5 Reasons Alabama Won't Win The National Championship

Alabama is the #1 team in the country and the odds on favorite to win the national championship this season.  They have arguably the best coach in college football, the returning Heisman trophy winner, a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, and an opportunity to make history.  Is there anything that can stop this storied program from winning back to back titles?  Here's 5 reasons Alabama won't win the national championship.

Strength Of Schedule

With 7 teams ranked in the top 25 the SEC is without question the power conference in college football today.  This makes it difficult if not impossible for Alabama to go through the season undefeated in conference play.  The middle of their schedule is brutal with games at Arkansas, Florida at home, at South Carolina, Ole Miss at home, then back to back road games against LSU and Tennessee.  If they lose one of those games and suffer a loss in the SEC championship (assuming they make it that far) the BCS title game will be out of reach.

Quarterback Play

Greg McElroy is an adequate quarterback with good size (6'3, 225 pounds) and experience playing in his senior year.  A strong running game with Ingram and Richardson, a prime time playmaker in Julio Jones, and a stifling defense makes it relatively easy for McElroy to manage the game and stay within himself.  We have yet to see how he handles adversity and how he looks playing without the lead.  He's a different quarterback when asked to make plays as opposed to not making mistakes.

Florida

Florida is the glamour team of the SEC and a constant thorn in the side of Alabama.  Whether the game is played in Gainesville, Tuscaloosa, or Atlanta, the Gators are always competitive.  Tim Tebow has moved on to the pros, but John Brantley is a pure passer and better suited to run Florida's spread offense.  The Gators have surrounded him with talented playmakers at the skill positions and their defense creates turnovers and great field position.  I'm not saying Alabama will lose to Florida this season, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

Off The Field Distractions

Nick Saban is the master of keeping his team focused and disciplined through success and adversity, but this year started out with quite a few distractions.  Improper contact with agents, ESPN total access, Mark Ingram's injury, and the suspension of Marcell Dareus is a lot to block out.  It will take some time for the team's chemistry to settle in once they get everyone back into the line up and the media attention surrounding the program may disrupt the players concentration.  There's no margin for error in the quest for a national championship.

History Is Not On Their Side

College kids don't always live up to expectations.  There have been several teams that returned a ton of talent following a national championship only to come up short the next season.  USC returned 2 Heisman trophy winners in their quest to repeat and Miami was one blown pass interference call away from accomplishing the feat.  No team has won back to back national championships since the creation of the BCS system.