Alabama offseasons under Nick Saban are typically spent with a national championship trophy parading around the state or having to deal with the heartbreak of a last-second defeat.
Never before have Saban and his Crimson Tide faced the winter, spring and summer months coming off a four-touchdown humiliation.
After becoming the first college football program ever to rack up a 12-0 regular season with every win by more than 20 points, Alabama rallied past Georgia in a thrilling Southeastern Conference championship game and used an early onslaught to deck Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl national semifinal. But the Tide’s bid to become the first 15-0 team of the Associated Press poll era, which started in 1936, was swiped abruptly by Clemson.
The Tigers rolled to a 44-16 drubbing in the College Football Playoff championship game Monday night in Santa Clara, California.
The 28-point defeat doubled Alabama’s previous worst loss of the Saban era that dates back to 2007.