Like
1
Alabama hadn't lost to Vanderbilt in 40 years and hadn't lost in Nashville in 55 years. The Crimson Tide were coming off of a win in the game of the year, an incredible back-and-forth affair with Georgia that bumped them to No. 1 in the AP poll. The Commodores were three weeks removed from losing to Georgia State.
As players have been given more rights in recent years -- fewer transfer restrictions, the ability to get paid legally -- a countless number of critics railed against the progress, declaring that it would wreck competitive balance, that the best players would gravitate toward the best schools and that the also-rans would get left in the dust.