The Alabama Crimson Tide have been in perpetual national title contention in recent years, and head coach Nick Saban is the common variable.
In the inaugural College Football Playoff, Saban will lead Alabama in its bid for a third championship in four years. This win-or-go-home scenario that has a maximum of two games to play will commence as Alabama faces Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday.
If any team is cut out to notch two victories over the highest quality of adversaries, it's one Saban commands.
Blue-chip players come and go, the coaching staff shuffles and the chemistry behind all the parts of the powerhouse program are reassembled. Saban keeps the Tide rolling.
The secret to Saban's immense success is quite well-known among college football followers. Allow this 60 Minutes tweet to do the explaining:
Saban is up against Urban Meyer and then the winner of Jimbo Fisher and Mark Helfrich if he gets past the Buckeyes. No one from that trio is a slouch, but there is no denying the consistent, elite results Saban has achieved.
John Middlekauff of Comcast SportsNet opines that Saban has actually created a proliferation in competition for the Southeastern Conference:
What makes Saban so unique is how he handles in-game situations with "The Process." Ever the perfectionist, Saban will ride his players harder than ever when everything appears to be going swimmingly.
It's when the Tide are in their lowest moments that Saban is the most encouraging. There's never any panic from the Alabama sidelines in the rare instances in which the Tide trail. This type of composed, collective cool is of paramount importance amid the unprecedented playoff atmosphere.
And though it's cliche to say Thursday's Sugar Bowl is "just another game," don't expect any different mentality from Saban or his players. That's reflected in Saban's comments before the game, as reported by The Anniston Star's Marq Burnett:
I sort of look at this a little bit like when you're in the NFL playoffs. You have a game this week. It's the only game that matters only because if you don't play well in that particular game and don't have success in that game, you don't get to play the next game. And that's kind of how our focus and approach has been with this game.
Digesting the macro implications of making history and getting a win in this new postseason format may be daunting for most to consider.
By focusing so intensely on the macro and imploring players to do their job, Saban subtracts distractions that can come with the tremendous expectations and scrutiny from playing under his watch.
When the Tide lost at Ole Miss in October, there wasn't any sort of deviation from the norm. There was just a steadfast dedication by Saban to the status quo—which involves winning at an historic rate as a byproduct of The Process.
Regardless of how the maiden College Football Playoff voyage plays out, that Alabama is a part of it after an early-season defeat, managed to ascend to No. 1 and win the SEC again are outstanding accomplishments as is.
As long as Saban is at the helm, the Tide figure to be a factor in these playoffs for years to come because his fascinating approach to the art of coaching will keep landing them back to the precipice of greatness.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1I2ZnJk
via IFTTT January 01, 2015 at 03:15PM
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