No one can blame Nick Saban if he suffers from Tigriphobia. The Alabama coach does not lose games often. The last five times his Crimson Tide have fallen, they have done so to teams with the nickname Tigers. And here are the quintet of losses in order. Tigriphobia grips the Alabama.
I: National championship for 2016 season
The Crimson Tide faced Clemson for the national championship. The game came down to the final drive. After a pass interference penalty in the final seconds, Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow with 0:01 left; putting Clemson in the lead, 35–31.
II: Iron Bowl, 2017
The Tide brought an 11-0 record into the game with Auburn at Jordan-Hare. Alabama left with the lone blemish on its schedule for the season. Jarrett Stidham Stidham passed for 237 yards and ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown as Auburn advanced to an SEC Championship Game tussle with Georgia.
III: National championship for 2018 season
Clemson got its claws into Alabama big time in the national title game last season. The Tigers crushed the Crimson Tide, 44-16, as Trevor Lawrence passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns.
IV: LSU 46, Alabama 41
Joe Burrow passed for 393 yards and three touchdowns and LSU snapped an eight-game losing streak to Alabama with a 46-41 victory Saturday. It seems the Bayou Bengals finally were able to solve Alabama, the Tiger team whose number the Tide had.
V: Iron Bowl, 2019
Alabama lost the Iron Bowl to Auburn Saturday, 48-45. The Tide beat themselves as well as losing to the Tigers. Shaun Shivers scored on an 11-yard run with 8:08 left to put Auburn ahead and a missed field goal wiped away the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes. Alabama’s last chance to get the ball back evaporated when the Tide was called for having 12 men on the field on a fourth-and-four for Auburn with about 80 seconds left.
The bowl opponent the Tide doesn’t want
Alabama no longer has to worry about facing Clemson or LSU again as both those teams seem destined for the College Football Playoff. However, the Tide could match up with Memphis in a bowl, maybe the Cotton. Memphis’ nickname? The Tigers, of course.
