Michigan vs. Alabama: Slaughter Proves Crimson Tide Supremacy Has Only Begun

If you don’t like what’s going on with Alabama football, you better get used to it.

Nick Saban shined in the Crimson Tide’s 41-14 beatdown of helpless Michigan on Saturday night. His ability to replenish the powerhouse proves the club won’t take a step back any time soon.

Alabama won its second national championship in three years last season. It was so stacked that five of its players were selected in the top 35 overall picks of the 2012 NFL Draft.

This past offseason, Saban’s defense was drained. His pair of all-world halfbacks who had carried the Crimson Tide offense to two titles were long gone. Alabama couldn’t be the same juggernaut as last year, right? I mean, it took a small step back after its 2009 national championship—what’s keeping that from happening again?

Ask Denard Robinson.

A No. 2 vs. No. 8 matchup is supposed to be must-watch television. It’s supposed to be a battle—a scratch-and-claw competition that goes down to the wire.

Saturday night’s massacre was anything but.

Alabama’s offense outgained Michigan’s by over 150 yards. Of the Crimson Tide’s 431 yards, 232 came on the ground. It ran the ball at an overpowering 5.5 yards a pop.

Its defense forced three Wolverine turnovers and flustered Robinson, a supposed Heisman Trophy candidate. He completed just 11 of 26 passes on the evening and was held to a measly 27 rushing yards.

Alabama didn’t just manhandle Mississippi Valley State. It imposed its will on the Big Ten favorite. Michigan didn’t even look like it deserved to be on the same playing field.

And the fact that the Crimson Tide looked just as dominant last season should terrify its opponents. Not just in the upcoming campaign, though, but for the remainder of the Saban era.

Saban seamlessly turned over a championship-caliber roster and threw together another in the matter of one offseason. That’s incredible.

This is a new-look team, but it boasts the same elite talent level of its predecessor.

Saban replaced Mark Ingram with Trent Richardson. He then replaced Richardson with T.J. Yeldon. And when Yeldon enters the draft in three or four years, do you really doubt he'll find another nearly untackleable back to feed the football?

Again, get used to it.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels