Time Sports
As the championships have piled up for Nick Saban, it remains a bit of an anomaly that he’s only coached one undefeated team. His first championship team at Alabama in 2009 went 14-0, but the other four (including 2003 at LSU) all had a loss that ultimately proved purposeful.
In 2011, Alabama’s frustrating 9-6 overtime loss to LSU helped provide a blueprint for the title game rematch, which the Crimson Tide won in a 21-0 throttling.
In 2012, losing to Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel in November could have been costly, but in the big picture it helped paved the way for Saban to evolve his offensive philosophy, which is clearly paying dividends now.