When you’re Alabama and you’ve won three of the past four BCS National Championships, it’s easy to let your guard down and get a little comfortable with your accomplishments.
When your head coach is Nick Saban, though, that notion can be tossed out with the week’s trash.
Saban is the greatest active college coach and when he retires, he may be the best coach of all-time. I have zero doubt in my mind that Saban will be reminding his players that the accomplishments of the teams of the past two years has zero to do with the 2013 squad, even though a plethora of talent is returning from those back-to-back Tuscaloosa title teams.
What’s so scary about this year’s team is that the offense may be the best it’s been under Saban since they won the title four seasons ago with Mark Ingram and Julio Jones serving as the team’s dynamic playmakers. Of course Alabama has to deal with replacing three offensive linemen and their stud running back, Ed Lacy, but other than that, this offense is stacked across the board.
The SEC goes through Alabama, and rival teams in the western division have been hoping that complacency would make an appearance in Tuscaloosa as it did three seasons ago, when the Tide lost an incomprehensible three games.
However, after that season served as the proverbial wake-up call for Saban and company, that let down has yet to rear its ugly head back in Tuscaloosa, and I wouldn’t bank on it happening anytime soon because Saban simply won’t allow it.
Patrick is a college football writer for Rant Sports and radio host on Sportstownchicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt and add him to your network on Google.