The humbling Week 2 home loss to Texas.

The September quarterback carousel that seemed certain to sink their season.

The whispers turned screams about Nick Saban’s Alabama Empire crashing down, at long last.

The screams turned yells about Tommy Rees not being ready for prime time, or at least the SEC.

All of this while the SEC gauntlet awaited them and was sure to spit out the once-mighty Crimson Tide with something like a 9-3 or even 8-4 record.

Not enough playmakers, not enough cohesiveness and not enough star power to rescue them, for a change.

All of it pointed to a fall of harsh reality, and none of it pointed to a Playoff berth on New Year’s Day.

And if all of that didn’t derail this stubborn, savvy Bama team that kept on winning, then a stinker of a performance in the Iron Bowl certainly would. Then 4th-and-31 happened, Jalen Milroe was a Heisman Trophy candidate, and the Tide rolled into Atlanta and prevented Georgia from officially becoming “The New Alabama.”

Suddenly, the screams and yells were about a team of destiny that might just fool around and win a national title, after Bama slipped into the Playoff over an undefeated Florida State team that had the misfortune of losing its starting quarterback to injury.

Everything seemed to be breaking the Crimson Tide’s way, right into Championship Monday, and then … 4th-and-2 happened in Monday night’s Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl. With Alabama seemingly 1 play away from punching its ticket into probably the most unlikely title game in Saban’s Tide tenure, a defense that had pitched a shutout in the 2nd half somehow lost Blake Corum (of all people), Michigan had a second life, and a few breathtaking moments later a Tide team that had lived a charmed life for the past 3 months finally paid for its sins in a heartbreaking 27-20 overtime loss in the Rose Bowl.

There will be no 7th Saban title (and 8th overall) in 17 seasons in T-Town, and for the first time in Saban’s reign, 3 seasons will go by without Alabama bringing home a national championship. And for this there is plenty of blame to go around.

One play here, one play there, just not enough plays made in the end. There are many reasons this Bama team that many would admit overachieved in 2023 came up just short on the 1st night of 2024, but we’ll look at the 5 biggest reasons that the Tide’s season came to a bitter end:

1. 20 points simply wasn’t enough

Yes, Bama was probably 1 4th-down stop from winning and, yes, the offense that struggled through the first half actually made enough plays to win after the break. But the total body of work — 20 points — wasn’t good enough against a Michigan team that hadn’t given up more than 24 points all season.

In the leadup to Monday’s game, we asked this question — could Alabama break that 24-point threshold against the Wolverines, because just maybe that would’ve been good enough to win. And it would have, in regulation.

But the fact that 20 points was almost enough in a Playoff game is stunning in itself. In the end, Bama paid for its first-half offensive struggles, when it managed a meager 5 1st downs and 96 total yards. Will Reichard, who almost willed the Tide to victory, bailed Bama out with a 50-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the half, and the Crimson Tide were fortunate to only trail 13-10 despite their offensive futility.

Scoring 20 points in a Playoff game and somehow getting to overtime is as unlikely as this touched-by-an-angel Bama run the past few months, and the overall lack of execution on offense reared its ugly head in OT, in the biggest moment, when Bama went backward once it had 1st-and-goal at the 9-yard line. The Tide asked just a little too much from their defense this time, and this time there was no Milroe Miracle to get them across the finish line.

2. Too many sacks allowed in a Playoff game

There were 6, to be exact. And, yes, there were adjustments made at halftime after Bama allowed a ridiculous 5 sacks that really set the tone for the game. Michigan settled for 1 sack in the 2nd half, but when do you ever see an Alabama offensive line that’s always full of future NFL players get dominated for long stretches?

Hardly ever. But the Tide’s O-line met its match against a Michigan defense that’s full of future NFL players, and although that 2nd half was much better, the body of work (again) wasn’t good enough. Yes, that last play call in overtime can and will be examined during a long offseason and, yes, Milroe probably had room to run outside the tackles instead of going up the middle. But the push from the offensive line wasn’t good enough on that last, fateful play, and it cost the Tide a shot in the 2nd overtime and a shot at some more hardware next Monday night in Houston.

