Blog on Saban by Auburn grad re: his effectiveness

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kjacksonp

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The group of guys I was with consisted of a demographic that one might see in any group of guys at a Birmingham sports bar – some Alabama fans, some Auburn fans, one or two fans who pull for someone else (in this case, a Tennessee fan). In the aftermath of the Flacco bomb, our jaws still halfway to the floor, a woman in a Ray Lewis jersey in the corner of the restaurant going bonkers, the following words emerged from one of the Bama fans:

“That never happens on Saban’s watch.”
This statement, of course, led to head-nods from the Alabama fans and eye rolls from the non-Alabama fans, which, of course, led to one tense exchange between two buddies (an Alabama fan and the UT fan):

UT Fan: (patronizing) “You really think you can say without a doubt that doesn’t happen on Saban’s watch?”

Alabama Fan: (condescending) “Yeah, I think three national championships in four years can safely say that.”

UT Fan (pissed off): “Oh, so now you’re going to be an a-hole about it?”

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“It actually did happen to him (Saban) once. LSU-Iowa. Some insignificant New Year’s Day Bowl – probably the Outback – in one of his last years at LSU.”

To this, one of my Alabama friends responded: (good-natured) “But that was different, that was a Hail Mary.”

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2009 – in Saban’s first title run with Alabama, Heisman finalist and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy goes out with an injury on the second offensive series in the BCS Championship between Alabama and Texas. Texas is up 6-0 at the time, and McCoy does not return. The final score is 37-21, but Texas has the ball at their own 17 down only three points with three minutes left to play. (Two late Texas turnovers establish the final margin of victory.)

2011 – in Saban’s second title run with Alabama, Oklahoma State is undefeated and positioned above Alabama, who has a loss to LSU on their record, with two games left. As a 28-point favorite over Iowa State and leading by 17 in the 3rd quarter, OSU blows their lead and the game and opens the door for Alabama to play LSU in the BCS Championship.

2012 – in Saban’s third title run with Alabama, Kansas State and Oregon are both undefeated and positioned above Alabama, who has a loss to Texas A&M on their record, with two games left. Both teams lose in the same weekend as double-digit favorites (to Baylor and Stanford, respectively) and open the door for Alabama to play Notre Dame in the BCS Championship.

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Again, this is where it will be interesting to see how Saban fans react if Alabama’s relative performance remains the same but the short-term results differ in the upcoming years.

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