Editor’s note: Throughout the offseason, The Athletic celebrated the 150th anniversary of college football, one decade at a time. For more on the 2010s, read Matt Brown on the decade’s best players, teams, games and coaches.



Two days before one of the best college football games of this decade, the defining coach of the decade set forth a central truth about the sport. It was Jan. 6, 2018, and Nick Saban had been asked about the inherent fairness of college football’s new Playoff era, which would soon culminate its fourth season with Alabama’s 26-23 victory against Georgia.



In every one of those seasons, the Crimson Tide had made the College Football Playoff, and they showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. In a couple of days, they would face a rival from their own conference, the SEC, for the national championship; in the two previous years — and, it would turn out, in the following season — the Crimson Tide played Clemson for...