The Most Important Wins of Nick Saban's Career at Alabama

2. No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 3 Georgia 

September 27, 2008

Final Score: Alabama 41-30 Georgia

Coming off of the Clemson opener where the Crimson Tide put the nation on notice, all eyes were turned towards the week four matchup against top-five ranked Georgia. This would ultimately be the test to see if Alabama was really back to its dominat ways.

Georgia would come in with a loaded squad that included future number-one pick Matthew Stafford along with All-Americans Knowshon Moreno and A.J. Green. Well, the Tide led by star Freshman Julio Jones, would turn it on and never look back. At this point, Saban had the team and the rest of Tuscaloosa thinking championship or bust.

3. No. 1 Alabama vs Tennessee 

October 24, 2009

Final Score: Alabama 12-10 Tennessee

In the first-ever meeting between Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban, not many thought it would be an actual game. But the combination of a historic rivalry coupled with having a young brash Kiffin on the other sideline turned into a game for the ages. In Kiffin’s one and only season for the Vols, he had become a lightning rod for quotes and trash talk. With that being said, Alabama led pretty much all game until Tennessee roared back to attempt the game-winning field goal. In comes Terrence “Mount” Cody, who would use all of his 330-plus-pound body to penetrate the line and block the kick to win the game. That still stings Vol fans to this day.

4. No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 1 Florida (SEC Championship)

December 5, 2009

Final Score: Alabama 32-13 Florida

All season it was pretty much determined who the best two teams were in the country. That would be the defending national champion Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide. A season prior the Gators would defeat Saban and the Tide in the same SEC championship, so everybody all around couldn’t wait for the rematch

 In what many thought would be a close game to the end, the Tide would convincingly whoop the Gators, avenge their previous loss, and takeover Urban Meyer along with the Gators as the top dog in the SEC to reach Saban’s first title.

5. No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 3 Georgia (College Football Playoff National Championship) 

January 8th, 2018

Final Score: Alabama 26-23 Georgia

At this point in time,  Nick Saban already had five National Championships along with a statue in Tuscaloosa being revered as one of the greats, if not the greatest. Although that may be true, many pundits thought Saban was on the verge of losing his top spot in the sport along with maybe even retiring. They would have a good reason for that as Kirby Smart had the Bulldogs rolling to reach their first-ever College Football Playoff Championship. Georgia had also beaten the Crimson Tide convincingly in the SEC championship a month prior, so many thought the same would happen. 

For the first half, it certainly seemed that way, until a change was made at QB with Freshman Tua Tagovailoa replacing Jalen Hurts. That move would turn out to be the game changer, as he would go on to throw the game-winning touchdown to fellow Freshman Devonta Smith with zeros on the clock to give Saban his sixth national title.