Jan. 2 (UPI) — The 2023-24 campaign was one of the “most amazing seasons in Alabama football history,” coach Nick Saban told reporters after a College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Michigan.
Saban made the comments after the No. 4 Tide lost to No. 1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl Game on Monday in Pasadena, Calif. The Tide held a 29-13 lead with 4:41 remaining before the Wolverines tied the score and won in overtime.
“We just didn’t finish the last 4 minutes of the game like we liked to,” Saban said at his postgame news conference at Rose Bowl Stadium. “We are all very disappointed and the players are disappointed as well.
“But one thing I told them in the locker room after the game was that this was one of the most amazing seasons in Alabama football history, in terms of where this team came from, what they were able to accomplish and what they were able to do. … I’m really really proud of this group.”
Monday’s game marked the Tide’s eighth semifinal appearance in 10 years. They won four national titles in the College Football Playoff era, which started in 2014.
The Tide (12-2), who haven’t lost more than two games in a season since 2010, lost to the Texas Longhorns in their second game of their 2023-24 campaign. That Sept. 9 setback was the earliest ever in a season for a Saban-led team at Alabama.
Alabama then won their next 10, advancing to the Southeastern Conference title game. There, they upset the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinal.
The Tide did not reach the Top 4 of the College Football Playoff rankings until the final week of the season. They ranked No. 8 in the initial rankings, which were released Oct. 31. They kept that spot in the next four revisions.
“I don’t look at it necessarily from winning and losing or you won the championship, you didn’t win the championship,” Saban said of the 2023-24 season. “As a coach, you are always trying to get your team to improve and be the best they can be.
“I think this team probably improved from the South Florida and Texas game early in the season as much as any team I’ve ever coached. That takes a lot of hard work, a lot of people being very committed to doing things they need to do to self assess and improve their game.
“All these players bought in on this team and did it in first-class fashion. That’s why, I think, it is one of the teams I’ll remember most and be the most proud of.”
The Tide averaged 34 points and 401.2 yards per game this season. They totaled just 288 yards and allowed six sacks in Monday’s loss.
“I just wish I could have done more as a coach to help them be successful, help them finish,” Saban said. “All we can do now is learn from the lessons that sometimes failings bring to us.
The No. 1 Wolverines will face the No. 3 Washington Huskies in the College Football Playoff finale on Monday at NRG Stadium in Houston. That game will air at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.
Alabama women’s basketball embarks on its non-conference schedule with a season opener against Stetson, but how much the Crimson Tide’s opponents make from the University of Alabama before SEC play begins in January?
The Tuscaloosa News obtained contract information via an open records request to determine the amount of money that UA will be paying out during the 2025-26 non-conference slate.
Fourteen non-conference foes are on the docket for Alabama, including teams that the Crimson Tide will face during the Pink Flamingo Championships in Nassau, Bahamas, over Thanksgiving. The only contract that wasn’t provided was Alabama’s SEC/ACC Challenge game against Clemson, scheduled for Dec. 4.
Here’s what to know:
Stetson will receive $30,000 from the University of Alabama to travel to Tuscaloosa from DeLand, Florida. Sam Houston is Alabama’s other highest-paid opponent, bringing in $30,000 for the team’s trip from Huntsville, Texas.
Alabama A&M, Alcorn State, McNeese State and Troy will receive $25,000 each. The guaranteed amount that Tulane will be paid is $24,000. Kennesaw State and Samford will receive $20,000 each. Receiving $10,000, the University of Louisiana-Monroe is the lowest-paid opponent Alabama will face.
The Crimson Tide is paying $37,500 to compete in the Pink Flamingos Championship, in which it will meet Harvard and either Minnesota or the University of South Florida.
Per contract agreement, six of Alabama’s non-conference opponents will also receive 15 hotel rooms per night, including Alabama A&M, Alcorn State, Jackson State, Kennesaw State, McNeese State and Tulane. Alabama A&M, Jackson State and Kennesaw State are approximately three hours away from Tuscaloosa, or less.
Minus hotel room costs, Alabama will pay a total of $296,500 to the aforementioned visiting non-conference opponents and to participate in the Pink Flamingos Championship.
Alabama and Stetson will tip off at 4 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 3 in Coleman Coliseum ahead of Alabama men’s basketball’s season opener against North Dakota at 7 p.m. on the same day.
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Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
Heflin, Alabama — Every Halloween season, when the sun sets in the small Alabama town of Heflin, the local students from Cleburne County High School toilet paper a few homes.
But last month, they upped their game, toilet papering just about every business in town, too.
“It’s just fun,” one teen told CBS News.
“And then you don’t get caught and it’s like, this is fantastic,” said another.
It was fantastic until they made the mistake of hitting the headquarters of the Heflin Police Department.
“It was up on the roof, the spare cars we had in the parking lot … We had to do something,” Heflin Police Chief Ross McGlaughn said.
So after the “attack” on his station last month, McGlaughn took to social media to send a message to the perpetrators.
“We think that rolling the police department was a little uncalled for, but as we enter into Halloween season, we dont want to hear any crying when we load up like we are going to serve a search warrant and go full out tactical ninja style old school rolling at your place next month,” McGlaughn wrote. “We know who you are and while you just put the play station controller down for a week, we are children of the 80s and 90s who perfected this craft years ago.”
The Heflin Police Department then got to work on an operation that was supported by officers from multiple jurisdictions, all armed to the teeth with toilet paper.
It was an unusual approach to policing, to say the least. But McGlaughn did get permission from the parents in advance. And he said he has his reasons for encouraging the kids like this.
“As long as they’re doing this, they’re not getting into trouble doing something else,” McGlaughn said. “I haven’t seen any types of drugs or alcohol involved. You know, I think they’re spending all their money on toilet paper.”
The kids have definitely taken to the prank war.
“I just think it’s good clean fun for everyone, and it’s been great for our whole town, the police department and everybody,” one student said.
Heflin’s toilet paper war has so tickled the town that businesses are now offering support by putting out free toilet paper. And the kids are taking care of the ensuing mess in their own unique way, by selling insurance.
“They call it the Toilet Paper Rapid Response Team,” McGlaughn said. “So if you buy their insurance and your yard gets rolled, the youth group will come clean it up for you … So you can buy protection.”
But it’s worth it, McGlaughn said, because this has been fun for everyone, including him.
“I’m just rallying everybody,” McGlaughn said as he prepared to toilet paper another home. “That way we can hit the next house. It looks beautiful from down there.”
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