TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A month ago, a nearly empty Bryant-Denny Stadium felt like a ghost town as the clock ticked toward midnight. The only sound was the whir of gas-powered blowers pushing trash into piles for pickup. While Texas celebrated becoming playoff contenders inside the visitor's locker room, it appeared the sun had set early on Alabama's season. Kiss the seemingly annual trip to the national championship game goodbye. Those travel reservations might as well have gone in the refuse bin alongside empty shots of whiskey and shattered gas station sunglasses.
A week later, an ugly 17-3 win at South Florida seemed to signal something even more damning: the decline of the dynasty under Nick Saban, which had dominated college football with six championships since 2009.