What a Difference a Year Makes in Alabama's Bowl Expectations

One year ago, Bama fans were fretting that they could be left out of bowl consideration altogether.  They went on to crush a decent Volunteer team to garner their sixth win before starting another "November Nightmare."  Many thought they would be overlooked for bowl consideration given that last four-game slide.

Last December, as the team bus pulled up to Independence Stadium on a dismal day in Shreveport, Louisiana, Saban told the team, "Take a good look around boys, because this is the last time you're ever going to see this place again as long as I'm the coach here."

Some Tide fans were actually happy to be there, to be anywhere given the Tide's dismal "November Nightmare," but to Saban, it was an embarrassment to a team that simply fell apart late in the season.  The only good to come out of it, in Saban's opinion, was the extra practices a bowl game affords.

The Tide ended up winning that bowl game and perhaps turned a corner in the Saban era.  Now one year later, Tide fans are no longer nail-biting over getting into a bowl, but looking forward to THE bowl game: The BCS Championship game.

Some still fret about another late season meltdown, but most see the remaining schedule as very beatable, with the only roadblock on the road to the next inevitable championship being the opponent in that championship game.  The Tide has indeed beaten the best teams in the SEC, except for perhaps Florida.

It's time here to pause and reflect for a moment on just how far this team has come in just one season.  This was a team we were simply hoping would make ANY bowl last year, to a team that could contend for the ultimate prize.

The ultimate question is, was Alabama really that close that year to being a great team, or is this year's team really that close to last year's?  The November stretch run will answer at least one of those questions.

Stay tuned, fans—it's only getting more interesting from here.

Larry Burton

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