| Two nights ago, the Texas Rangers clinched their first-ever World Series, joining the Denver Nuggets and Vegas Golden Knights as first-time champions. It’s sweet seeing teams (and fan bases) get their first rings, and it’s even sweeter when you consider that just a few years ago, we were mired in a sea of repeat champions and challengers.
Think back to the mid-2010s, if you can. I know, it seems like forever ago. Remember how the Warriors and Cavaliers played each other in four straight championships? (How we allowed that to keep happening is a stain on all of us.) Or how about the Patriots playing in four of five Super Bowls? And worst of all, Clemson and Alabama played, either together or apart, in seven straight College Football Playoff title games, three of those times head-to-head!
Nice to have a little new blood in the mix, isn’t it?
These days, those old dynasties are either dead (Patriots, Cavaliers); dead and then reborn (Warriors); or, in the case of the two college programs, staring at an existential crisis. And as luck would have it, both are facing turning-point games this weekend.
Let’s start with Alabama, because the Tide is on firmer footing. After an early-season loss to Texas, an uncharacteristically undisciplined Alabama team looked lost. Alabama has never gone three seasons without winning a title in the Nick Saban era, and this is Year 3 since the Tide’s last title in 2020.
What’s changed? Well, former Saban acolyte Kirby Smart has transformed from student into master over in Athens, building a red-and-black Death Star that’s vanquished all comers for two years running. (Alabama holds the small distinction of being the last team to beat Georgia … all the way back in the 2021 SEC championship.) Plus, other schools are employing NIL and the transfer portal to lure away four- and five-stars that might have ended up at Alabama. And some of the marquee recruits suiting up for the Tide — particularly on the offensive line — aren’t quite playing up to the Saban standard.
Even so, Alabama enters the weekend ranked No. 8, with a clear path ahead. Win tomorrow night at home against LSU, and a return date with Georgia in the SEC championship likely awaits. Lose, and the “end of the dynasty” talk goes from whispers to murmurs to open discussion. The road to the College Football Playoff is still wide open for Alabama, but it’s a steep drop on either side and there are no guardrails.
And hey, speaking of steep drops … how about Clemson? The former playoff mainstay is 4-4 this season, 2-4 against the ACC. Its only conference wins came against Syracuse and Wake Forest, which are a combined 1-8 in conference play. On top of that, its coach got pantsed on Monday night by someone named “Tyler from Spartanburg,” who took issue — rudely but not unfairly — with the fact that Dabo Swinney is making an eight-figure salary and delivering a product that’s the definition of mediocre.
Swinney pushed back hard on ol’ Tyler, rightly pointing out that he’s overseen the most successful run in Tiger history. The question for Clemson now is whether that run is over, or merely on a short, ugly break. Swinney has been slow to adapt to the transfer portal era, and his once-elite program is, at the moment, firmly in the middle of the pack.
Clemson draws No. 15 Notre Dame this weekend in a matchup that surely looked a whole lot better when it was scheduled out a few years ago. A victory won't do much for the Tigers in the long run except put them closer to qualifying for one of those weird post-Christmas, pre-New Year's Eve bowls. But a loss? Hoo buddy, a loss would have Tylers descending on Clemson from Spartanburg, Greenville, Gaffney, Walhalla and all points in between.
Legacies on the line, dynasties in the balance. It's going to be a fun Saturday of football. Enjoy it all, and Sunday too, and we'll see you right back here Monday morning.
— Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter
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