10 events that helped dismantle Alabama's season

For the first time in four years, Alabama will watch the national championship game from afar. When No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Clemson square off for a national title Monday night, the Crimson Tide will be left to imagine what could have been.

Starting the season ranked No. 2 in the nation by The Associated Press, Alabama was thought to be a shoo-in for its sixth straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide returned a Heisman finalist in Tua Tagovailoa on offense and a Butkus finalist in Dylan Moses on defense and featured one of the widest arrays of skill players a Nick Saban team has ever had.

However, things didn’t go to script. Derailed by a series of injuries and unfortunate events, Alabama suffered its first multi-loss regular season since 2010 while missing out on the playoff for the first time since it was established in 2014. Instead of a possible 18th national title, the Crimson Tide was forced to settle for a 35-16 victory over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

As the latest college football season comes to a close, here’s a look back at what went wrong for Alabama over the past year.

This past season was marred by injuries. However, Alabama was already a bit shorthanded heading into the year as seven Crimson Tide players declared early for the NFL Draft.

The majority of that group was expected as defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, offensive lineman Jonah Williams and running back Josh Jacobs were selected in the first round, while tight end Irv Smith went in the second round. However, linebacker Mack Wilson and safety Deionte Thompson both ignored advice to return for their senior seasons, leaving Alabama thin at two vital spots on the defense.

The decision likely cost both players millions as they slipped to the fifth round of the draft. Alabama also suffered as it lost its signal-caller at linebacker and in the secondary.

While Alabama saw running back Trey Sanders and inside linebacker Joshua McMillon suffer season-ending injuries during fall camp, disaster didn’t truly hit the Crimson Tide until a week before the season when Butkus Award finalist Dylan Moses tore his ACL, ruling him out for the year.

Moses was set to take over Wilson’s role as the signal-caller of the defense. BamaInsider rated the former five-star No. 2 in its top 40 most important players of the season. With McMillon already out for the year, Alabama was forced to deploy two true freshmen — Shane Lee and Christian Harris — at the heart of its defense. While the two newcomers had their moments, they also experienced their fair share of growing pains which ended up costing the Crimson Tide considerably toward the end of the season.

One of the flukiest moments in Alabama’s forgettable season occurred in Week 4 as freshman specialist Will Reichard suffered a hip flexor injury while kicking the tee during a kickoff.

Reichard was billed as the potential savior to Alabama’s kicking and punting woes and, at the time, was contributing to both roles on top of kickoffs. However, a freak accident saw him make contact with the hard-rubber tee during a kickoff against Southern Miss, stopping his leg abruptly enough to cause an injury.

Reichard returned for the game against Tennessee four weeks later but re-aggravated the injury during his first punt of the game. The play served as the final appearance of his freshman season. Making matters worse, the lone snap against the Volunteers eliminated him from redshirt eligibility as it was his fifth appearance of the year.

Reichard’s absence made way for the emergence of walk-on punter Ty Perine, who put up solid numbers the remainder of the season. However, Reichard was later missed sorely in the kicking game.

Reichard’s re-injured hip wasn’t the only bad news Alabama encountered against Tennessee. In fact, the freshman’s final punt was largely disregarded by the crowd inside Bryant-Denny Stadium as Crimson Tide fans were preoccupied with the status of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who had gone down on the preceding drive.

Foreshadowing the disastrous end to his college career later in the season, Tagovailoa landed awkwardly while rolling to his left, ultimately suffering a high-ankle sprain on the play. Tagovailoa underwent a “tightrope” procedure on his right ankle which caused him to miss the following week’s game against Arkansas. Following an open week, the gritty quarterback was able to return in time for Alabama’s critical matchup against LSU. However, he was not at 100 percent against the Tigers.

Alabama looked as if it was about to get off to a fast start against LSU during what was billed as a potential “Game of the Century.” Less than three weeks removed from surgery on his injured right ankle, Tagovailoa led the Crimson Tide down the field on the game's opening drive before facing a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line.

Following an extended timeout as the crowd recognized President Donald Trump, Tagovailoa took the snap and scrambled to his right. However, upon taking off to run, he inexplicably lost control of the ball, allowing LSU to recover. Tagovailoa likely wouldn’t have scored on the play, but the fumble probably cost the Crimson Tide three points. Even worse, it gave the Tigers early momentum as LSU went 92 yards for a touchdown on its ensuing possession.

Trailing 26-13 with 23 seconds left in the half, Alabama was desperate for a last-second drive. After getting the ball to start the game, the Crimson Tide tried to avoid letting LSU start the second half with both the ball and a two-score lead. Ultimately, that desperation led to disaster as Tagovailoa was picked off by Patrick Queen who returned the ball to the Alabama 26-yard line.

