Alabama football: There's no way Auburn ruins this, right?
If you were even a little bit nervous about whether Alabama would be looking past Chattanooga toward the Iron Bowl, those concerns were put to rest Saturday almost immediately. Head coach Nick Saban and his staff had the Tide ready to play and intent on taking care of business. The final score, 66-10, proved that. It was the Tide’s biggest offensive explosion of the season, and it just added to the notion that this team continues to improve and find its identity.
Taking it 1 game at a time is what the Tide have done throughout the season after early struggles. It sort of presented itself. When things aren’t going so well, it becomes a matter of simply getting better practice by practice, play by play, game by game. That’s how this team has developed into what it is today.
And as strange as it may sound, there’s a chance the Tide will be looking past the Iron Bowl, with the SEC Championship Game on the horizon the following week. It’s difficult to imagine a bigger game on the schedule than the Iron Bowl next Saturday. But the truth is, Alabama has bigger fish to fry.
A victory in the SEC Championship Game, and the Tide are practically assured of a spot in the College Football Playoff. No SEC champion has ever been left out. A 1-loss Alabama team is almost guaranteed to keep that streak alive, provided it can pull it off.
But it’s the Iron Bowl first. The big game on the regular-season schedule in any season. The one that fans can’t wait for all year. Bragging rights for the state for the next 365 days are at stake.
So don’t expect the Tide to let up one bit or look past the biggest game on the schedule to date. Saban and his staff won’t let that happen. They didn’t for Chattanooga, and they certainly won’t do it for the Iron Bowl.
This team is having some fun now. It showed on Saturday. That comes from confidence, and the Tide displayed that as well. This team has come a long way since September, and now it’s beginning to reap the benefits.
Alabama has won 9 games in a row since the double-digit debacle against Texas. It has put that letdown in the rear-view mirror. A well-coached team with superior talent can do that with the right leadership and the right attitude. Alabama has proven to be fortunate enough to possess both, and it’s taking advantage of it.
No, this team has come too far to look past the Iron Bowl. There’s too much to play for to look ahead, something it hasn’t done all year. It won’t start now.
And should it pull this off — should the Tide extend its win streak to 11 games Saturday and then 12 in the SEC Championship Game and on to the College Football Playoff — could this turn out to be the greatest accomplishment of Saban’s career? Would this be the GOAT season for the GOAT?
Alabama has the 3rd-best odds to win the national championship behind Ohio State and Georgia. We’re not the only ones taking notice of this juggernaut. Accustomed to being the frontrunner for national honors, the Tide has played from behind in that regard all season. But it has stayed the course and put itself in position to finish from where it usually starts — at the top.
We can look ahead. Don’t expect Alabama to.