We play the results. It’s what we do.

If Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees had drawn up a perfect all-or-nothing play-call that allowed the Tide to score a game-tying touchdown against Michigan in overtime of the Rose Bowl, well, you know what we’d be saying about the first-year assistant.

“Brilliant. Masterful. Genius.”

But after 2 timeouts and a game of chess between both teams, Rees came back with a look that’ll live in infamy. At least for Alabama.

Three receivers were split out wide with a tight end inline and a running back in the backfield. Jalen Milroe looked at a box that had 7 Michigan defenders in it, excluding an 8th defender who split out wide to cover the running back in motion. That meant Milroe was set to field a snap in an empty backfield from center Seth McLaughlin after a day/season of struggles snapping the football.

A quarterback draw, in theory, wasn’t a horrendous call. In reality, it meant McLaughlin had to snap the ball cleanly and that interior Alabama offensive line had to win the battle against a Michigan interior defensive line that frustrated Milroe for most of the day in Pasadena. “Joyless murderball” was what Alabama hoped would fuel a bounce-back season in 2023. “Joyless murderball” was what Alabama hoped would push Milroe into the end zone for a game-tying touchdown.

Nope. Not even close.

Milroe never had a chance of flirting with the goal line. After receiving a low snap that actually caused his first step to be backward, there was nothing but a swarm of maize and blue bodies waiting for Milroe at the 3-yard line. Three other words will describe that decision.

Maddening. Idiotic. Horrific.

That’s how Alabama’s season ended. A visibly frustrated Milroe was shown in the waking moments slamming his helmet and muttering some other not-so-positive words.

A storybook year, it was. A storybook finish, it was not.

Alabama’s team of destiny vibe faded somewhere in the midst of Michigan’s game-tying response in the final 5 minutes. There wasn’t a 4th-and-31 miracle to be found this time. There wasn’t so much a “gravedigger” play as Alabama was digging its own grave the second that play was called after both teams called timeout.

Consider that a frustrating reminder that a flawed team played with fire, and finally got burned.

You could point to a variety of ways in which the Tide flew too close to the sun.

For the 5th time this season, Alabama trailed at halftime. That was more than any Nick Saban-coached Alabama team. Even the 2007 squad that lost to Louisiana-Monroe only trailed at half on 3 occasions.

An Alabama defense that only ranked No. 33 in FBS against the run got stomped with the game on the line. Just 2 Blake Corum runs were all the Wolverines needed to strike first in overtime.

A Tide offensive line that allowed Milroe to be sacked more times than any Alabama quarterback since Freddie Kitchens in 1996 surrendered 5 sacks in the first half alone.

A center who repeatedly struggled with snap issues single-handily killed a promising drive out of halftime with botched snaps on first and second down to set up an impossible 3rd-and-29.

You knew all of these issues that Alabama faced. But those of us who believed that 4th-and-31 was just the beginning of the championship DVD bought into this team overcoming those flaws and once again winning a national title. After all, if there was ever someone who could do it, it was the G.O.A.T.

Nope. Much like 2014 when a flawed Alabama team came up short to another Big Ten power in the semifinal, Ohio State, this team couldn’t quite put its foot on the gas when it needed to in the postseason.

Time will tell how we remember the 2023 Tide. Some will call it a failure. This marked the 4th occasion in the past 15 years that Alabama wasn’t picked to win the SEC. In the previous 3 instances (2009, 2012, 2015), Saban won the SEC and led his team to a national title. Those who call 2023 a failure will point to the fact that for the first time since his arrival, Saban can no longer say “everyone who stayed 3 years won a national title.”

The dynasty is dead?

Let’s not go that far.

No, it’s not a “dynasty” if you follow the traditional definition. “The dynasty is dead” has always been the tongue-in-cheek way to pour dirt on Alabama’s run as the standard in the sport. Is that over? I’d argue that improving to 5-1 against Kirby Smart to end the longest winning streak in SEC history and ultimately claim a Playoff berth suggests there’s still gas left in that tank.

If 4th-and-31 hadn’t happened, we could’ve had that conversation. But it did, and so did the Georgia victory.

As this era of the SEC closes, let’s not diminish what Alabama has been in the 4-team Playoff era. It reached the field 8 of 10 times, and it made it to 6 of those title games. Historians might eventually say this was a “down year” for Alabama. Those who watched this team will debate if it was Saban’s best coaching job of his storied career. A 1-loss team that was left for dead after the USF debacle turned, as Milroe would say, “naysayers” into believers.

The naysayers would argue that they got the last laugh. They’d point to a herky-jerky offense not looking the part against that Michigan defense. They’d point to a solid but mortal Alabama defense getting bludgeoned for 2 scores at the end of regulation and in overtime. They’d point to a center who made snapping the ball look like advanced calculus.

Until Monday, Alabama’s naysayers were proven wrong week after week. They finally got a chance to be proven right by night’s end. Perhaps a competent play-call could’ve prevented that. But a whole lot more than a failed quarterback draw will define the 2023 Alabama season.

Miraculous. Memorable. Bittersweet.