Best SEC teams of the last decade: No. 9 ('08 Alabama)

Editor’s note: SDS is ranking the 10 best SEC teams of the last decade (since 2005). Previously revealed: No. 10 LSU (2007).

9.) 2008 ALABAMA (12-2, SEC WEST CHAMPIONS)

Nick Saban’s second year at Alabama was supposed to represent progress, not a national championship. The Crimson Tide finished the ’07 season at 7-6 with an Independence Bowl win.

But a heralded class didn’t take any time to make a huge impact. Alabama opened the season ranked at the edge of the AP Top 25, but clobbered No. 9 Clemson in Atlanta. Freshman RB Mark Ingram ran for 96 yards, freshman WR Julio Jones caught four passes, including a touchdown, and junior college transfer NT Terrance Cody demolished the interior of the Clemson offensive line.

Still, Bama hadn’t been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll in the regular season since Nov. 1, 1980. Could Saban and the Tide really erase 28 years of relatively mediocre football in less than two seasons?

That answer came at No. 3 Georgia, the team’s second SEC game of the season. The youthful Tide shredded the Bulldogs between the hedges, building a 31-0 halftime lead and vaulting into the national consciousness at No. 2 overall.

Ranked No. 1 most of the season, Texas lost at Texas Tech on Nov. 1 — its only loss of the season — and Alabama reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the polls, a historic moment for the program.

The team ran into arguably the best one-loss SEC football team ever in the conference championship game and held a lead into the fourth quarter, but Tim Tebow led two touchdown drives to end what seemed like a premature quest for a national title.

Andre Smith, the Outland Trophy winner, an Associated Press first-team All-American and a Lombardi Award finalist, got himself suspended for the Sugar Bowl against Utah after getting involved with an agent head of the NFL draft. The Utes shocked the Tide, 31-17, scoring a monumental upset for FBS football programs outside the major conferences.

Alabama seemed lethargic in the game, whether due to the distraction of Smith’s late suspension, a let-down after the SEC championship loss, a lack of motivation — or as some people surmise, Utah was just an underrated football team good enough to beat the pants off the Crimson Tide.

The ’08 Alabama team placed seven players first-team All-SEC, including RB Glen Coffee, WR Julio Jones, OL Andre Smith, C Antoine Caldwell, DT Terrence Cody, LB Rolando McClain and S Rashad Johnson.

Despite the late-season collapse, this is the team that turned around the Alabama program. The Tide jumped from seven to 12 wins. The losses provided Saban with plenty of offseason ammo to push the team. And the ’08 class helped ‘Bama win national championships in three of the next four years.

Best offensive player: LT Andre Smith
Best defensive player: NT Terrance Cody
Best win: at No. 3 Georgia on Sept. 27
Defining moments: Alabama’s heralded class

ALABAMA’S 2008 SCHEDULE