Alabama is the lone returning program to the College Football Playoff and the Tide have plenty of reasons to believe this year's playoff push will end better than last season's.
In an era of pass-heavy, hurry-up, no-huddle offenses, Alabama has managed to dominate its opponents by simply running the football and stopping the run. Derrick Henry's march to New York for the Heisman presentation has been more Earl Campbell than Reggie Bush and his physical brand of football has led Alabama to finish fourth in time of possession.
With fewer plays, and the run game simply not an option against a stout Alabama front seven, teams have had to turn to the passing game earlier and earlier, allowing Alabama to unleash its new rotation of pass-rushers. For the first time in the Saban era, Alabama led the SEC in sacks per game and tallied 46 over 13 contests, the most in the nation.
With Henry powering the offense and the Tide defense suffocating opposing teams, it's no wonder oddsmakers have anointed them the team to beat.
Derrick Henry
Alabama's bruising running back just broke Herschel Walker's SEC record for most rushing yards in a season.
The tireless workhorse enters the playoffs just 14 yards shy of 2,000 for the season. Henry has more than earned his three weeks off before Alabama's semifinal game on New Year's Eve after carrying the ball 90 times in the Tide's last two games. "Tractorcito" accounted for 51 percent of Alabama's total offense against Auburn and Florida, while extending his touchdown streak to 18 games.
He even contributes to the offense in ways that don't end up on the stat sheet. With the game against Florida very much in doubt, late in the third quarter, Jake Coker rolled slightly to his right before stepping up to find Ardarius Stewart in the end zone. Coker and Stewart racked up the stats, but it was Henry's block on Florida's Brian Poole that made it all possible.
If he hadn't cut Poole down at the knees, Coker would have been sacked on third down, giving the Gators the ball back, down just eight points. The presumptive Heisman Trophy winner is a complete player and has more than enough endurance to carry Alabama offensively for two more games.
Run defense
On its face, holding opponents to just 74 yards per game on the ground is impressive.
In fact, that's the lowest rushing total surrendered by the nation's top run defense since 2011 when, you guessed it, Alabama held teams to 72 yards per game during its championship run. But what makes Alabama's dominance even more astounding is the fact that they faced a healthy Nick Chubb and Leonard Fournette at full strength.
Not to mention Wisconsin's vaunted rushing attack in the opener and Tennessee's dynamic ground game. Alabama simply takes the running game away from you, whether you prominently feature it or not. That will be a vital storyline in the Tide's semifinal game against Michigan State and potentially in a title game showdown with either Oklahoma or Clemson. All three teams are far more dangerous once they soften up opponents along the ground, so Alabama's vicious front seven will be even more important during this playoff run.
Pass rush
Let's set the stage. Alabama runs out to an early lead and its opponent's running game is just spinning its tires as Florida did in the SEC Title Game. At that point, the passing game is the only hope of defeating the Tide. In the past few years, aerial assaults have gotten the best of Alabama and after an early-season loss to Ole Miss it appeared Kirby Smart's defense was again susceptible to the deep ball. But since that game, something has changed. In the 10 games that have followed the Tide's loss to the Rebels, their defense has allowed just 164 yards per game through the air.
They've revved up the pass rush with situational rushers like Tim Williams (9.5 sacks) and Ryan Anderson (five sacks). And that pass rush has forced 16 interceptions, up five year-over-year, and reduced opponents' passing plays of 30-plus yards by more than 20 percent.
This defense, as a whole, makes you one-dimensional, is incredibly disruptive and has put a lid on opponents' big plays.