Every Monday right here you can read Tide Takes, where we’ll get into a different topic on the Crimson Tide, break down the previous game, preview the upcoming game, and everything in between.
In this week’s edition, we are a week removed from the Rose Bowl loss, Michigan and Washington are facing off tonight for a national championship, and we can start to look at the Tide season from a wider lens. Would you consider this a successful season for the Crimson Tide?
If one was to be asked this question five years ago, or even three years ago, the answer would unequivocally be a no. Since Nick Saban has been at Alabama, after his first two seasons, success in Tuscaloosa has been measured by crystal balls and CFP trophies.
But in a year like 2023, with everything that went into it, with where the team was at in mid September, with how low things felt, the question “was this a successful season” and subsequent answer feels a bit more nuanced than “did Alabama win a national championship?”
For one, not only did the Tide run the table and go undefeated in the SEC, it rattled off eleven straight wins after a week two loss where every game after that was for its season. Every game was do or die, and until the Rose Bowl, Alabama answered the call every time.
No, it wasn’t always pretty, and yes, it was sometimes lucky. But there’s something to be said about a team that comes out weekly with its season on the line and comes away with a win eleven straight times.
Alabama also ended the reign of terror in Athens and prevented a bitter rival from winning three straight national championships. In the process, the Tide won its ninth SEC title under Nick Saban and qualified for the College Football Playoff, something that seemed nearly impossible in mid-September.
All that being said, Alabama had an opportunity to close Michigan out and wasn’t able to do it. They couldn’t take care of business on the biggest stage they played in all season.
Ultimately, Alabama fell short of the goal it set for itself at the beginning of the year.
That being said, while in Tuscaloosa success is measured by national championships, you’d be hard pressed to argue that it wasn’t a successful year for the Crimson Tide.
Nick Saban has set an impossibly high bar for himself, and in turn, for fans. While no one was happy with the end result, Alabama has nothing to hang its head over this season.
