Analysis: Alabama's unrivaled dominance

For three months, opposing fans and college football pundits openly wondered if Alabama was beatable and if the Crimson Tide had any fatal flaws that could be exploited. Win after win answered each question thrown the Tide's way as they trudged through their schedule. And after 13 straight wins in 2016, Alabama has clearly proven it's the only juggernaut in college football. The Tide have been so dominant, articles are popping up speculating if their back-ups could win the SEC East. Yes, the distance between Alabama and the next best team really is that far.

The recipe for Alabama hasn't exactly been tried and true for the ultimate tactician, Nick Saban. Alabama's head coach avoided starting a true freshman quarterback for his first 20 years as a head coach, only to willingly hand the reins to Jalen Hurts this fall. The 18-year-old has rewarded Saban's faith by repeatedly refusing to wilt under pressure.

Related: Don't even think about trying to run on Alabama this year

Thanks to Hurts' dynamic presence under center, the Tide offense has finally drawn closer to their impressive defense. The running game, in particular, has come into its own, punctuated by a physically dominant performance against the Gators' fifth-ranked defense in Saturday's SEC title tilt. Alabama's 38-point victory gives the Tide the opportunity to finish the season with the best average scoring margin since Florida State's 41.8-point mark set back in 2013.

The offense, which has improved markedly since September, gives Alabama a well-rounded feel, but it is the Tide's defense and special teams that, for lack of a better word, make this team special. There was a common belief that Alabama's dynamic defense couldn't possibly keep pouring in defensive touchdowns week after week.

Yet, in the title game against Florida, it was another parade of non-offensive touchdowns that quickly erased any upset thoughts from the Gators' sideline. NFL Draftniks speculate that there's a good chance that the entire starting 11 on Alabama's defense will be in NFL training camps within the next three years. The talent is executing Jeremy Pruitt's defense so well that there's a good chance his defense will score more points than they allow in any given game.

The folks in the desert are now attempting to properly handicap Alabama's potential playoff games, which is proving to be an experiment testing the public's appetite for massive spreads. Westgate Superbook released the hypothetical spreads this week and it's not looking great for the competition:

The spread that jumps out the most, other than Vegas' respect for Urban Meyer in underdog situations, is Washington coming in as nearly a two-touchdown underdog. The Huskies have been dominant in recent weeks and their lone loss came against the nation's hottest team. But this bookmaking consensus is really about Alabama and not the other teams.

Alabama has proven for three straight months that it can dominate quality opponents without the benefit of a truly spectacular offense. It's been years since we've seen a team go about dismantling the national scene without a truly terrifying offense, which makes this squad so much fun to watch. The numbers simply don't do this program justice right now, but one number would punctuate this historic season perfectly in five weeks: 15-0.