re: Was Kirby the catalyst for Saban to win at bama?

Bama would have been undefeated if they played in the East and got TN at home. They would have beat the dog shite out of TCU just like UGA did(see Sugar Bowl).

Bama got the top two players in the state of GA this year and signed a ridiculously loaded class. Saban isn't done yet, unfortunately.

From an outsider's perspective, UGA has surpassed Bama in OL/DL development. UGA is churning out monsters on both sides of the line, whereas Bama seems to be slipping in that area (still better than most). I don't know if it's development, missed evals, or what because they are getting the stars to sign, but it's not materializing like it use to. The fact that Bama had to portal a Vandy kid to shore up their oline was shocking.