Brett McMurphy knows the University of Alabama controls the college football dialogue.
The art of picking against the Crimson Tide will be page clicks and conversation, but the tactic does not in Nick Saban getting left out of the national championship discussion. He has won six national titles with the Tide and is pursuing a seventh one.
Saban came close in 2021, but injuries proved too much for Alabama to overcome. He returns a healthy roster of veterans and young talent, and the Tide has a schedule it can navigate. The 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship Game will be at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.