Ranking Nick Saban’s 5 best teams at Alabama ft. 2020

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide have been together since the 2008 college football season. Since then, fans have seen a lot of incredible teams as they won six national championships together and there have been some unbelievable teams in that span.

But what are some of the best that fans have seen come out of Tuscaloosa in the Saban era? Here's a ranking of some of the top teams that Nick Saban has coached in the Alabama Crimson Tide:

Ranking Nick Saban's 5 best Alabama teams

#5. 2015

The 2015 season saw the Alabama Crimson Tide dominate as they were able to recover from a Week 3 loss against the Ole Miss Rebels and finish the regular season with a 12-1 record. They made the College Football Playoff and dominated with a 38-0 win in the Cotton Bowl over Michigan State and defeated the Clemson Tigers in the national championship game 45-40.

This team had some incredible talent as their running backs included Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, Kenyan Drake, Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough. They had Calvin Ridley and O.J. Howard on the receiving end and defensive stars like linebacker Reuben Foster, safety Eddie Jackson, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.

What's incredible is that the defense had 19 takeaways but zero forced fumbles. The defense has dominated at applying pressure with 52 total sacks and just had a bit of everything to dominate.

#4. 2017

Despite losing the final regular season game and not competing in the SEC Championship, they still were able to make the CFP. As the fourth seed in the playoff, they defeated the Clemson Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs to win the national championship.

Their offense dominated as they were able to score 66 total touchdowns and averaged 37.1 points per game. They had more passing touchdowns (28) than sacks allowed (27). The team had a quarterback room of Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. Hurts had a 17:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and it makes sense when you see they had Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III out wide.

Their running backs were Damien Harris with 1,000 yards as well as Bo Scarbrough, Najee Harris, Josh Jacobs and Brian Robinson Jr. It's difficult to find a better offensive program but Nick Saban had a few more complete teams.

#3. 2012

The 2012 Alabama Crimson Tide dominated on both sides of the ball as they were able to go 13-1 as their only loss was a home loss against the Texas A&M Aggies, 29-24. As the second-ranked program, they made the national championship game and defeated the top-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 42-14 to win the title once again.

Quarterback AJ McCarron had 30 passing touchdowns and was throwing the ball to Amari Cooperas a legitimate WR1 with 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. In addition, this team had an incredible rushing offense with Eddie Lacy, T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake being a majority of the 3,171 rushing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns.

Their defense dominated as they were able to have four shutouts in 14 games and allowed just 12.9 points per game. This team dominated and showed how good Nick Saban could recruit and coach at an elite level.

#2. 2009

In just his second season coaching the Alabama Crimson Tide, Nick Saban went undefeated and won the national championship over the Texas Longhorns. Six of the 14 games played saw the Roll Tide allow seven or fewer points as they were able to dominate on that side of the field.

That side of the ball was led by linebacker Rolando McClain and had players like Kareem Jackson, Mark Barron, Dont'a Hightower and Javier Arenas to name a few. Barron's seven interceptions led the team as they had 24 interceptions on the season as well as 74 pass deflections.

With quarterback Greg McElroy doing a decent job, they had a lot of great skill-position players. In the running back room, they had Heisman Trophy winners Mark Ingram II and Trent Richardson, who had 3,011 yards and 31 touchdowns on the ground. Their receiving room did not have a superstar season but it helped having Julio Jones as the top wide receiver with almost 600 yards and four touchdowns.

#1. 2020

It may have been the pandemic-striken season but the Alabam Crimson Tide were incredible in this season. Quarterback Mac Jones threw for 4,500 yards with 41 passing touchdowns. Running back Najee Harris had 1,466 rushing yards with 26 rushing touchdowns. The wide receiver trio of Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, John Metchie III and Jalen Waddle dominated as well.

Their offense was one of the best in the history of college football averaging 48.5 points per game. This team had shutdown defenders as well with Will Anderson Jr., Pat Surtain II and Brian Branch to name a few notable names on that defense. With 22 total takeaways, their defense has dominated as well.

The Crimson Tide went undefeated and scored 50+ points in seven of their 13 games that season. They defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes to hoist the final national championship of Nick Saban's legendary career.