NCAAFNFLBy Kevin McGuire on

For the first time in college football history, Nick Saban took a loss in a national championship game. With Clemson further cementing the legitimacy of head coach Dabo Swinney by coming from behind to stun Alabama in Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game, the shine on Alabama’s ongoing dynasty has been dulled just a tad. One has to wonder how those who made the case Alabama could beat the worst team in the NFL feel today.

First of all, let’s make this perfectly clear right now before we continue. The idea of the very best college football team going toe-to-toe with even the worst NFL team is a ridiculous practice and doing so will only ensure your chances of being highlighted by Freezing Cold Takes will be greatly enhanced. the same is true for anyone who says something like Kentucky would beat the Philadelphia 76ers, for example. Consider yourself warned. While it is true that a good number of Alabama players will one day move on to continue playing football in the NFL, there are so many reasons why suggesting Alabama would give even the Browns or Jacksonville Jaguars a good run is incredulous in principle. While Alabama may have somewhere between 20 and 30 players with NFL potential (there were seven players drafted from Alabama in the 2016 NFL Draft – Ohio State, Clemson, and UCLA all had more), the Browns and Jaguars have 53 NFL players. NFL players also have the benefit of having access to the best training possible, have more developed bodies, are stronger and more agile than the best college team can possibly be. Alabama typically owns a huge advantage on the offensive and defensive lines, but that advantage vanishes against even the worst NFL offensive and defensive lines.

Even knowing all this, there are people who will still watch Alabama play and jump to the idea that the Crimson Tide are so good that they could take down the Browns or 49ers.

https://twitter.com/erik_kynard/status/818644427107401730

Well, no, they are not. They are, however, a very good SEC team!

Nope, still not true. It’s not like the Pac-12 champion Washington Huskies took on the Seattle Seahawks.

And now, the questions about whether or not Alabama would beat the 1-15 Browns…

https://twitter.com/whosthatnumber7/status/818644882415898624

https://twitter.com/theleadsports/status/818636987204653057

More than they’d probably give up to Alabama’s offense.

I still say you’re crazy.

I’ll take that bet!

Here are some people who are not just limiting Alabama’s superiority to riding above just the Browns. Now we’re just getting carried away.

https://twitter.com/jeffreybjones/status/790084530442948609

You know what? With just a couple more key players, Alabama could be right in the thick of the AFC South Division championship race.

Saying Alabama could beat a bad NFL team has become a bit of a running gag. Most people saying this probably don’t honestly think it, and the experts in Las Vegas certainly answer the call any time this ridiculous question is presented to them. Danny Sheridan made Alabama a hypothetical 27-point underdog against the Browns. RJ Bell got a 17-point spread in favor of the Browns.

All we are left wondering now, if Alabama could beat the Browns, then could Clemson beat the Panthers?

No. They could not.

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About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.

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