Falling 44-16 in the 2018 National Championship, Nick Saban suffered his worst loss as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Just how bad was it?
Monday night featured the two best teams in college football this year, as the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide took on the No. 2 Clemson Tigers in the 2018 National Championship. This was the fourth year in a row that these two southeastern rivals met on the gridiron in the College Football Playoff.
But what we didn’t expect was Nick Saban’s worst loss as a head coach at Alabama. Dabo Swinney’s Clemson team annihilated the Crimson Tide to the tune of 44-16. So just how bad was it for Saban? When was the last time he lost this badly?
Well, you would have to go back to his days coaching in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins in the mid-2000s prior to his arrival in Tuscaloosa in 2007 to find a defeat this devastating.
According to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press, “the last time Nick Saban lost by more than 14 points was Dec. 17, 2006, when the Bills beat the Dolphins behind 3 TD passes from J.P. Losman.”
The last time Nick Saban lost a game by more than 14 points was Dec. 17, 2006, when the Bills beat the Dolphins 21-0 behind 3 TD passes from J.P. Losman
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) January 8, 2019
Prior to this loss at the hands of Clemson in the national championship, Saban had only three 14-point losses while at Alabama. With Clemson putting up over 30 points in the first half alone, the writing was on the wall for this one to potentially be a blowout. So what went so awfully wrong in Alabama-Clemson IV for the Crimson Tide?
Well, Heisman Trophy runner-up Tua Tagovailoa threw two horrendous interceptions early in the game that shattered the Crimson Tide’s offensive momentum. Down 15 points at the half, Alabama went for it on fourth down on their first few possessions of the second half and came up short each time.
Clemson never let up the offensive onslaught led by true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Alabama now knows what it feels like to lose a national championship at the hands of a true freshman quarterback on the other sideline. The Crimson Tide tasted sweet victory just last year when Tagovailoa came in for an ineffective Jalen Hurts in the second half to go on to beat the Georgia Bulldogs in overtime.
But it was more than Tagovailoa turning the ball over or failing to convert on questionable fourth-down attempts. Alabama got smoked in the trenches by five maulers along the Clemson offensive line. Led by senior Mitch Hyatt, that front-five for the Tigers could do no wrong in this national championship.
Naturally, the opposition plays up to college football’s preeminent dynasty in Alabama at every meeting. However, the tides may have turned, as Clemson has won two of the last three national championships, beating Alabama both times and becoming the first 15-0 team in college football history.
Saban and his program will have to regroup this offseason to overcome this. Alabama will likely be tremendous next year, maybe losing only twice in a worst-case scenario. They have arguably the greatest coach the sport has ever seen and the best southpaw college quarterback since Tim Tebow or Michael Vick.
All that aside, this was an absolute beatdown that Alabama endured. The Crimson Tide got punished for nearly all 60 minutes of this ball game. For Saban to have suffered his worst loss since Losman’s Bills made his Dolphins cry in 2006, that’s saying something.
These will probably be the top two teams in the country next year, only Clemson will be No. 1 in the initial polls and Alabama will have been knocked down a peg to No. 2. Saban and Alabama will feel this defeat for a long time. There is no other way to take this but head on.