TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit made headlines in June when he picked Alabama to win the national championship. Entering the No. 3 Crimson Tide’s matchup against No. 11 Texas this weekend, he’s just as confident in his selection.
Alabama manhandled an overmatched Middle Tennessee State team in last weekend’s season opener, rolling to a 56-7 victory behind five total touchdowns from Jalen Milroe. Herbstreit’s title prediction came before he even knew that Milroe would win the Tide’s starting quarterback job. While the redshirt sophomore’s impressed him, Herbstreit said his pick ultimately came down to his confidence in Nick Saban.
“There are a lot of people that are like laughing that I picked Alabama to win the national championship, but I’m only going by history,” Herbstreit explained Friday while on Alabama’s campus for ESPN’s College GameDay. “You could have not told me who’s on the roster, and as long as the guy who’s the head coach is still the head coach, I would have still picked Alabama. If you go back and look from 2009 — their first year that they one the national championship — and just track them, it’s very rare for them to go a couple years and then not win it.”
As Herbsreit pointed out, Saban hasn’t gone more than two seasons without winning a title during his time at Alabama. The Crimson Tide won its first national championship under Saban during the 2009 season and followed up with titles in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020. With Georgia winning the past two national titles, that streak will come to an end if Alabama doesn’t reclaim its place atop college footbal’s throne this year.
Herbstreit the right formula is there for the Tide to do just that.
“I just feel like the program’s due,” he said. “I even heard some of their quotes, like they feel very disrespected. I love hearing that. They have a chip on their shoulder. They’re angry angry. No one’s giving them any credit. I’m like, ‘Yes!’ I love to hear that. That’s what I was kind of banking on is these players feel disrespected because they’ve gone back-to-back years without winning it all.”
While Alabama still sits inside the top five, the Crimson Tide is no longer considered college footbal’s biggest bully. Saban was even on set when former ESPN analyst and Georgia linebacker David Pollack proclaimed that the Bulldogs “have taken hold of college football.” Pollack has since clarified that his statement was not a shot at Saban. However, Herbstreit believes remarks like that will only fuel the Crimson Tide’s locker room.
“I think for Alabama’s standards they’re a bit of an underdog,” Herbstreit said. “You take Bryce Young away, you take Will Anderson away, and a lot of people are like, ‘Georgia is the new power in college football.’ I just think that doesn’t sit well with Alabama, and I’m kind of betting on, that’s the team that’s going to show up with a bit of a chip on their shoulder every week.”
As for his evaluations on Alabama’s season-opening blowout, Herbstreit said there’s only so much you can take away from a win against what he caled an “inferior opponent.” He was impressed with the Crimson Tide’s defense and pointed out that Alabama has several emerging stars stepping into new roles.
And then there’s the eye-opening start from Milroe. Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, praised the dual-threat passer for his athletic ability as well as his poise as a passer.
“That was exciting to see,” Herbsreit said. “I’m still looking forward to seeing — for them to do what they want to do, they’re going to have to throw the ball consistently against really good opponents in some really tough environments. This will be a great week just to see how far a long they are with their passing game, because they are going to have to make plays through the air this week.”
Alabama and Texas are set to kick off at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN with Herbsreit and Chris Fowler on the call.
