Gamblers Yell “Roll Tide” for 2021 College Football National Title
The Alabama Death Star has won six national championships under head coach Nick Saban. Further, the Crimson Tide has made the College Football Playoff in five of its first seven years.
Nick Saban has done the impossible at Alabama. Once upon a time, the thought of any coach being considered better than the late great Hall of Fame legend Bear Bryant would have been considered blasphemy. And more than a few Alabama fans would have been ready to fight over it. Now, there is no question that Saban is the Greatest of All Time.
Odds for 2021 College Football National Championship
Clemson Tigers +450
Georgia +500
Ohio State Buckeyes +600
Oklahoma Sooners +800
Iowa State Cyclones +2500
Texas A&M Aggies +3000
LSU Tigers +3500
Florida Gators +4000
Notre Dame Fighting Irish +4000
Miami-Florida +4000
Oregon Ducks +4000
Penn State Nittany Lions +4000
All Other Teams +5000 or Higher
Alabama Crimson Tide +250
Nick Saban’s brilliance can best be demonstrated by his ability to adapt to constant change. When Saban began his Alabama career, his teams were of the pound and ground variety. And the coach voiced opposition to no-huddle offenses. However, once Saban accepted the evolving college football landscape and that up-tempo offense with no huddles was here to stay, he renovated the Crimson Tide to be better at it than anyone. Alabama now plays a style that would have been totally unrecognizable when they won their first national championship under Saban in 2009.
But changing tactics is only one part of the Saban story. Simply put, Saban understands that a national championship program needs elite talent. And Saban hauls in the top-rated recruiting classes in the country each year. From there, Saban develops the five-star talent that he hauls in. He makes his players into coveted high draft picks in the NFL.
Saban will have his fourth starting quarterback in the last five seasons. Yet nobody blinks at the thought of Alabama winning another national championship in 2021. Saban is the most complete coach that runs the most comprehensive program in college football history.
Clemson Tigers +450
There is only one program and one coach compared to Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney is an Alabama alum but has no connection to Saban. Further, Swinney could not be more different from the Nicktator. Like Saban, Swinney is a monster recruiter that has put Clemson in the College Football Playoff for six consecutive seasons with two national championships and four appearances in the National Championship Game. But from there, the differences begin.
Swinney comes off as much more personable and fun-loving than Saban. Clemson’s football training facility is nick-named “Daboworld” and literally has a water slide inside of it.
Clemson has one great advantage that no other team can match. The Tigers play in the basketball-centric Atlantic Coast Conference. Therefore, the College Football Playoff path is much easier for Clemson and its Alabama-level talent than for teams in the Southeastern Conference such as the Georgia Bulldogs that would likely dominate the ACC.
Once again, Clemson has what looks to be a clear path to the CFP. Only the North Carolina Tar Heels are seen as a potential threat within the ACC.
Georgia Bulldogs +500
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was Nick Saban’s top assistant and defensive coordinator at Alabama from 2006 through 2015. And Kirby was Smart enough to study every move that Saban made. While at Tuscaloosa, Smart learned that recruiting is job one. Since taking over at Georgia in 2016, Smart has been a recruiting machine that has recruited at the same level as Alabama and Clemson.
In 2017, Smart and the Bulldogs had the Crimson Tide on the ropes in the National Championship Game. But Saban put in freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the second half, and the Tide pulled off a stunning comeback and overtime win for the ages.
Smart leads a Georgia program that likes to think of itself as being on an Alabama type of level. Yet UGA’s last national championship was in 1980, which was only their second since 1942. That’s a lot of history to defy.
Ohio State Buckeyes +600
Head coach Ryan Day is two-for-two in producing College Football Playoff season. In like manner to Clemson, OSU has a much easier path in the plodding Big Ten Conference. But their 52-24 loss to Alabama in last January’s National Championship Game illustrated the gap between the two programs.
Oklahoma Sooners +800
Oklahoma has won the Big 12 title in six consecutive seasons. And almost certainly will again. Head coach Lincoln Riley is one of the most brilliant offensive minds in all of football. And the once-derided Oklahoma defense has become respectable. But OU is not yet in Alabama’s class.
2021 National Championship Pick: Alabama
- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