Following a personal foul penalty on Alabama offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow found running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for a 13-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 33-13 lead heading into the break. That extra score later proved decisive as Alabama’s second-half comeback bid fell five points short in a 46-41 defeat.

Alabama’s misfortune reached its nadir the following week in Starkville, Miss. After jumping out to a 35-7 lead over Mississippi State, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban elected to send Tagovailoa out for one more drive to get the quarterback additional reps in the two-minute drill.

From there, tragedy ensued. Facing a third-and-4 from the Mississippi State 32-yard line, Tagovailoa was flushed out of the pocket and roll to his right where he was met by two Bulldogs defenders who sent him plummeting to the ground.

The hit knocked Tagovailoa’s helmet off, leaving a cut on his face. However, the quarterback’s screams of pain stemmed from his right hip which was dislocated on the play.

Tagovailoa was carted off the field and immediately had his hip reset by Alabama’s medical team. From there he was flown to Birmingham, Ala., for further evaluation. The following Monday, Tagovailoa underwent successful surgery on his hip in Houston.

While Tagovailoa returned to the sidelines to show his support to his teammates the following week, his absence on the field poured cold water on Alabama’s hopes of reaching a sixth straight College Football Playoff. A week later, the Crimson Tide’s playoff dreams were put to bed permanently with a loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

Nick Saban took off his headset before breaking into a fit of hysteria heading into the half of Alabama’s game against Auburn. The head coach displeasure stemmed from a clock dispute as an extra second was placed on the scoreboard, allowing the Tigers to kick a 52-yard field goal heading into the break.

During the previous play, Auburn running back JaTavious Whitlow caught a ball over the middle before a host of Alabama defenders brought him down at the 34-yard line. Initially, the clock ticked down to zero as the Crimson Tide made its way to the locker room. The play was then reviewed and a second was added, providing enough time for Auburn kicker Anders Carlson to send the ball through the uprights.

The extra field goal ultimately proved to be the difference in Auburn’s 48-45 victory. Saban later revealed an explanation given to him by the referee before the field goal.

“I don’t know if I should tell you that, but the (official) beside me said, ‘They won’t be able to get it off anyway,’” Saban said. “They waited and waited and waited and wound on the clock and the guy snapped the ball and kicked it and they said it was good. So, I think you can snap the ball with a second to go in the game, but whether they did or didn’t, that’s not my judgment.”

While Mac Jones performed admirably in lieu of Tagovailoa, Alabama still went on to miss its All-American behind center. That absence was felt most during two mistakes against Auburn as Jones accounted for a pair of pick-sixes in the Crimson Tide’s Iron Bowl defeat.

To Jones’ credit, he was far from the only reason Alabama lost the game. The right-hander completed 26 of 39 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns and nearly willed the Crimson Tide to a late comeback drive. That being said, his two mishaps were costly.

While both mistakes ended up in scores the other way, Jone’s second interception was particularly painful. Leading 31-30 with 6:47 left in the third quarter, Alabama faced a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. In what appeared to be a broken play, Jones threw behind running back Najee Harris at the goal-line only to see the ball bounce off Harris’ back and into the hands of linebacker Zakoby McClain, who returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. The play served as a 14-point swing in what ended up being a three-point loss for the Crimson Tide.

Somewhat fittingly, the final nail in Alabama’s painful season came with the familiar clang of a field goal ricocheting off the upright. Kicking deficiencies are nothing new for Alabama, especially in the Iron Bowl. Although, Joseph Bulovas’ missed 30-yard attempt against Auburn will haunt Crimson Tide fans for quite a while.

Trailing 48-45 in the fourth quarter, Jones seemingly willed Alabama down the field. Facing a fourth-and-7 from the Auburn 37, the Crimson Tide quarterback kept the ball and scrambled for 18 yards to keep the drive alive. He later picked up another first down on a third-and-1 before marching Alabama inside the Auburn 10-yard line.

After Jones caught his own deflected pass for a loss of a yard on third-and-goal from the 10, Alabama sent out its field goal team to tie the game with 2:04 remaining.

Facing the Auburn student section, Bulovas saw his kick hit off the left upright before falling to the turf. The potential game-tying kick was the kicker’s lone miss of the night as he connected on a 43-yard try earlier in the game and was perfect on all six of his extra-point attempts. The next night, a distraught Bulovas issued an apology to Alabama fans via Twitter.

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