The 2016 version of Alabama football might be the best yet that Nick Saban has assembled, finishing the regular season with an incredible month on all front, including clinching the SEC West and remaining undefeated. Perhaps more impressive is their defense not giving up a single touchdown in November.
Yes, four games and not a single touchdown against them. They shutout LSU 10-0, followed by a 51-3 win over Mississippi State. They beat Chattanooga 31-3 in that weird week off that SEC teams give themselves before the season finale. And they completed their monster defensive month with a 30-12 win over Auburn. The Tigers scored all 12 points on field goals, but finished with just 182 yards, and were never really close to ruining Alabama’s defensive streak.
So when was the last time Alabama conceded a touchdown? In their big showdown against Texas A&M, a 33-14 win for Alabama that tossed the final contender to their SEC West throne out of the way. A 25-yard pass from Trevor Knight to Christian Kirk put the Aggies 14-13 up early in the second half, 12:54 left in the third. That means it’s been almost 253 minutes since Alabama last gave up a touchdown, whether it’s an offensive or defensive one.
If Alabama win the national championship this season (and they’re massive favorites to do so), it’ll be mostly because of their defense. Their scoring offense is 19th in the nation, but it get sloppy, and Jalen Hurts is far from the perfect quarterback. But their defense, which looks like one huge unit that can get drafted together into the NFL on the first or second round, is allowing only 11.4 points per game, the best in the nation. They’ve given up a total of 18 points in November, 4.5 points per game.
This isn’t some team on a revenge mission. They’re simply this good. Remember, Alabama are the 2015 national champions, with their last loss coming on September 19 against Ole Miss. Besides Clemson in the college football playoff championship game, the Rebels are the only team to lose by just one score to Alabama in 2016. Tennessee lost 19-14 to the Crimson Tide last season. They were beaten by 39 points this season.