Alabama Football: The Crimson Tide's 7 Biggest Wins of the Past 7 Years

Let's look back over the last seven years and find the seven most important games in Alabama Crimson Tide football.

Going back to 2004, there have certainly been some exciting times and big games, but some of the picks in this slideshow were made because of the long-standing benefits that came from them.

Let's get started.

The Tide Was Low Seven Years Ago

In 2004, the Tide was low and still out.

Shula was in his second year, and the Tide struggled to a 6-6 record before losing to Minnesota in the Music City Bowl in Nashville.

There were no wins of note in that year.

But in 2005, Alabama simply crushed Florida 31-3 on national television and showed the nation that though the Tide was still down, you'd better be ready for them.

It was a day when all the Tide's stars truly shined. Brodie Croyle was an efficient 14-for-17 for close to 300 yards, running back Kenneth Darby ran for more than 100 yards and Tyrone Prothro had 136 yards with two touchdowns himself.

It gave this team the faith that they could rebound from a bad 2004 season, and they did.

They finished the season 10-2 in 2005 with a big Cotton Bowl win over Texas Tech.

2006 Was Another Low Tide, but 2007 Brought New Hope

2006 saw another low tide ebb in at Tuscaloosa, and Coach Mike Shula was the main casualty for it. But a bad 2006 and the firing of Shula led to the 2007 hiring hiring of Nick Saban.

Though a blowout win against a heavily out-manned Western Carolina was no surprise, this 52-6 win was one of the most important in Alabama history. It ushered in the Nick Saban era and the greatest winning percentage since the retirement of Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Though few will ever remember the opponent, much less the score, this game could be one of the most important of this century in that it started this era.

Sept. 27, 2008: Alabama Takes on Georgia at Georgia

With Alabama coming off a so-so first season with Nick Saban, many people were wondering if this era was going to be all they hoped it would be.

Alabama did defeat a higher-ranked Clemson team to start off the year in the first of the "Kickoff Classic" games Saban would become famous for, but Tide fans had little regard for Clemson, and though the game impressed the nation's sportswriters, it didn't go far enough to calm Alabama Nation that the Saban era was going to to be successful where it mattered—in the SEC.

In 2008, Georgia had assembled the most talent it had on the field at one time in many years. They were preseason ranked No. 1 in the country, and Mark Richt had declared the game a "Black Out." The Georgia Bulldogs would wear their black jerseys, reserved for only very special games, and they had a good history of playing extra hard and winning in those jerseys.

Many didn't think Alabama had a chance.

Instead, Alabama thoroughly embarrassed Georgia in a game where the score in no way indicated the severity of the butt-whipping Alabama put on the Dawgs that game.

The score was 31-0 at halftime, and only some late touchdowns against backups made the score look respectable.

This game showed the world that with a year of running the Saban process and running off the players who didn't buy into it, the Saban system was going to pay dividends.

2008 Iron Bowl: A Streak Snapped and Dominance Regained

The Tide, by all indications, was back in 2008.

They had defeated a higher-ranked Clemson team in the Kickoff Classic, trounced the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens and whipped a tough LSU team.

The only item left on the agenda—as far as many Alabama fans were concerned—was the 300-pound gorilla on the backs of every Alabama player and fan: ending the Auburn streak.

Auburn had won six straight games against the Alabama Crimson Tide, and it was an open sore to almost the entire Alabama Nation.

Alabama responded by not only winning the game, but stomping Auburn into the dirt in front of the home fans by a margin larger than Auburn had won most of the Iron Bowls in that streak combined, with a final score of 36-0.

In that game, everything went right, and nothing went wrong. There was no doubt now that the Nick Saban era was going to provide long-term championships for years to come.

The First of Three 2009 Games That Will Always Be Remembered

The 2009 season started with high expectations, and after another Kickoff Classic win—this time against a highly-ranked Virginia Tech team—the Tide was 7-0 and looking like a juggernaut before playing a totally rebuilding and undermanned Tennessee team led by first-year head coach Lane Kiffin.

Few expected a serious contest.

The Tide had already rolled over much better opponents, and no one had come even come close to slowing down the offense or not being manhandled by the defense.

But wily defensive guru Monte Kiffin, one of the best defensive coordinators in the history of football, had some tricks up his sleeve and held the Tide's offense to a season-low 12 points.

What was supposed to be a beatdown was now a nail-biter as the Vols lined up for a last-second field goal that would have won the game.

Alabama was hanging on by their fingernails in this game. Terrence Cody had already blocked one field goal that kept the Tide ahead.

Was it too much to ask the football gods for some more divine intervention and another block?

Apparently not, as Cody broke through the line and once again got a big paw on the ball to preserve the win.

Without that block, there may not have been a chance to play for the title that would come later that year. "The Block" will go down in Tide history as one of the greatest plays from one of the greatest games of all times.

Payback for the Florida Gators

The Tide were rolling and it looked like they may play for the 2008 National Championship, but Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback and dashed the dreams of the Alabama players, staff and fans.

All season long, the motivation of this team was to make it back to the SEC Championship game and pay Florida back for that loss.

Alabama simply skinned the Gators and left Tebow on the sidelines in tears. Alabama ran it down the Gators' throats for more than 250 yards, killed the clock and never allowed the Gators a second-half point.

The 32-13 beatdown instantly made Alabama a favorite to win it all later in the BCS Championship game.

It was also the second game in two years that Alabama had knocked off the preseason No. 1 team.

Alabama Beats Texas, Wins National Championship No. 13

Alabama had no intention of letting the miracle of two blocked kicks against Tennessee, a close game at Auburn and a SEC Championship game blowout of Florida go to waste by losing the final game of the season and a chance to win National Championship No. 13.

In a game that was nowhere near as close as the 37-21 final score, Alabama had both Ingram and Richardson rush for more than 100 yards. Texas looked absolutely helpless trying to stop Alabama's rushing game.

They had no idea Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy was playing with broken ribs and perhaps could not have passed very well, but since they could run it down the Longhorns' throats at will, there was never any need to pass.

The line-up-and-stomp-them-in-the-ground kind of game it turned out to be was a fitting conclusion to a season where the team had clearly shown what Saban's process could do if all 85 players bought in to it.

And That's It!

Larry Burton is a Syndicated Writer whose work appears on the Internet and in print. If you'd like to keep up with all his articles, follow him on Twitter and sign up as a fan on his Bio Page.

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