Honorable Mentions - Category Two: They Can’t All Just Be Alabama Games

 Honorable Mentions - Category Two: They Can’t All Just Be Alabama Games

As a college football fanatic, I’ve found that the undeniable watchability of Alabama Crimson Tide football games, at least once a year becomes a memory making event.  There is no escaping the force that this team was through this sport for the entirety of the decade, and when they lost, almost every single time, your nails were bit and your sweat was thick.  Once or twice a year, their wins are the same.  I made the New England Patriots hate-watch exclusion for Alabama as well, but my passion for college football has caused me to be less devoted to it.  That said, I had to just winnow the top ten down to two games, here are other worthy contenders.

LSU Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide 11/05/2011

In the early days of the burgeoning spread offenses and Chip Kelly pace of play systems, there remained one conference that still held tight to three yards and a cloud of dust, defense first mentality was the SEC, and specifically these two juggernauts.  Until Texas A&M joined the conference in 2012 and forced the spread into the conference, these two put on what may be the last college football game in history that was must see, without a single touchdown scored.  After scraping and fighting for every yard for four quarters, a 6-6 deadlock saw the Tigers pull an eventually worthless win out of the hearts of the Bryant-Denny faithful.  Memorable, yes.  Fantastic play by both sides, yes.  But when the BCS made a rematch for the National Championship Game a month later, it proved to ultimately be meaningless, which doesn’t help the ranking much.

Texas A&M Aggies at Alabama Crimson Tide 11/10/2012

The defending national champions rolled into the month of November undefeated  The newcomer Aggies, who were competing in their first season in the SEC, were showing sparks of competiveness with Freshmen star Johnny Manziel.  No one expected the Aggies, who over the past few years consistently had shown no ability to finish a game in the BIG 12, to have a defense that could hold up against the Tide.  Stunned silence was echoing throughout Bryant-Denny, when some Manziel magic in the first quarter opened up a 20-0 Aggie lead.  The next three quarters showing a furious Alabama comeback, culminating with a goal line interception to hold a narrow lead 29-23 lead late in the fourth quarter.  The Aggies took over at their own one, and three plays later, they lined up to punt the ball away, hoping the defense could hold out for the final minute.  An Alabama gunner jumped offsides before the snap, and two knees later, the perfect season was over, and the exciting freshman had turned into a sensation. 

2012 SEC Championship Game: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Georgia Bulldogs

Less than a month after the A&M classic, a showdown with Georgia gave the Tide the chance to find fortune at the goal line.  Going into this game, I was expecting to have to shut it off at halftime and never anticipated a nail biter.  The teams never took a big lead from each other, and as the clock wound towards zero, the Bulldogs were marching to the endzone.  With nine seconds remaining, Georgia was at the Alabama eight yard line.  Third year starter Aaron Murray threw for the end zone, but the ball was tipped and caught by the unintended receiver Chris Conley at the five yard line.  He was tackled short of the goal line and the clock expired before another play could be snapped.  The Tide survived en route to a second straight, and considerably less disputed, national championship. 

2018 National Championship Game: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

This was the first time I broke my vow not to hate watch.  I sat out the first half, convinced that it would be the usual Alabama bloodbath, and the usual Georgia choke.  The Bulldogs defense played a lights out first half, and convinced me to turn the game on.  Jalen Hurts had done nothing in the first half to show he could move the ball on the Bulldogs, and that’s not my assessment, it was head coach Nick Saban’s.  In a stunning turn of events, freshman Tua Tagolonghardnama was brought in for replacement duty.  The Tide came back and fought to a deadlock at the end of regulation.  Then in overtime, I got a cold reminder of the full why-you-shouldn’t-hate-watch-Alabama-experience. After a field goal on the Bulldogs first possession, I cursed at the television because I knew the game was over.  On Alabama’s first play, they surrendered a big sack, losing  yards and pushing them back to 2^nd and 26.  I remember distinctly getting a an unexpected surge of excitement and saying joyfully.  “They really will have a chance.” On second down, Tua dropped a dime right into the arms of a streaking Devonta Smith for a 41 yard game winner, and once again, Bama got me.

LSU Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide 11/09/2019

This game I had no choice but to watch.  I was two weeks out from a trip to watch LSU play at Tiger Stadium and knew I could be watching a national champion in person if they pulled this game out.  Almost my entire family crammed into my parents living room (about twenty of us) to watch my brother-in-laws beloved Bayou Bengals try to renew the rivalry.  Usually the Alabama loss comes from a team that is behind most of the game but doesn’t let it get out of hand, who then find a magic drive at the end.  This game flipped the script.  Eventual Heisman winner Joe Burrow took the game over in the first half, and led the Tigers to a 20 point halftime lead.  It turned out to just be enough, as the Crimson Tide threw every haymaker they could summon over the last thirty minutes to claw back into the game.  In the end, they couldn’t get that one stop they needed on defense, and the Tigers escaped with a 46-41 victory.