Impressive Alabama streak comes to an end

Jan 5, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; A view of the Alabama Crimson Tide logo is seen at the Marriott Marquis. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

An impressive streak for the Alabama Crimson Tide has come to an end.

The Tide lost 19-13 to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. The loss dropped Alabama to 9-4 and prevented them from earning their 10th win of the season.

The defeat means that Alabama’s streak of 16 straight double-digit win seasons has ended, as noted by Cole Cubelic.

Alabama’s streak of double-digit win seasons began in Nick Saban’s second season as the team’s head football coach. He went 7-6 in 2007, which was his first season. The Tide went 12-2 the following season and 14-0 in 2009 to win the national championship. Alabama dropped to 10-3 in 2010 but then never won fewer than 10 games in a season thereafter until now.

This was the first season for the Tide under Kalen DeBoer. There is no question that they underperformed based on the expectations for the program. The team had a big win over Georgia, but losses to Vanderbilt and at Oklahoma submarined their playoff hopes. Losing to Michigan on Tuesday solidified the notion that they failed to deliver in the 2024 season.

DeBoer needs to show improvement in his second year.