Alabama Is the Best Team in College Football, Hands Down

Alabama proved, once again, that it's the best team in the country with a 55-44 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

It doesn't matter that Auburn led 26-21 at halftime. It doesn't matter that Auburn led 33-21 soon after. It doesn't matter that Auburn outgained Alabama 422 yards to 181 yards after 34 minutes.

None of that matters in the slightest.

It mattered at the time, sure, but everything Alabama did in the final 26 minutes made it moot. The Crimson Tide scored 24 of the next 27 points, taking a 55-36 lead with less than four minutes to play. For the first time in program history, they allowed 44 points and won.

"The way we’re headed in college football, there are going to be games like this," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said of the highest-scoring Iron Bowl in history, per Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com.

And he's right.

Especially when one plays opponents like Auburn—a team that entered with the No. 3 offense in the country, per Football Outsiders' F/+ ratings—there are bound to be games in which the defense gets gashed. There is no such thing as an immovable object in college football. Not anymore, there isn't. At this point, the best thing a defense can be is "difficult to move."

Allowing 44 points is no recipe for success; but neither is folding when one's defense allows 44 points. The best teams in the country are the ones that can win in the most conceivable ways.

Oregon beat Cal 49-41. Florida State beat NC State 56-41. Baylor and TCU are vying for a playoff spot after the former beat the latter 61-58.

It happens.

What separates the Crimson Tide from the four teams mentioned above, however, is the rarity with which it happens. Entering Week 14, they had the No. 4 offense and No. 2 defense in the country, per the F/+ ratings. Even after Saturday's showing, neither of those units will fall below the top five when next week's numbers come out.

No other team in the country has two units inside the top 10.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Alabama went 11-1 in the SEC West with its sole loss coming on the road at Ole Miss. The Rebels crashed and burned with a 30-0 loss at Arkansas last week but validated how good they can be—especially in Oxford—with a 31-17 win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.

Florida State, meanwhile, spent Week 14 struggling to beat in-state rival Florida. The Seminoles won the national title last season and sport the only undefeated record in the country, but they only beat the Gators by five points and out-gained them by just 24 yards.

When the Gators came to Tuscaloosa in September, Alabama beat them by 21 points and out-gained them by 427 (!!!) yards.

A common thread for Alabama between the Florida game and the Auburn game—and, well, every other game this season—was the dominance of Amari Cooper. Florida State's argument for being the best team in the country includes Jameis Winston being the best player in the country. Ditto that with Oregon and Marcus Mariota.

Both of those guys are amazing.

Cooper might be better than them both.

The speedy wide receiver caught 13 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns against Auburn, coming up big when his team most needed him.

His second touchdown was a 39-yarder on a pretty double-move (seen below) that pulled the Tide within six points. After an Auburn field goal made the score 36-27, he caught his third touchdown of the game on a 75-yard streak on Alabama's next offensive play.

Two catches, 114 yards and two touchdowns.

All he needed was two snaps.

Like his quarterback, Blake Sims, Cooper plays his best in the biggest moments. So too does Jameis, but Florida State doesn't have 'Bama's defense. Neither does Oregon. Neither does Baylor. Neither does Ohio State or TCU (although those latter two are closer).

No team can win 55-44 one week and 14-13 another week with as much ease as Alabama. In the College Football Playoff era, the best team is the one that can win all sorts of different types of games.

Even before this week, I thought that team was Alabama.

After this week?

I am one step closer to knowing it.

Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeighDAT