Another "can't win the big one" narrative busted last night. Kirby Dumb, 40 years, yada, yada, yada.
There are only 2 teams in the country who can line up with overall team talent like that. Bama was playing short handed at key positions as McGill pointed out. Georgia won. With former walk-on Stetson Bennett at QB. No 5 star ranking at the most key position on the field.
There are many ways to get to the top. Some of it involves good fortune. Some of it involves trusting guys who don't look good on paper or in practice to make plays.
We will not be doing it by out-talenting UGA and Bama anytime soon or possibly ever. We know Heup can out scheme teams on O, including both Bama and UGA, and score a lot of points in short bursts of time. The playbook was not even halfway open this past season. We know Clemson beat Bama twice for the NC with less overall team talent and a stud at QB. For star watchers that is not disputable - look at the class rankings. For all the rest of us, we saw better scheming on D, discipline and intensity pushing them over the top. Those are keys to Venables type D's. Clemson was the program that forced Saban to rethink his approach and offensive philosophies. Venables had just enough to keep them in games against elite teams while the O scored a lot of points.
So, how do we counter that with our D, knowing that like Clemson was back then, we are not going to get the top three recruiting class every year? That question will be answered over the next couple of years IMO. It starts with the DC - is Banks the DC who can get it done? Based on PSU D's, his schemes will work. Will he and his staff be able to recruit at a high enough level and develop the secondary? We know Garner can handle the front end - it's the back end I am most concerned about. Bama showed last night that inexperience and/or poor technique can cause you to lose football games even against the Stetson Bennett's of the world. Next season will tell us a lot. Can the D take a major step forward? What say you, Willie and Tim?