Alabama’s run at one of college football’s most recognized records for consistent success could be undone in upcoming months by continuing coronavirus concerns.
From 1987 to 2000, Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles reeled off 14 consecutive 10-win seasons, a dominating stretch highlighted by national championships in 1993 and 1999. Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide notched a 12th straight 10-win season last year with an 11-2 record, which actually qualified as a modest year given that they sustained multiple Southeastern Conference losses (to LSU and Auburn) for the first time since 2010.
“I’m proud of this team and the adversity they had to overcome this year and all the perseverance that they showed,” Saban said after a 35-16 thumping of Michigan in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. “This is our ninth straight year of 11 or more wins, which I’m very proud of.”
The SEC in upcoming days is expected to discuss when to start its 2020 season and what that season could look like. The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences already have implemented league-only schedules this season, and the SEC could choose to do the same or decide on a “plus-one” model that would allow for a one nonconference opponent in addition to the league slate.
A “plus-one” format would enable the state rivalries of Florida-Florida State, Georgia-Georgia Tech, Kentucky-Louisville and South Carolina-Clemson to continue, with Clemson and South Carolina having played annually since 1909.