Why the Idea of Perfection Is Folly in the College Football Playoff Era

He was at the pinnacle of his career.

Dabo Swinney, the self-described former "crawl-on" as a player, was on top of the college football world, having won Clemson's first national championship since 1981. But even during his moment of triumph, the head coach knew that while the accomplishment was life-changing, the moment would be fleeting.

"You never arrive," Swinney said during Clemson's press conference the morning after defeating Alabama 35-31 in Tampa, Florida. "You're always striving to get better. What's next?"

What's next is things only get tougher, especially regarding the 2017 season. Every opponent will be hungry to dethrone the kings of college football, and no one will be sympathetic when the Tigers lose.

It'll happen at some point, if for no other reason than Clemson couldn't pull off a perfect season even with quarterback Deshaun Watson. Realistically, the Tigers were a missed last-second field goal by North Carolina State away from missing the College Football Playoff entirely, and they never held a lead against Alabama until the last quarter.

Yet like Ohio State in 2014, Clemson played its best at the end—which has become the most important thing in the chase for the championship.

The goal for the season, it seems, can no longer be perfection, although you'll never hear an active coach admit that. One obvious result of the playoff is that we'll see fewer undefeated champions. Success is now about the journey—or what Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban likes to call "the process."

It doesn't just apply to football, either. For example, one of author Neil Gaiman's most famous quotes is: "Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving."

We've seen this coming.

Alabama's finish this year was similar to USC in 2005, which the year before became just the second team to go wire to wire in the Associated Press Top 25 as the nation's No. 1 team (joining Florida State in 1999). The Trojans narrowly missed when quarterback Vince Young ran in an eight-yard touchdown with 19 seconds remaining as Texas pulled out a dramatic 41-38 victory in the Rose Bowl.

"It's one of those games that last night where it just came down to the very end, and he pulled it out, and I did the same thing for my team," Watson said in comparison to Young during his final press conference in Tampa.

Alabama's loss was also somewhat reminiscent of the 2011 national championship, the one credited with killing the Bowl Championship Series. The pundits hailed previously unbeaten LSU as possibly having the best team in college football history, only to see its passing struggle in the title game. The result was a 21-0 loss to the Crimson Tide.

"We had extremely high expectations for ourselves," outgoing left tackle Cam Robinson said about being so close to a perfect season. "I don't think it was too much to ask for."

But the deck was definitely stacked against Alabama in 2016.

When Alabama went 14-0 in 2009, Saban's only undefeated season, it faced six ranked opponents.

This year's team was trying be the first to go 15-0 during the modern era (that last team to do so was Penn in 1897). It faced 10 ranked opponents, which would have set a record for the most by a national championship team and all but two away from Bryant-Denny Stadium. Perhaps more importantly, it had to play that extra game.

Things might have been very different if the 2009 team had to play a semifinal against a tough opponent. Quarterback Greg McElroy had suffered cracked ribs against No. 1 Florida in the SEC Championship Game, and even with a month to heal, the Crimson Tide only attempted 12 passes against Texas, completing six.

His backup was AJ McCarron, who was able to redshirt. One can easily see the potential dominoes that could have fallen. 

This year's Alabama team was great. After the SEC Championship Game, Florida coach Jim McElwain went so far as to call it "the best team top to bottom" that Saban had to that point, and it won its fair share of awards and honors. 

The average score of its games was 38.8-13. Alabama never trailed in the fourth quarter until Clemson, and then retook to lead until the last second. Out of the 900 minutes of game time that it played, it trailed for just just under 90 of them.

Consequently, Alabama got the benefit of doubt, even when the passing game didn't improve, and opponents got better at slowing down freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts.

That's not to make an excuse for Alabama, which saw its defense wear down while being on the field for 99 snaps against Clemson. But it helps demonstrate how tough it is to consistently play at that level, and why Alabama players sort of laugh when they hear that another player or team is their equivalent to kryptonite.

For example, Clemson was said to be so because it had the star quarterback in addition to a freakishly talented wide receiver, a massive defensive line, stout offensive line, good running game and great coaches...

That's not kryptonite. That's just a first-rate opponent.

"I think there's just no simple way to beat us," said cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who is already heading to the NFL after his redshirt sophomore season. "If you do, you have a pretty good team."

The other part is that kryptonite implies Alabama is the equivalent of Superman—it's indestructible. It isn't. It's set the standard by which all teams are measured, but it has flaws every season, especially considering the continual turnover of players and coaches. It can lose any given week, suffer crucial injuries (like safety Eddie Jackson) and be forced to play true freshmen in key spots.

Meanwhile, one never hears about what might be other teams' kryptonite. No one will use that term about Clemson next season, because Watson has played his last game. You also won't hear it about Ohio State, especially after the Tigers shut out the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal.

"Every team is different," is one of the mantras of Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

So is each season. When Florida State went 14-0 in 2013, it had to come back in the title game. Auburn also went 14-0 in 2010, so undefeated national champions still happen, but they're becoming rare. From 2007-2016, there were three undefeated champs. From 1997-2006, there were eight. 

In an age of parity, the margin for error has never been smaller. The coaches who have won a national title know it better than anyone. 

"I guarantee you, [Alabama will] be right back next year, and hopefully we'll have a chance to have a rubber match," Swinney said in his press conference after the title game. "[I'd] love...nothing more."

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a national college football columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.