We’re almost there, a near complete move of paradigm change that has finally made its way to field in college football.

The instability off the field over the past 2 years could soon be joined by a new world on it.

Alabama and Clemson — dominant in the Playoff race since its inception in 2014, combining to win 5 of the past 8 national titles — could be out of the Playoff race by early Saturday night.

“They don’t give out trophies after 3 games,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said at his weekly press conference.

Yeah, well, they don’t invite teams to the Playoff with 2 losses, either.

Clemson, which lost to Duke in the season-opener, plays host to white-hot Florida State. Alabama, which lost to Texas in Week 2, plays host to unbeaten Ole Miss.

Alabama and Clemson have combined for 13 Playoff appearances, 5 national titles and 5 runners-up finishes, but are on the verge of bowing out of the race before the calendar hits October.

They’re dinged and desperate — and on the verge of officially returning to the pack.

Alabama hasn’t gone 3 straight years of not winning a national title since Saban arrived in 2007. It only takes 1 more loss.

Clemson has missed the past 2 Playoffs, and the excuse that it was all on underachieving QB DJ Uiagalelei doesn’t hold up with another loss in 2023.

Reality has arrived for the sport’s dominant programs of the Playoff era, and its name is NIL.

For 2 different reasons — but similar in their birth — changes off the field have directly led to changes at Alabama and Clemson. Players earning off their name, image and likeness, and given 1 free transfer season, has changed the dynamics of each team.

Both still recruit among the elite of college football, but they no longer get their choice of elite, program-defining skill players. In the Playoff era alone, the elite number of quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers at both schools — in the age of offense wins championships in college football — has been staggering.

Jalen Hurts nearly won a national title as a true freshman starting quarterback at Alabama. (He lost to Clemson.) He was followed by Tua Tagovailoa, who reset the school record book. Then Mac Jones broke his records, before Bryce Young broke them all.

There were 7 receivers who were 1st-round selections in the NFL Draft, including 2020 Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. There were 4 All-American running backs, including Heisman winner Derrick Henry and Najee Harris.

Now the Alabama skill positions — including starting quarterback Jalen Milroe — aren’t scaring anyone.

Clemson had back-to-back generational quarterbacks (Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, both of whom beat Alabama in a national title game), and All-American tailbacks (Wayne Gallman and Travis Etienne), and electric and prolific wide receivers (Artavis Scott, Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers, Justyn Ross and Hunter Renfrow).

The only thing that’s left now is a 5-star quarterback (Cade Klubnick) still finding his way, and a hard-charging former 4-star recruit at tailback (Will Shipley) who already has absorbed far too many big hits.

You don’t have to look far for the culprit. While it’s easy to blame it on staff changes at both schools, the reason these 2 are a shadow of their former selves is change off the field in college football.

The advent of NIL and free player movement has brought a majority of Power 5 teams closer to the top of college football, and in the process brought Alabama and Clemson back to the pack. While Swinney has refused to use the portal – and insists his transfer portal is his locker room — Saban has dabbled in it with spotty success.

More damaging to Alabama and Clemson: The lure of playing for Saban and Swinney can be outweighed with some elite recruits by the ability to stay closer to home and earn off their NIL. The rising (NIL) tide truly has lifted all boats.

Or as Saban said earlier this year during the SEC spring meetings, “You think parity is here? I think the way Southern Cal, Texas and Texas A&M are spending money … it hasn’t hit yet. What are you willing to spend?”

But that’s the fallacy with NIL and recruiting. It’s not “buying players” because the blue-bloods have similar war chests.

It’s now the ability to choose to stay closer to home, or to play for a coach you like instead of settling — while still earning. Where are all of the elite quarterbacks, receivers and running backs that Alabama and Clemson once signed at will, you ask?

Luther Burden III plays for Missouri, and is one of the top young receivers in the SEC. Evan Stewart plays at Texas A&M, Troy Franklin plays at Oregon. All were recruited by Alabama and Clemson — and they’re just a fraction of elite players on both sides of the ball that Alabama and Clemson used to sign.

The 2 dominant teams of the Playoff era have also missed on quarterbacks, or on their development. Uiagalelei never found it at Clemson with multiple OCs, and Klubnik’s early hope for stardom (ACC Championship Game MVP) has been tempered by his play in last year’s Orange Bowl and the first 3 games of this season.

Meanwhile, there’s the Alabama quarterback room: Milroe, former 5-star Ty Simpson (in his 2nd season), transfer Tyler Buchner, and freshmen Dylan Lonergan and Eli Holstein.

There was no greater understanding of Alabama’s recruiting slippage at the most important position on the field than the Week 2 loss to Texas. Milroe struggled all game and never really found a rhythm.

Texas starter Quinn Ewers, who initially chose Ohio State over Texas and Alabama before transferring to Texas after his 1st season in Columbus, was the star of the game. Meanwhile, the 2 backup quarterbacks at Texas — blue-chips Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning — both chose the Longhorns over the Tide, and would be starting in Tuscaloosa this season had they not.

Meanwhile, there was Clemson’s season-opener at Duke, where the 5-star quarterback (Klubnik) got outplayed by the former high school basketball star turned college football elite (Riley Leonard).

“We’ve had some tough stretches before, and players have bounced back,” Saban said Monday.

But not like this. Not where there are so many questions and so few answers — and staring at Playoff elimination in the 3rd week of September.

But it’s more than that for both Alabama and Clemson. It’s being swallowed by the new world of college football that’s zooming by in the passing lane.

“What the record is, what you did last year, where you’re ranked,” Swinney said. “You better just show up.”

Or get left behind.