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Alabama transformed into one of the most dominant college football programs in history after Nick Saban took over in 2007, and nothing sums up the nature of that dynasty quite like the wild run that will come to an end when they host Georgia on Saturday.
It’s hard to remember a time when the Alabama Crimson Tide weren’t viewed as national championship contenders at the start of a college football season, but the program had hit a rough patch around the turn of the millennium before finding a savior in the form of Nick Saban.
Saban’s attempt to make the leap to the NFL after an impressive stint at LSU may have left a bit to be desired, and while his time with the Dolphins may not have panned out as he envisioned, it’s safe to say he did pretty well for himself in Tuscaloosa.
The legendary head coach posted a 201-29 record during his 17 seasons at Alabama while leading the team to a national championship on six occasions, and if you were facing off against the Crimson Tide during that span, you headed into the game knowing you were probably going to walk away with an L.
That’s especially true if the contest was held in the confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium, as ESPN reports Alabama’s game against No.3 LSU on November 3, 2007 (a 41-34 loss) marks the last time the Crimson Tide were listed as the underdog on their home turf.
That means Alabama has played 90 games in a row in front of a friendly crowd where they were considered the betting favorite, but that streak will all but certainly be no more when they host the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night in a game where the visiting team is currently favored by 2.5 points.
There were plenty of questions surrounding Alabama heading into Kalen DeBoer’s first year as head coach, but the No. 4 Crimson Tide have shown they have what it takes to pull off a miniature upset against a No. 2 Georgia squad that hasn’t looked as dominant as they have in the past few years.