As Alabama has grown into the premier program in college football under Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide's dominance has cast a shadow over the rest of the sport.
It wasn't long ago that a new contender could envision a path to a national championship each year, a goal that seems to slip further and further out of reach as Alabama and Clemson have risen to startling heights.
The sport has always been defined by its blue bloods, which made upstarts such as Boise State and Central Florida so exciting. But now it seems as if it's impossible for a new program to become a perennial College Football Playoff contender. Even going undefeated in the regular season, as UCF has the past two seasons, hasn't been enough to earn a spot in the final four.
In the Bowl Championship Series and CFP era, which began in 1998, 12 different schools have won a national championship (13, if you count UCF's self-declared title in 2017) in 21 seasons. Included was a stretch of nine straight seasons without a repeat champion, which began with Tennessee's 23-16 win over Florida State in the inaugural BCS title game in 1998 and ended with LSU's 38-24 victory against Ohio State in 2007, which gave the Tigers their second championship in five seasons.
That's what makes the recent dominance of Alabama and Clemson so ... deflating.
But maybe, just maybe, things will be different this season.
Here's a look at how each national title contender could miss the playoff this season.
(A note: Possible injuries will not be considered in these scenarios. It's obvious Clemson and Alabama would take a step back without their star quarterbacks, for example.)
