Fansided

Ranking Alabama’s National Championships in football

By John Buhler

Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players celebrate after defeating the Michigan State Spartans in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players celebrate after defeating the Michigan State Spartans in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 14, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban during the game against Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban during the game against Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

2011

What makes the 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide team so special other than they won the BCS National Championship was two-fold: their improbable path to a National Title and how this team ultimately defined an era of SEC football in the same season.

Alabama went 12-1 in 2011, losing their only game of the year to SEC West rival LSU, 9-6, at home in overtime. While LSU would go on to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship in Atlanta that year, many still viewed the Tide as at least the second best team in the country.

This physical football team led by running back Trent Richardson best epitomized the ground-and-pound style offense head coach Nick Saban liked to pair with his starting 11 on defense that resembled an NFL roster. Since LSU and Alabama were both viewed as the two best teams in the country despite being in the same division, it brought to light the possibility of what a potential four-team playoff would look like.

Yes, Alabama needed an improbable upset victory in the Big 12 with the Iowa State Cyclones knocking off then No. 2 Oklahoma State to get a rematch against LSU, but it wasn’t like No. 4 Stanford belonged in that BCS National Championship Game.

Alabama would go on to shut out the Tigers in the BCS National Championship, 21-0, en route to Saban’s second National Title in three seasons. This team was chock full of NFL talent, but it was the way that this 2011 team played against a formidable LSU team that forever changed the perception of the SEC and the college football world as a whole.

Three years later, Alabama won the SEC and got to play in the inaugural College Football Playoff that resulted partially because of the events of the 2011 NCAA season. 2012’s title may have been more legitimate or convincing, but there isn’t a price that can be put on completely changing the game with one season. Alabama did that in 2011 by winning the National Championship over LSU.

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