the season. Florida routed No. 8 Georgia 49-10, pummeled No. 24 South Carolina 56-6 and destroyed No. 23 FSU 45-15.
The 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game, Florida defeated NO. 1 Oklahoma 24-14.
- Clemson 2016: I think the 2016 Clemson team was Dabo Swinney’s best.
The Tigers finished 14-1, the loss coming to Pitt. The Tigers were led by Deshaun Watson, one of the best college football players never to win a Heisman.
Watson torched Alabama in the postseason to the point where Nick Saban admitted they had no answer for him.
Watson shattered Clemson’s history books with 5,222 total yards from scrimmage and 50 touchdowns (41 passing and nine rushing).
In an instinct classic, Clemson and Alabama came down to the final seconds to decide the winner. Watson found Hunter Renfrow on a rub route to seal the deal and Clemson claimed their first national championship since 1981.
- LSU 2019: Just last year many were crowning the Tiger team the greatest of all time, after finishing the season 15-0.
What a truly impressive resume for the Tigers players: Joe Burrow (Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Sporting News Player of the Year, Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Manning Award, Broyles Award and SEC Offensive Player of the Year), Ja’Marr Chase (Biletnikoff Award), Grant Delpit (Jim Thorpe Award) and Derek Stingley Jr. (SEC Freshman of the Year and Sporting News Freshman of the Year). LSU had 14 players drafted and 6 undrafted free agents.
The Tigers defeated the defending national champions Clemson 42-25. LSU claimed their fourth national championship in school history, the third undefeated champion in the CFP era, and the second 15-0 season in the modern era.
After their dominant performance against a historically difficult schedule, several talking heads called them the greatest team in college football history.
- Alabama 2020: The honor of becoming the greatest football team in Alabama history has to put you in the top tier in my rankings.
It is not an easy statement: the undefeated 2009 team that slapped around Texas in the Rose Bowl, 1992 team that went 13-0 with maybe the most dominant defense in college football history or the 1979, 1966, 1965 or 1964 teams all had great seasons.
Unlike the teams above, the 2020 Tide team showed an offensive firepower rewriting Alabama history books.
Alabama had the best offensive line, wide receiver, running back and quarterback in college football.
After running through the 10 regular season with little to no resistance, the Tide captured the SEC Championship with a 52-46 (the closest contest of the season) over Florida.
Finishing 11-0 in SEC play, playing every game on their schedule during COVID, and the pure dominance the Tide displayed game after game has them at number two.
1.Miami Hurricanes 2001: By the numbers 12-0 record, 512 total points, 42.7 points per game, 9.8 points allowed, 32.9 points average margin of victory, 38 NFL draft picks and 17 first round picks.
The 2001 U was the most dominant all-around team in college football history with Andre Johnson, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis, Jeremy Shockey and Ken Dorsey on offense and Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, Phillip Buchanon and Ed Reed on defense (just to name a few).
Six first team Consensus All Americans in Buchanon, Joaquin Gonzalez, Bryant Mckinnie, Shockey, Reed and Todd Sievers.
The U had an absurd amount of talent and played with swagger that established themselves as the best college football team over the past 20 years.
Just outside the top five: Florida State 2013, Clemson 2018, Ohio State 2002, Auburn 2010, Alabama 2011 and 2012, Southern California 2004 and Texas 2005. I can make an argument that any of these teams belong in the top five.
High Tide
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There have been some impressive college football dynasties over the years, but it’s hard to imagine a more successful one than the one currently taking place in Tuscaloosa.
If you take out Saban’s inaugural year in 2007 the Crimson Tide have never won fewer than 10 games in a season (they’ve won 12 or more in 10 of those 13 seasons) own 8 Division titles, 7 Conference titles, and 6 National Championship trophies.
What separates Alabama from other remarkable runs other programs have made is not only the longevity, but the circumstances surrounding it.
As frustrated as people get having to hear the argument about players and teams being from different eras, that does make a difference.
This isn’t the Knute Rockne/Bear Bryant days where all the best players went to one or two schools, making it easier to dominate the competition.
Not only are there more options for players, but a lot of players are spurning some of the bigger programs so they (players) have a better chance of getting their name out there and building their brand.
Yet, Alabama is still able to bring in top rated classes, year after year. They’ve also achieved these feats playing in arguably the most difficult conference in the country.
Clemson, a team some people, myself included, thought could dethrone Alabama as the premier program, is a perfect example. As impressive as the Tigers have been the past 5-6 years, and as deserving as they were in their two championship runs, you knew they were going to have a shot because of the league they play in.
The Tide have been more successful, for twice as long, playing in a much more difficult conference.
One area that seems to fly a bit under the radar is the number of coordinators Saban has gone through, especially on the offensive side.
Over his 14 tenure there have been seven (about to be eight) different offensive coordinators at the helm.
We like to discuss at length the hurdles that come with player turnover due to transfers, graduating, etc., but to have that many different coordinators reigning over the side of the ball Saban is least comfortable with says a lot about his ability to bring in talent not only on the field, but on the sideline as well.
Granted, he’s been fortunate to have some talented play callers on his staff, but to give credit where it’s due, he also was willing to take chances on guys like Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian when their names weren’t exactly well received around the league.
That’s not to say Alabama and Saban are perfect or that they’ve won me over as a fan; of the three people I like associated with the state of Alabama, (Jason Isbell, Charles Barkley, and a player to be named later) none of them have anything to do with Alabama football.
It’s difficult to be objective towards Saban and the Tide- he’s not exactly the most gregarious person there is and winning as much as the program has does automatically brings detractors.
But, with Alabama winning their sixth title in 13 years, I do find myself appreciating what Saban has achieved during his time there.
The argument could be made some were just as good, but regardless of tonight’s outcome, I’d argue nobody has been better.
