Alabama Overcame A Rough Start And Tons Of Doubt To Find A Spot In The Playoffs
Flashback to Week Two of the 2023 season: Big bad Alabama let the Texas Longhorns come into their house and beat them by double digits.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe had minimal experience leading up to that game, and it showed going 14/27, 255 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
His lousy performance led him to be benched the following week on the road against South Florida in a game where Alabama struggled for almost the entire thing, only winning 17-3.
Alabama's season seemed over, and they hadn't even stepped foot into SEC play. It was only going to get more challenging for the Tide, and there was no way you could imagine this team playing for a title after the first three weeks.
A New Season Started In Week Four
Milroe got his starting job back in Week Four, and the rest is history. Each week, you could tell he kept improving as a passer, and already being a great runner and an outstanding athlete, he was coming into his own.
The defense was playing out of its mind in the second half of games, shutting down quarterbacks like Jaxson Dart, Joe Milton, and the Heisman front-runner Jayden Daniels.
There is no question that Alabama should always be a Top-Four team in the county with all the talent on their roster, but this season, it just seemed like a long shot that it would ever happen.
Every College Football Poll would come out. Alabama could never find themselves past the number eight spot. They would need to win out and get some help, and it was already going to be complicated with Texas, who beat them was already ahead of them.
Alabama went perfect in the SEC regular season and found a spot in the SEC title game against number one Georgia, who was on a 29-game winning streak and was looking to three-peat.
Georgia's quarterback Carson Beck took the Bulldogs on an outstanding drive to start the game, putting the first touchdown on the board. It looked like it would be a long day for Alabama, but that was far from the case.
The defense stepped up, shutting down Georgia for most of the game, and Milroe made huge throws and picked up some big runs to help lead the Tide to victory.
Let's not forgert the offensive line that dominated Georgia's front seven for all four quarters.
Alabama won the game by three points, and now it was in the College Football Playoff Committee's hands to see if they would be in the playoffs.
If you finish at 12-1, win the SEC, and beat the number one team in the country that hasn't lost in two years, you should be in, and the committee thought the same thing.
If you had told me Alabama would be in the playoffs ten weeks ago, I would have laughed in your face at how bad they started the season and how great Georgia was. I never would've thought that would be the case.
The jokes are on me because they are getting ready for 2024 to win the National Championship in early January.
I can't believe I'm saying this about Saban's coached team, but they proved everyone wrong, and I tip my cap to Saban and the entire team.
Alabama should be the favorite to win it all, and this would be one of the best titles Saban has ever won after the disaster of the start we witnessed early on this season.
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