Dear Bama Nation,

Y’all know exactly how many national championships Nick Saban has won since taking over the program in 2007. If — for whatever reason — you’ve been living under a rock, the count is five.

What’s been the winning formula for the Crimson Tide? A strong run game and an elite defense, of course.

Every year Alabama that hoisted that iconic trophy (or crystal ball back in the BCS era), it finished with a top 3 rushing offense in the SEC and the top-ranked defense.

What about the passing game, though? Well, that wasn’t nearly as important.

Here’s a breakdown of Alabama’s conference ranking in passing offense:

  • 2017: No. 9
  • 2015: No. 5
  • 2012: No. 8
  • 2011: No. 4
  • 2009: No. 8

The recipe has created results. Five national titles (very nearly six) in the past nine years is remarkable, and it doesn’t look like the Tide are slowing down anytime soon.

Fans should not only be excited for this upcoming season, they should be ecstatic.This Alabama team has all of the qualities Nick Saban looks for in a national title contender.

It seems like the Tide could ship every other team in the SEC West a starting running back and still have a plethora of runners leftover for themselves. Sure, the secondary is young on defense, but that side of the football is absolutely loaded with potential star power.

So, what’s different? Why should the excitement level exceed other years? Well, it’s also possible for Alabama to field an elite passing offense to go with that dominate run game and formidable defense.

Everyone has heard about the ongoing quarterback battle in Tuscaloosa. It’s been one of the major talking points this offseason. All signs seemingly point to rising sophomore Tua Tagovailoa winning that job.

If that happens, think about what the offense would look like.

First, the running backs would get more opportunities. Jalen Hurts ran 154 times last season. Some of that was improvisation on pass plays, but there were a lot of designed carries as well.

Tagovailoa is a capable runner, but he isn’t Hurts. With him at quarterback, a significant portion of those vacated carries would be split among Damien Harris, Najee Harris, Brian Robinson and Josh Jacobs.

As we saw in the second half comeback against Georgia, the passing game would look entirely different, too, under Tagovailoa.

Alabama was playing from behind in the second half of the national championship against Georgia. That meant that the offense needed to air it out, but we also can’t forget how much the coaching staff trusted Tagovailoa. And how much Tagovailoa trusted his young receivers.

Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

A running back didn’t touch the ball until the fourth possession of that second half. In fact, 13 plays passed before Najee Harris was given a chance to churn out some yards on the ground. He gained 6 yards on a 2nd-and-1 late in the third quarter.

Even after Tagovailoa’s costly interception, the coaching staff still trusted him to air it out on the first play of the ensuing possession. Granted, he was forced to scramble for 8 yards after impressive defensive coverage, but the play call was still revealing.

Then, there was overtime.

Georgia led 23-20. Overtime drives start in field goal range, so there was no real need for a pass-first mentality. Yet there was Tagovailoa dropping back to pass on first down. He was sacked by Georgia’s Jonathan Ledbetter and Davin Bellamy.

With it being 2nd-and-26, it was the perfect time to try to get some of that back with a run play or safe screen. It was Tagovailoa’s second major mistake of the game, after all. Instead, the Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native was asked to send it deep on the very next play — which he did to perfection, winning the national title with a throw that defied the scouting report.

Time and again, the coaching staff trusted Tagovailoa in the game’s biggest moments. That has to count for something.

If he beats out Hurts for the starting job, don’t be surprised if Tagovailoa is the first Alabama quarterback under Saban to attempt 400 or more passes in a season. Several numbers could be in jeopardy this season. Blake Sims threw for a school-record 3,487 yards in 2014. Jake Coker (3,110 in 2015) and AJ McCarron (3,063 in 2013) are the only other Tide QBs to reach 3,000. McCarron holds the program record with 30 TD passes, set in 2012.

It’ll be hard to hit 400 attempts and get all the running backs the touches they deserve. With that said, Tagovailoa’s ability as a passer is unlike anything we’ve seen at Alabama in quite awhile.

The good news is the offensive line is set up for success either way. The unit consists of several experienced players who are capable as both run and pass blockers. That will especially hold true if Alex Leatherwood is able to take hold of the job at right tackle over returning starter Matt Womack.

We’ve seen what Alabama can do with a stout rushing attack and a defense. We might get to find out what it would be like to stack one of the nation’s top passing attacks on top of that.