By finishing the season undefeated and beating Ohio State 52-24 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T on Monday night, some players in Alabama felt like they had made history.
“I think we are the best team that has ever played,” said Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.
Jones, who threw for more than 4,000 yards in the season and won the Davey O’Brien Award for the best QB in the country, called it the team’s 10-game, all-SEC regular season schedule.
The league took over the conference-only slate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is no team that will ever play such an SEC schedule again,” Jones said. “At the same time, we are so happy to have won this competition and put the icing on the cake.”
Alabama defensive lineman Christian Barmore, who was named the defensive MVP after finishing the championship game with one sack and two tackles for loss, agreed with his quarterback’s assessment.
“Yes, we really are the best team because we have worked hard,” said Barmore. ‘We didn’t hear the outside noise. We ignored the COVID hassle. We just worked hard together. We just really put ourselves into this, camp, scrimmages, everything. ‘
Alabama started the season third in the Associated Press Preseason Poll, but quickly declared it the best team in college football, beating top-10 programs Georgia and Texas A&M in the first four weeks of the season.
The Crimson Tide then walked the table and topped No. 22 Auburn and No. 7 in Florida in the SEC championship game at the end of November to take the best seed in the playoffs.
In the CFP semi-finals, Alabama defeated Notre Dame by 17 points.
In its national title game, Alabama handed Ohio State its lone loss of the season.
The Tide’s defense had its ups and downs, but the attack was fruitful.
Najee Harris rushed for 1,466 meters and won the Doak Walker Award, which is presented to the best running back in the country.
DeVonta Smith caught 117 passes for 23 touchdowns and became the first receiver to win the Heisman Trophy in 29 years.
All told, 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 didn’t hesitate to put this Alabama team in the context of the five other Alabama teams he has led to national championships.
“No disrespect for other teams we had or for champion teams, but this team won 11 SEC games,” said Saban. “No other team has done that. They won the SEC, remained unbeaten in the SEC, and then beat two great teams in the playoffs without a break.
“This is our fifth game in a row, from LSU to Arkansas to Florida to Notre Dame to here. Played 13 games, went unbeaten with all the disruptions we had this season. I think there is quite a bit to write about when it comes. to the legacy of the team. “