Saban Reveals the One Time He Doubted Alabama's Titles Chances

Legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban hoisted the national championship trophy in January six times during his 17-year tenure with the Crimson Tide. During his time with Alabama, the Crimson Tide rarely played a game where they were out of championship contention. In addition to winning six titles, Saban-led Alabama teams played for eight championships, with the two losses both coming to the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 and 2018 seasons.

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Only once did Saban doubt his team's chances to win a title, and it wasn't when Alabama needed help to reach the championship game in 2011 and 2017 (Alabama needed losses by other, higher-ranked teams to make the BCS Championship in 2011 and the College Football Playoffs in 2017). It came in a season when Alabama felt unstoppable: the 2020 COVID season. In the fifth game of Alabama's season, Alabama lost wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to a broken leg during a kickoff against Tennessee in Knoxville.

"He shouldn't even have brought it out, but he did and got hurt," Saban said Friday on The Pat McAfee Show. "I'm saying, we have Smitty, we have Waddle, and we have a really good quarterback - Mac [Jones] - and I'm saying, this team's got a chance. But we got to do it because we have the good skill guys.

"And when Waddle got hurt, I said, in my mind - it went through my mind as soon as they told me he was hurt and was out - we won't have a chance to win now. But we did."

Waddle had caught 25 receptions for 557 yards and four touchdowns in Alabama's first four games of the season, and was on pace to be the Tide's leading receiver before his injury against Tennessee. Senior wide receiver DeVonta Smith took over as the bona fide top option in Alabama's offense, winning both the Biletnikoff and Heisman Trophy in 2020, with 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns. Alabama finished 2020 with a 13-0 record and claimed the national championship in Miami, Florida; it was only the second time in Saban's tenure that Alabama went undefeated.

"We had balance on the team, but that's the only team I ever remember thinking something happened, it's gonna be tough."

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.