What follows is a list of compelling quarterback battles in college football heading into the 2018 season, because who doesn’t enjoy a good controversy? But let’s begin with the obvious, because I can think of at least one overtly controlling football coach who does not enjoy a good controversy, and his team is at the top of this list.



Here are the things we already know: Nick Saban’s Alabama football team is the defending national champion (again), and Alabama is the consensus favorite to repeat that championship (again). Here is why this offseason is perhaps the most compelling moment in the recent history of a program that has often appeared drained of conflict: For the first time, Saban has a truly frenzied and talk-radio-worthy quarterback dilemma.

It is a controversy based on a decision Saban made in the National Championship Game to supplant starting quarterback Jalen Hurts with freshman Tua Tagovailoa in the second half, and while that choice won a national title for Alabama in the short term, the long-term consequences are far more complex. How Saban handles it could have a major impact on the future of his program.

If Saban starts Tagovailoa, he could lose the most experienced quarterback he has to a transfer. If he starts Hurts, he could lose perhaps the most talented quarterback he’s ever had to a transfer. If one gets injured or is ineffective and the other one is… gone… then what? This is a narrow calculus, and that’s why Alabama’s quarterback situation is the most interesting dilemma in college football heading into this fall.



Of course, it is not the only one. Quarterback controversies are the lifeblood of our otherwise dull college football summers, and here are half a dozen other fluid situations at half a dozen other schools that, if resolved properly (or improperly), could affect the way this year’s four-team playoff shakes out.