For the 5th time in just 9 seasons, the Alabama Crimson Tide football team have won the national championship. The now 13-1 Crimson Tide were able to overcome a 13 point deficit late in third quarter. Of course, they were facing their former defensive coordinator turned head coach Kirby Smart and his SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs.

They sealed this historic victory with a 41-yard touchdown from Tua Tagovailoa to DaVonta Smith in overtime. Freshman quarterback Tagovailo was brought in to replace starter Jalen Hurts in the third quarter with the Tide down 13-0. While having a decent game on the ground, Hurts was deemed to be too ineffective in the passing game, completing 3 of 8 attempts for just 21 yards.

Needless to say, Tagovailo had a massive impact going 14 for 24 for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns.

So what does this mean?

Firstly, Jalen Hurts’ days as Alabama’s starting quarterback may be over given Tagovailoa’s seemingly superior passing ability.

Secondly, this just speaks volumes about the outstanding job Nick Saban has done as Alabama’s head coach over the past decade. He has completely changed the standards of recruiting as a coach.

To put things in perspective, Bill Belichick of the NFL’s New England Patriots has been lucky enough to have a reliable field general like Tom Brady for his 5 championships. Meanwhile, Nick Saban has won his 5 national championships with 4 different starting quarterbacks, and now he may perhaps have another with Tagovailoa.

Also, Belichick won his 5 championships over 16 season seasons, it took Saban just nine.

Now I don’t point these facts out in an absurd attempt to say Saban’s accomplishments are more impressive and difficult than those of Belichick’s, but more to emphasize the extent of how great Saban’s actually are. Plus, you can’t forget that 6th national championship Saban won back in 2003 as the head coach of LSU.

So the bottom line is, no matter how much you hate Alabama, how tired you are of seeing them win, one simply can’t sit there and not respect what Nick Saban has built.