Alabama Football's Finest Finish Their Career On Top
NEW ORLEANS — They say the best go out on top.
That’s exactly what the Alabama Crimson Tide and its top stars did on Saturday afternoon at the Caesars Superdome.
To be honest, it hasn’t been the easiest run for this year’s leaders. Yes, the Crimson Tide won the College Football Playoff National Championship over Ohio State in 2020-21. But many of the key players on this year’s team didn’t get to contribute much to that.
Bryce Young, Will Anderson Jr. and Jordan Battle were named the captains before the season. The three of them knew the expectations this Alabama team had. After leaving Indianapolis bitter in January, the Crimson Tide was selected as the top team in the country before the season. Many fans believed this team could stroll to the program’s 19th national championship.
But it didn’t go down that way.
For only the second time since 2010, Alabama lost twice during the regular season. And it didn’t just lose — it lost both on the final play of the game. It endured two field stormings. It endured strong, sometimes brutal, criticism from fans and outside media.
And yet, the team stayed together. It stayed together so that it could prove to the college football world how good it could be.
“I’m an emotional person,” Anderson said. “So for me, it was really not about me, [it was] more about my teammates, because they worked so hard these past two weeks. I mean, the practices that we had, all the film study that we had to go through, no school, none of that, and everybody just locked in. To see everybody smiling and laughing and having a good time. Just the brotherhood that was in there, I mean, it was amazing. I think that’s why I’m so emotional right now, because all of those guys, they hold a special place in my heart.”
In spectacular fashion, the Crimson Tide did exactly that, proving its potential on Saturday afternoon — smashing a team that defeated one of the teams selected for the CFP.
“I think that there was a team out there today that cared,” head coach Nick Saban said. "[The team] cared about how they played, cared about the pride they had in their performance, cared about each other — and they prevailed because of that. And I think that started way back when we started practice.”
Choosing to play in a “meaningless” bowl game is downright crazy to some people, and yet Alabama’s top stars decided they wanted to put on the crimson and white uniform one more time.
“This was such a huge opportunity for us as a team […] to try to prove something,” Young said. “For us to finish this season the right way means a lot.”
And boy did it pay off.
“I think we had a little bit of a taste in our mouth that if we had a dominant performance, it would show people that we probably did deserve to do a little better than we did in terms of the playoff picture,” Saban said. “But at the same time, I’m proud that we came to the Sugar Bowl, and proud that we won the Sugar Bowl. But I’m most proud that there was a team out there that cared — that represents the University of Alabama in a first‑class way in the way they competed and the way they played in the game.”
One of the Crimson Tide’s quietest stars had one of the best games of his career, if not the best. That player is Brian Branch. He was all over the field, picking up 12 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and an interception.
“Brian Branch has played well for us all season long,” Saban said. “He made some big plays today. The interception was big. We got off to a great start in the second half with a big play and two scores in the first two minutes in the second half, which kind of broke the game open. His interception was a big part of that.”
Alabama didn’t make the playoff. But inside the locker room, this team always knew what it was capable of.
The Crimson Tide will look a lot different next year. Just like every other year, Alabama will look to rebuild and reload. The likes of Young and Anderson will more than likely be gone — but never forgotten.
“For us, the standard, that’s something that we live by,” Young said. “It’s not just something that we can do one time or it’s ‘We did this, we accomplished this, it’s over.’ It continues for the future of the program, the future of everything. We have to live by that each and every day.”
There have been a lot of great Crimson Tide teams that failed to win a national championship. The 2022 version of Alabama may just be the best of all of them.
See Also:
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Instant Analysis: No. 5 Alabama 45, No. 9 Kansas State 20
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Everything Nick Saban, Alabama Said After Sugar Bowl Victory
Everything Coach Chris Klieman and Kansas State Said After Sugar Bowl Loss to Alabama
