Finishing the season undefeated and beating Ohio State 52-24 to win the college’s National Football Playoff Championship presented by AT&T Monday night had some Alabama players as if they had made history.
“I think we’re the best team he’s ever played,” Alabama quarterback Mac Jones said.
Jones, who pitched more than 4,000 yards this season and won the Davey O’Brien Award for the nation’s best QB, cited the SEC’s regular 10-game season schedule.
The league adopted the slate only in conference in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s no team that plays an SEC schedule like that again,” Jones said. “At the same time, we’re very happy to have won this game and we’ve put the icing on the cake.”
Christian Barmore, an Alabama defensive lineman who was named defensive MVP after finishing the championship game with a sack and two bouts to lose, matched his quarterback’s assessment.
“Yeah, we’re really the best team because we’ve worked hard,” Barmore said. “We didn’t hear the outside noise. We ignored things from COVID. We just worked very hard together. We just worked hard on that, on the camp, on the mixes, on everything.”
Alabama began the season by finishing third in the Associated Press Preseason Survey, but quickly claimed to be the best college football team, surpassing the top ten Georgia and Texas A&M programs in the world. first four weeks of the season.
The Crimson Tide occupied the table, beating Auburn’s No. 22 in late November and Florida’s No. 7 in the SEC championship game to reach the top spot in the playoffs.
In the PCP semifinals, Alabama beat Notre Dame by 17 points.
In the national title game, Alabama handed Ohio State its only loss of the season.
The defense of the Tide had its ups and downs, but the offensive was prolific.
Najee Harris rushed 1,466 yards and won the Doak Walker Award, which is awarded to the country’s top runner.
DeVonta Smith took 117 passes for 23 touchdowns and became the first receiver to win the Heisman Trophy in 29 years.
All in all, Alabama averaged 48.5 points and 541.6 yards per game.
And while Alabama coach Nick Saban avoided any direct comparison to other programs, he did not hesitate to place this Alabama team in the context of the other five Alabama teams he has led to national championships. .
“No disrespect for any other team we had or for any championship team, but that team won 11 SEC games,” Saban said. “No other team has done that. They won the SEC, went undefeated in the SEC and then beat two great teams in the playoffs without interruption.
“This is our fifth game in a row, from LSU in Arkansas in Florida to Notre Dame so far. I played 13 games, he was undefeated with all the interruption we had this season. I think there’s a bit to write about. when it comes to the team ‘s legacy “.