The Alabama football team has certainly done a number on the history books this year. The Crimson Tide has been doing it all year.
It all began with the Tide’s first game of the season against the Michigan Wolverines. The game featured a matchup between two of the most historic programs in college football history in one of the most impressive venues in all of football, Dallas Stadium.
Jump ahead a few months, when Alabama beat the LSU Tigers in one of the most incredible comeback wins in Alabama history, when the Tide drove down the field and delivered the finishing blow to the Tigers off a 28-yard screen pass to T.J. Yeldon. The play – and even the drive itself – has already become part of Alabama lore.
Go forward another two weeks. Alabama, a week after losing to Texas A&M, the Tide sealed itself as the luckiest team in the BCS era, when both of the top two teams in the nation, Kansas State and Oregon, lost on the same night to put the Tide back squarely in the national title race. The year before, the Tide was blessed with the same luck, allowing them to eventually beat LSU in the national title.
Then there’s the annual rivalry against Auburn. Not only was it a monumental victory for the Tide, it very nearly proved to be the worst beating ever delivered in an Iron Bowl. Indeed, the Tide was a mere four points away from owning the series record for most points scored in a game’s biggest margin of victory. Still, second-best isn’t all that bad in a rivalry series.
And who will ever be able to forget the unbelievable drama that played out in the Georgia Dome in the Southeastern Conference Championship? The game is already being heralded as one of the best SEC Championships ever played.
If not the best, it was at least one of the most record-breaking, as Alabama set a game record with 350 rushing yards. It also featured five lead changes, another game record.
Alabama’s historic effort this season hasn’t just been limited to the team, either: individuals have also set numerous records for Alabama. Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon have become the first running back tandem in Alabama history to both rush for over 1,000 yards. Quarterback AJ McCarron has also set numerous records, including a record of 26 touchdown passes thrown this year.
Of course, one can’t overlook the fact that the Tide has a chance to win an unprecedented three BCS national championships in four years, making them the first Alabama team to win back-to-back national championships since 1978-79. It would also be the first team to accomplish the feat since Nebraska in the mid-90s.
There’s only one thing standing in Alabama’s way to yet another historic accomplishment: the No.1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Yet even the Irish allow Alabama a chance at making history. The matchups between Notre Dame and Alabama have been historically significant in college football, and twice the team has met in a game that decided the national champions. This game will make the third.
But, even with all the historic accomplishments Alabama has achieved this year, it won’t be satisfied unless it can attain that last one and seal itself as one of the greatest dynasties in Alabama, BCS and college football history.
