Alabama football: Ranking Nick Saban’s championship teams with Crimson Tide

4. 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: 12-1 | Def. LSU, 21-0, in BCS National Championship Game

Some people would likely have this iteration of Alabama a bit higher than the No. 4 spot and, frankly, the points as to why that would be the case are valid. The strength of the team was a defense that wasn’t just good by the standards of that season but in a historical context as one of the most suffocating units ever in college football.

With studs such as Dont’a Hightower, Mark Barron and Dre Kirkpatrick, among others, manning that side of the ball, no one could score on the Crimson Tide. They allowed a minuscule 8.2 points per game on the season, which allowed them to dominate.

However, if we’re picking nits, the offense did have its moments of being lackluster. Despite the success of Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy out of the backfield, AJ McCarron wasn’t particularly great that season and the lack of offensive firepower was never more evident in the one game they lost that season, a 9-6 overtime defeat at the hands of LSU.

Bama obviously got revenge against the Tigers with the win in the BCS National Championship Game as they found some offensive mojo and remained a stalwart on defense on the biggest stage. Having said that, the offensive shortcomings of the team as a whole does hold them back from cracking the top half of these rankings.