2019 NCAA Football Preview
There is little doubt about who the greatest team in the past decade of college football has been.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have been the most dominant program in the country for a long time.
Under Nick Saban, they have been the best team in the country with five national titles and a long list of NFL draftees.
They have been ranked as the top two teams in every Week 1 AP Poll since 2012 and have been in four of the five Playoff Championship games.
It has been one of the most dominant runs in NCAA history but there has never been a run that has lasted forever.
At some point, the dominance of the Tide will end the question really is about when that will happen.
It could take another decade for teams to catch up to what Alabama is doing or everyone could have been witness to the end last January.
Predictability is a tough thing to grab in college football as one week can change everything for a team.
Alabama has always been the one constant when it comes to the season with a combination of talent, coaching and favourable scheduling.
They remain #1 for almost the entire season until they get into the tough part of the schedule when they play SEC teams that are among the top 10 in the country.
They often get through that stretch but can fall short putting them in danger of missing the playoffs.
Then comes the playoffs where there is more unpredictability than ever as the Tide have still ruled the league but not nearly as much as in the regular season.
In their four playoff final appearances, the Tide have won twice and lost twice with both of those losses coming against the team that just might be ready to unseat the kings.
The Clemson Tigers have risen to be one of the best programs in the country over the last few years as they have dominated the ACC.
They eventually found their way to the National Championship game but were beat by the Tide in yet another title for Alabama.
The next year they were back and got their revenge over the Tide taking their first National Championship in the playoff era.
Last year was almost a set point for what is turning out to be a rivalry that might just define the playoff era.
The Tigers and Tide were back in the finals once again and in the rubber match, the Tigers definitively beat the most dominant program in the country.
The 44-16 win was a statement game for the Tigers as they were letting everyone know that this is their time at the top.
The Tigers walked into last year with a fairly young group on offence and they put up 44 points under the brightest lights against one of the best defences in the country.
With one more year for Heisman Candidate Trevor Lawrence and Junior running back Travis Etienne this offence could be better than a year ago.
They have lost a lot on defence with their entire 2018 line headed to the NFL but the Tigers have proven that they have the recruiting chops to hang with the Tide.
That is what everything could come down to once again this year as the Tigers and Tide could fight it out for another title.
With the series 2-1 for the Tigers, the Tide have something to prove but some wonder whether or not their time is up.
They will consistently be a part of the playoff picture for years to come but the Tigers might be taking over.
Meanwhile, throughout the country the rise of former blue-chip programs is taking shape and ready to throw some unpredictability into the playoff race.
Oregon used to be a tough team to solve but recently that problem has been pretty easy while in Texas the Longhorns program that was a force in the BCS disappeared.
With two strong QBs getting Heisman hype both programs could be back to fight for the top four this season.
This season could be defined by programs rising from the dead, dominant programs staying dominant or an unexpected twist from an unknown.
That is the beauty of college football and although it seems hard to believe the time for Alabama to be unchallenged might just be coming to an end.
The Sport Addiction 