Alabama coach Nick Saban talks with media during Pro Day at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.Proving that no one seems content to live in the precious present these days, ESPN released something called its College Football Future Power Rankings on Tuesday.
Then again, when you’ve got Southeastern Conference coaches offering scholarships to seventh-graders — Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, come on down — it’s tough to blame the cable giant for predicting which teams have the best chances to win national championships the next three seasons.
Unfortunately for the rest of the sport, the name at the top of that list looked painfully familiar: two-time defending national champion Alabama.
Said ESPN’s Tom Luginbill in discussing one reason for the Crimson Tide’s lofty perch: “Everybody’s heard the ‘all-in’ slogan when talking about college football programs, but when Alabama uses the phrase ‘all-in,’ they’re not just talking about the football program; they’re talking about the university as a whole. Whether you’re the track coach or the assistant professor in the sociology wing, everybody there understands that when football drives the bus, everybody wins.”
Having delivered three of the last four national championships, the Tide’s vehicle of choice looks more like a stretch limo than a bus these days.