Top 5 humiliating defeats of Nick Saban's career with Alabama ft. Clemson
Nick Saban has turned Alabama into one of the all-time great college football programs since taking over as head coach in 2007. In his 17 seasons in charge of the Crimson Tide before his retirement, Saban posted a record of 206-29 with the program.
A loss was a rare occurrence during his tenure at Alabama, but a few of those losses have been embarrassing by Saban's standards. Here is a look at the top five humiliating Alabama defeats under Nick Saban.
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Top 5 humiliating defeats of Nick Saban's career with Alabama
#5. 2013: Oklahoma 45, Alabama 31
Over 70,000 fans packed into the Superdome in New Orleans to see the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Nick Saban's Crimson Tide had only lost one game up to that point as they looked to bounce back from their crushing regular-season finale loss against Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
The Crimson Tide had been ranked as the No. 1 overall team in the AP poll most of the season before dropping to No. 4 after their loss to Auburn. Their 2013 Iron Bowl matchup against the Tigers ended with the infamous play known as the "kick-six." This was already a tough loss for Saban, and things got much worse against Oklahoma.
The Crimson Tide offense was rolling, led by quarterback AJ McCarron and running back Derrick Henry. Their offense put up 31 points and had two receivers go for over 100 yards. But Saban's defense gave up 348 yards passing and four touchdowns to Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight.
The Crimson Tide gave up 45 points to the Sooners and would lose the Sugar Bowl after winning back-to-back BCS National Championships. This would be the beginning of the first and only time Nick Saban lost two consecutive bowl games in his career at Alabama.
#4. 2010: South Carolina 35, Alabama 21
Alabama entered this matchup against South Carolina with a 5-0 record as the top-ranked team in the country. They were fresh off an unbeaten season in 2009 and had their sights set on repeating as national champions in 2010.
The South Carolina Gamecocks were 3-1 heading into this matchup as the No. 19 team in the nation behind running back Marcus Lattimore and receiver Alshon Jeffery.
Alabama's defense struggled in this game and gave up 127 receiving yards to Alshon Jeffery and allowed 14 points in the opening quarter. The Gamecocks finished the game with seven sacks and gave up just 36 total rushing yards.
#3. 2008: Utah 31, Alabama 17
Nick Saban's 2008 Crimson Tide team was unbeaten and the top-ranked team heading into the SEC championship game against Florida. They were taken down by the No. 2-ranked Gators and had a date with the Utah Utes in the Sugar Bowl.
Utah was unbeaten and ranked seventh in the nation, but the Crimson Tide were still the favorites in this matchup. Utah quarterback Brian Johnson threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns against what was one of the top defenses in the country at the time.
Utah recorded eight sacks on Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson, who finished with 177 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Tide were held to just 17 points in the Sugar Bowl after averaging over 30 points per game that season.
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#2. 2018: Clemson 44, Alabama 16
Alabama was cruising to the College Football Playoff National Championship with an unbeaten record in the 2018 season. They had just beaten No. 4 Oklahoma 45-34 in the Orange Bowl.
Their opponent for the national title was the No. 2 team in the country, Clemson. Clemson was also unbeaten and had the top-rated defense in the nation. This game was expected to be a hard-fought battle between two powerhouses. Instead, Alabama's undefeated season was decimated by the Tigers.
Clemson's defense allowed just 16 points and gave up no points in the entire second half. They had two interceptions on Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and held Alabama's three-back running game in check.
Meanwhile, the Tigers offense was nearly perfect, with 347 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions from their standout quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. Running back Travis Etienne Jr. added 86 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, along with a game-high 153 yards receiving from wideout Justyn Ross.
#1. 2007: Louisiana-Monroe 21, Alabama 14
2007 was Nick Saban's first year as Alabama head coach and was a very underwhelming season. Alabama had struggled against division opponents, and facing a smaller college football program like Louisiana-Monroe was a chance for the Crimson Tide to get back on track.
Instead, the game was tied at 14 going into halftime, and Alabama would fail to score the entire second half. The defense gave up 91 yards on the ground to running back Calvin Dawson, and the Crimson Tide offense struggled to throw the ball.
Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson threw for 246 yards but only one touchdown and two interceptions. This matchup was an embarrassing loss for Nick Saban's squad, and he would use this game as an example in the future to build the program that Alabama has become today.
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Which Alabama loss under Nick Saban do you think was most humiliating? Let us know in the comments below.