Rivals Pre-season: No. 1

No. 1 Alabama

Last season’s crown may have been the sweetest of them all for this storied program, as it officially stamped Alabama as the hottest program in the nation. Saban already makes that eight-year, $32 million contract he signed in 2007 appear to be a bargain and has moved the program light years from his 7-6 debut in 2007 that included a home loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

USC was the best program in the first half of the last decade; the final half of the 2000s belonged to Florida. With a new decade dawning, Alabama appears primed to be latest dynasty after going 26-2 the past two seasons.

Rivals.com
8/19/10