Alabama has captured the national championship four of the last seven years. So, what does it take to win a national championship?

Talent certainly and a little bit of luck, and if you combine the two, you get hard-fought, close wins. Sometimes those wins are far more memorable than the championship game itself. In every championship season, at least one moment becomes etched into the memories of fans.

The most memorable game for Alabama from 2009 was a close 12-10 win against Tennessee that was decided as the game ended. It was a strange game for a number of reasons.

With less than two minutes to play, the scoreboard showed a lackluster 12-3 Alabama advantage. In the eighth game of the season, Mark Ingram fumbled the ball for the first time that year. His fumble led to Tennessee’s lone touchdown of the game, an 11-yard touchdown reception by Gerald Jones that cut the lead to 12-10.

Tennessee made a spectacular recovery of the onside kick. The ball was kicked almost perfectly, and the team prevented Alabama’s Julio Jones from coming up with it while also getting into position to recover it.

Finally, Daniel Lincoln made eight out of 10 field goal attempts in the seven games prior but missed three field goals. He was short on a 47-yard field goal attempt and had two attempts blocked by Alabama nose tackle Terrence Cody, none more memorable than the final one.

With just four seconds left in the game, Lincoln lined up for an off-angle, 44-yard field goal attempt. Cody’s timing was perfect as he shot his hand up right before the ball began to gain elevation and batted it down. Ecstatic, the near 350-pound mountain of a man threw his helmet off and ran full speed down the field in celebration, nearly knocking Lincoln over in the process.

In hindsight, another strange thing about the game is watching an angry Lane Kiffin shake hands with Nick Saban, knowing they would coach together years later.

Alabama’s 37-21 championship win against Texas was over, more or less, by halftime.

In 2011, the most memorable game might have been a 9-6 overtime loss to LSU. On field goals, Alabama was 2-for-6, while LSU was 3-for-3. Granted, kicker Cade Foster faced difficult angles and attempted several long-range field goals. Also, Jeremy Shelley had a field goal attempt blocked. Both defenses proved to be outstanding with special teams being just the slight difference needed to determine a winner.

In some ways, the incredibly close outcome of the regular season game is what led to the championship rematch. Alabama definitely received some luck. Oklahoma State moved ahead of Alabama in the BCS standings for a brief period, but the Cowboys suffered a 37-31 upset loss to unranked Iowa State.

Pick your play from that wacky game in Ames.

The loss set off a huge celebration in Tuscaloosa as it enabled Alabama to move up to No. 2 in the rankings and thus, give the team a chance to play for the national championship against LSU.

In the rematch, Alabama’s defense was even more stifling than in the first contest. On special teams, Saban opted to use Shelley on every field goal attempt and the move paid off. Shelley went 5-for-7, including a career-high 44-yard field goal. Heading into the fourth quarter, Alabama led 15-0, all of the scores off field goals alone. Trent Richardson scored the lone touchdown of both meetings between the two teams late in the fourth quarter, a 34-yard run along the Alabama sideline.

In 2012, two games could easily garner the distinction of including the most memorable moment. If forced to choose, the SEC Championship Game win against Georgia earns the edge because the stakes were higher, but the team’s last-gasp victory at LSU is high on the list. With less than a minute in the game, quarterback AJ McCarron found running back T.J. Yeldon, who found the end zone from 28 yards out, giving Alabama a crucial come-from-behind 21-17 win.

Alabama eventually blew out previously undefeated Notre Dame in the national championship game, 42-14. In hindsight, many SEC fans agree the SEC title game was more like a national title game.

Alabama and Georgia both played well in a contest kept close for most of the duration. Alabama scored the go-ahead touchdown with a little more than three minutes remaining in the game. Georgia had a chance to score the game winner as the team received the ball at their own 15-yard line with 1:08 to play.

Aaron Murray guided Georgia down to the Alabama 8-yard line with 15 seconds left. Georgia received criticism after the game for not immediately spiking the ball. Instead, six seconds came off the clock. Additionally, Alabama’s C.J. Mosley deflected Aaron Murray’s pass to Chris Conley.

While Conley made the catch, he was down at the 5-yard line and Georgia was out of timeouts, giving Alabama a 32-28 victory.

In 2015, an onside kick in the national championship game versus Clemson proved one of the best decisions Nick Saban made all season.

With the score tied 24-24 with 10:34 left in the game, kicker Adam Griffith tapped the ball to teammate Marlon Humphrey. The move changed the momentum of the game.

O.J. Howard scored on a 51-yard touchdown reception less than a minute later. While Clemson scored on the team’s next offensive drive, the score was a field goal to make it 31-27.

Kenyan Drake kept the special teams heroics going with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, putting Alabama’s lead at 38-27. Clemson fought to keep it close until the end but didn’t have enough to overcome the deficit.

As dominant as Alabama has been in winning the ultimate prize, the dynasty wouldn’t have been the same if any of these moments would have played out differently.