The Alabama Crimson Tide held onto the No. 1 spot in the rankings all year, but ultimately came up just short of repeating as national champions when they were beaten by Clemson in last week’s title game.

However, the Tide are already starting to pick up the pieces and look ahead, as they’ll still be one of the favorites to win next year’s championship.

On Monday night, QB Tua Tagovailoa posted on Instagram, ending his message by saying Alabama will be back in the championship game:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsopw8-AR8I/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1himkhbavkho9

Tagovailoa has experienced the highs and lows of the title game, winning as a freshman last season and losing as a sophomore this season. The rivalry with Clemson isn’t going away, so we’ll see if they end up meeting the Tigers again next January.

Tagovailoa has his motivation to get better now, and that’s a scary thought for defenses in 2019.