Just like Michigan’s 5th sack of the game almost cost Alabama 3 points at the end of the 1st half, its 6th sack almost cost the Tide a chance to extend their lead late in the 4th quarter. But again, Reichard bailed Bama out, this time with a 52-yard field goal that gave the Tide a 20-13 lead with 4:41 left. If not for that 6th sack, maybe Bama keeps marching, scores a touchdown and seals the game.

Just too many breakdowns up front and, really, is 288 total yards in a Playoff game worthy of a victory (to go with only 20 points)?

3. Where were the wide receivers?

Milroe was all over the place, making heroic plays and some forgettable ones. And Jase McClellan shook off his season-long foot injury and showed up, with 87 yards on 14 carries and 2 touchdowns. Even freshman Justice Haynes showed flashes of future stardom with 31 yards on 4 carries. But there just wasn’t enough production on the outside.

Maybe in a September yawner against Middle Tennessee, when wideouts from the entire depth chart are being subbed in and out, numbers like those put up on Monday would’ve been acceptable. But not on a Playoff stage. Iron Bowl hero Isaiah Bond had his moments, but if Bond’s 4 catches for 47 yards are your leading receiving totals in a semifinal, chances are you aren’t moving on to the final. The enigma that is Jermaine Burton picked a bad night to disappear again, putting up an unacceptable 4 catches for 21 yards after leading Bama in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2023.

Kobe Prentice was virtually non-existent, with 1 catch for 13 yards. Kendrick Law? How about 1 catch for 1 yard. It’s pretty incredible that Alabama was a few plays from getting to a national championship game with such terrible production from its wide receivers. And it’s pretty hard to win a Playoff game when your quarterback throws for only 116 yards. Again, just not good enough, and not enough playmakers to go with Milroe and McClellan.

4. Too much room for Blake Corum

The 1 player on Michigan’s offense who you thought could beat Bama found a way to beat Bama, and that’s Corum. He was there for the Wolverines in the biggest moments. Like on the 4th-and-2 late in the 4th quarter, when JJ McCarthy found a wide-open Corum for a big gain to midfield that set the Wolverines’ tying touchdown drive in motion.

Giving up a 4th-and-2 to a desperate team likely down to its final shot in a Playoff game is no crime. But the way Bama allowed Corum to get that free on such a crucial play is unacceptable, and in the end it cost the Tide the game. Corum hurt the Crimson Tide on the ground (19 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD) and out of the backfield (2 catches, 35 yards, 1 TD), and he effectively pulled the plug on Bama’s title dreams with his 17-yard touchdown scamper in overtime.

Look, Corum is a great player. He’s been 1 of the best running backs in the country for a while now. If this was basketball, he’s the guy you double team and make others beat you. On Monday, Bama didn’t make somebody else on that Michigan offense other than Corum beat it. The Tide didn’t defend Michigan’s star nearly well enough, and because of it they’re going home and not Houston.

5. The defense collapsed when it counted most

As much as the offense struggled, Bama still was in position to grind out a semifinal victory. Michigan was dangling by a thread, with a 4th-and-2 at its own 33 with a little over 3 minutes left in the game. All the Tide’s defense had to do was make 1 more play, and it was Houston here we come.

But then Kevin Steele’s defense that had been so solid all night, allowing just 13 points to a team that averaged almost 37 per game this season, simply didn’t finish. McCarthy found Corum for chunk yardage on that fateful 4th down, McCarthy bolted for 16 yards, then he found Roman Wilson for 29 more yards to the Tide 5. Two plays later, McCarthy found Wilson again, this time for a 4-yard touchdown that tied the game with 1:34 left and swung the momentum in Michigan’s favor as overtime beckoned.

Bama’s defense came up small in the biggest moment, and the Tide never recovered. Milroe couldn’t will Bama down the field for a winning field goal to avoid overtime, and in the OT Corum sliced through the Tide’s deflated defense on an 8-yard burst before his 17-yard touchdown run put Michigan ahead to stay.

On a night when Bama only allowed 351 total yards and 15 1st downs to one of the most potent offenses in college football, the defense didn’t finish, and now a season of Alabama football that was hard to fathom is suddenly finished, a few victories shy of another title.