It took an awesome Clemson team to show just how good Alabama is

GLENDALE, ARIZONA -- Nick Saban was flashing a rare smile. He basked in confetti, soaking in Alabama’s national title on the podium at University of Phoenix Stadium. He got about 45 seconds of joy before he was asked by ESPN’s John Saunders about his team’s September loss to Ole Miss.

“How do you respond to a loss?” Saban asked. “It takes character to respond after adversity.”

Entering Monday night’s Championship, 252 of Division I’s 253 teams had lost games. Thanks to Alabama’s win over 14-0 Clemson, all 253 have now lost games. But only for Alabama is this a surprise.

The Tide’s aura of invincibility is so strong that even at the moment they’ve reached the sport’s highest pinnacle, we’re still asking the coach about the funky loss from four months ago. Alabama winning the title just makes sense. Alabama losing to Ole Miss still doesn’t.

This is why when Alabama found itself playing Clemson in the title game, the Tide were favored by almost a touchdown. Clemson was ranked No. 1 and started the season 14-0, and the Tigers were the underdogs. By a touchdown. Because it makes more sense for any non-Alabama team to lose than for Alabama to lose.

Alabama is college football’s best team. They were the best team this year. They were the best team in 2009, 2011 and 2012. They’ve probably been the best team in some of the years they didn’t win, too.

Alabama is not perfect. The Tide’s September loss brought squeals of delight from those seeking to claim the Bama dynasty was dead. But you can lose a game and win the title. Alabama has recently done it three times.

Even as Alabama won another national championship, its imperfections were on display. Many expected a blowout, but Clemson took a 14-7 lead in the first quarter and led into the fourth quarter. The Tigers even bested Alabama in areas where many assumed Alabama would be untouchable, such as in the trenches.

Deshaun Watson was the best quarterback Alabama played, and he showed it, passing for 405 yards and four touchdowns. Watson is a uniquely brilliant player capable of routinely perfect throws.

Alabama’s secondary, which was first in the nation in defensive passing S&P+, forced him to make those perfect throws. It blanketed Clemson’s receivers and forced Watson to either place the ball in teensy windows or scramble until teensy windows came open. When his passes were near-perfect instead of perfect, they were tipped.

Clemson’s front seven often dominated Alabama’s much-touted offensive line. Thirteen of Alabama’s 71 plays -- almost a fifth of them -- were for zero or negative yards. Jacob Coker was sacked five times, as many times as he was sacked in the team’s final five games. Even Derrick Henry, Alabama’s unstoppable Heisman workhorse, looked tired. Nine of his 17 second-half carries were for 2 yards or less. (Of course, he did this, too.)

But that emphasis on stopping the Tide at or near the line of scrimmage led to blown coverages. Alabama had three touchdowns of 50 or more yards, allowing it to win the war even when losing the trench battle.

Clemson shut down Calvin Ridley, Alabama’s stud freshman wide receiver, who obliterated Michigan State in the semifinal. But the Tigers forgot about O.J. Howard, the one-time five-star tight end recruit, who had languished without a role for three years. Alabama split him out wide like he was Rob Gronkowski, and he found open space downfield.

Some deride Alabama’s QB play as a weakness. Early on, Coker seemed shaken up, missing on a zone read and failing to notice a completely unguarded player in the seam. But he didn’t fail on any passes and hit on several big plays.

(Alabama’s special teams has often been a laughing matter. They just recovered a surprise onside kick and had a kickoff return for a TD in the National Championship. Stop laughing at Alabama’s special teams.)

When the Tide’s flaws are exposed, they have safety valves. When one star is stopped, another one emerges. And as long as that’s the way Alabama is, their championship wins will remain unsurprising.