What happened tonight was indeed mind-blowing, especially considering the quantity of top-level NFL prospects on the Alabama roster.

I know how critical some fans were of Ohio State’s blowout losses to Purdue and Iowa in the past two seasons but, in certain respects, tonight’s loss by Alabama was worse precisely because a championship was at stake.  

Two of the greatest coaches when I was growing up were John Wooden and Vince Lombardi.  And part of their legend was their teams’ consistency of excellence in the context of championship competition.  Wooden was a perfect 10-0 in NCAA finals.  Lombardi was 5-1 in NFL title games, with his one loss by only four points, and 2-0 in the first two Super Bowls.

What Saban has accomplished in the past decade is a remarkable feat in the history of college football but I have to think his legacy will be impacted somewhat by getting routed when his team was favored and it will generate so many high NFL draft choices.