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USA TODAY’s Dan Wolken: The decade of Alabama could see a pivot in this year’s Playoff
By Paul Harvey
Published:
There’s no denying Alabama has been one of the best teams in the country since Nick Saban took over as head coach, but at least one analyst sees a potential change in eras on the horizon.
Dan Wolken, a national columnist for USA TODAY, made an appearance on The Opening Drive radio show, and he believes Clemson winning back-to-back titles would indicate a pivot from the era of Alabama being on top to an era of Clemson being on top.
Wolken did point out that this current decade has been all Alabama, and there is no denying the run that the Crimson Tide have been on. Since 2010, Alabama has won three National Championships and is the only team to make four consecutive Playoff appearances. Still, Clemson capturing back-to-back championships with wins over Alabama each season would be big for the Tigers.
.@DanWolken: "This has definitely been the decade of Alabama. If Clemson wins two in a row, you have to look at it as a pivot from the era of Alabama to Clemson being considered as an equal or even above."
— The Jay Barker Show (@Jaybarkershow) December 26, 2017
Wolken did go on to clarify that Alabama not capturing the title this season would speak more about the landscape of college football than the current state of the Tide program.
.@DanWolken: "If Alabama doesn't win again this year, it says more about the landscape of college football than the program. Winning in the playoff era is much different than it was in the BCS era."
— The Jay Barker Show (@Jaybarkershow) December 26, 2017
While Alabama is not going away anytime soon, a win over Clemson would go a long ways towards silencing critics of the Tide.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
