The Alabama Crimson Tide captured their 17th National Championship against the Georgia Bulldogs on Jan. 8thin Atlanta, Georgia. However, it did not come easy. Freshman Quarterback Jake Fromm of Georgia gave everything he had to offer passing the ball against Alabama’s defense. And it worked.

After a dominating performance against Clemson the week before in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama was on their heels for a large part of the championship game. With everything that went against Alabama, somehow, they pulled it off. A large part of the success is due to Coach Nick Saban and his coaching abilities.

Still, here are eight things that went horribly wrong for Nick Saban and the Tide:

1. Starting slow

Alabama has a tendency of starting slow, that’s not out of character. When Georgia got the ball first, they took a shot downfield. Former defensive back Tony Brown intercepted the ball and put Jalen Hurts on the field. Making a few plays downfield they could not convert on the turnover and that started to become a problem.

2. Struggling Jalen

Georgia prepared the best a team possibly could against a player like Jalen Hurts. Hurts went 3/8 on competitions with 21 passing yards. He rushed for 6 carries and 47 yards. Hurts and the offense had no answer keeping the defense on the field. The SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year in 2016 was playing his worst game in an Alabama uniform.

3. Leaving points on the field

Not scoring is one thing, but to miss opportunities to score, that’s another. Alabama was not moving the ball like they hoped, however, they had a couple chances to put points on the board but couldn’t. One time being for the win. Andy Pappanastos missed a 36- yarder to win the game, which put the game into overtime. He also missed a 40-yarder in the game as well. Pappanastos, went 1 for 3, making a 30-yarder. Field goals are an important factor to the game and here proves it. Had Pappanastos made the field goals, the Tide would have won in regulation.

4. Letting emotions take over

Mekhi Brown, outside linebacker, was flagged for throwing a punch at a Georgia special teams player. The emotions followed him to the sidelines where he proceeded to fight and argue with one of the assistant coaches. Following the season, he transferred to (Tennessee State University) TSU. The transfer was unrelated to the incident and he said he was not kicked off the team.

5. Player collapses

Alabama defensive back Kyriq McDonald collapsed during the National Championship. He was carted off the field and evaluated. At the time, it was described unrelated to athletics. Later, it was revealed to be dehydration from the flu. McDonald was a freshman and saw no action during the 2017 season. Even with seeing no playing time, this type of incident affects the mental stage of the players and coaches.

6. No Anfernee Jennings

Jennings was a key player in the success the Tide had against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. He recorded 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 4 solo tackles, and a recorded sack. He left the game due to a knee injury that would leave him out of the championship game.

7. Turnovers

This season, Alabama has protected the ball very well. However, that was not the case in the playoffs. Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception during the second half of the championship game. This happened before the Tide went on an incredible run to tie the ball game, and eventually win in overtime. Though Tagovailoa rose to the occasion, there were spots where he looked like a freshman.

8. Featured running backs have an off day

Alabama top running backs Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough were a nonfactor in the game. Both combining for 40 yards. It was Freshman Najee Harris, who led the team with rushing. He had 6 carries for 64 yards. Harris, gave that spark rushing that the team needed.

Despite absolutely nothing going Alabama’s way, and Georgia taking advantage of opportunities, somehow the Tide never got out of reach.

Even with these setbacks, here are three things that went absolutely right for the Tide:

1. Halftime adjustments

After nothing going right for the Tide in the first half, they came out in the second half with a new fire. Whether the coaches said something or a veteran player did, it worked. The second half, it was a new team out on the field, and you could tell a hand full of players were not losing that game.

2. Trust in Tua

Coach Saban has coached incredible games in the past, and there have been times where he pulled some tricks from his pocket. However, Saban arguably made the Gustiest call of his career against Georgia. At halftime, he benched Jalen Hurts for the freshman. Nothing was working and the team needed a spark, he believed Tua Tagovailoa was the answer. He was right.

3. Time for the freshman

With nothing working, and the star players being a nonfactor, Saban called to the freshman to make something happen. In the rally from behind, there were 12 freshmen who played and made an impact. The Biggest being the touchdown pass to win in overtime. Freshman to Freshman, for the winning touchdown, a 41-yard pass to DeVonta Smith from Tua Tagovailoa. It was the play that turned Tua Tagovailoa and DeVonta Smith into Championship legends.

The fact everything went wrong for Alabama, and somehow the Tide managed to pull off the win is incredible by itself. The game adds to the resume that Nick Saban has created. After winning 6 National Championships tying the great Paul “Bear” Bryant, this game was arguably his greatest coaching job. Alabama may not be holding up the trophy had any other person coached that game.