It was fitting that Alabama and Clemson put on one of college's
football's greatest ever championship games on a magical January night
in Glendale, Arizona, with a dazzling display of athleticism, power and
heart. When it was done, the Crimson Tide emerged with a jaw-dropping
45-40 victory and secured an almost unprecedented fourth national
college football title in seven years. Only Notre Dame, which topped the
Associated Press college football polls four times in seven seasons
during the 1940s, has come close to the same feat. But that was in an
era when the Irish didn't play in bowl games, college teams had shorter
schedules, and there were no scholarship limits. Even the powerhouses of
Miami in the 1980s, Nebraska in the 1990s, and Southern Cal in the
early-to-mid 2000s, never won as many championships in as short a period
of time.
More astonishing, Nick Saban, who will enter his 10th season at Alabama
this fall, is now being seriously compared to the most legendary coach
in college football history, Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six national
championships with the Crimson Tide. Those titles, however, were spread
over Bryant's 25-year tenure at Alabama. As great as Bryant was, Saban
has now emerged out of his shadow and into a vaunted spot in college
football history.
Saban's latest team, the 2015 edition, will be remembered for a
dominating front seven on defense, a remarkable resurgence after a
turnover-filled early season loss, and a running back--Derrick
Henry--who shattered the Southeastern Conference's 35-year-old
single-season rushing record held by Herschel Walker. In the process,
Henry became Alabama's second-ever Heisman Trophy winner, and finished
with 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns--SEC records not likely to be
broken anytime soon.
Back on Top! takes an in-depth look back at the Crimson Tide's
challenging 2015 season, beginning with the first game against Wisconsin
on a neutral field in Dallas, and ending with the College Football
Playoff's national championship game in the Arizona desert. It wall also
pitch forward to examine what Alabama fans can expect during Nick
Saban's 10th season in Tuscaloosa as the Crimson Tide reloads for
another championship run.
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