Final AFCA Coaches Poll Sparks Alabama Controversy
The final AFCA football coaches poll for the 2022 season has been released, and votes about where Alabama was going to fall were up for debate. Alabama fell in fifth place behind Georgia, TCU, Michigan, and Ohio State. However, Nick Saban ranked his team second overall along with Texas El-Paso's Dana Dimel who was the only other coach to rank the Tide that high.
Alabama has finished top two in the poll over the past two years, so to drop to fifth place, Saban is shocked, to say the least. To add to the sting, the top teams' coaches of Georgia and TCU ranked Alabama in sixth place below Tennessee.
There is a lot of talk about whether Georgia will be the next football dynasty, or if Alabama has a comeback season in them. After all, every year Alabama has not been in the college football national championship, they have come back and won it the next year.
During this year's national championship, David Pollack, a former Georgia linebacker, said "Georgia may be the new dynasty" in front of Saban. The look on the coach's face may have been all the motivation Alabama needs to come out next season on top.
Most coaches ranked Alabama fifth in the poll to close out the year, however, former Tennessee interim head coach Brady Hoke voted for the Vols over the Tide.
The Alabama vs. Tennessee game was one of the most watched games of the 2022 season. The game surpassed the "4 million club" after racking up over 11 million views and was named the best game of the season via ESPN.
The rivalries and shade thrown to close out the 2022 season just mean 2023 will be one for the books.