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They are as indomitable as their trademark elephant mascot, as dominating and imposing as their trademark Crimson Tide nickname suggests and are on a run of college football supremacy unseen since the days of Knute Rockne.

Alabama is the Mt. Everest of college football, towering, imposing Andy seeming impossible to summit.

Winners of two national titles (2015 and ’17) in the last three years, the Tuscaloosa-based de facto NFL factory continues to send stars to play on Sundays, while seeming reloading with the efficiency of a Marine Force Recon sniper.

And despite losing stars such as DT Jonathan Allen, LB Ryan Anderson and WR Calvin Ridley, Alabama is still the odds-on favorite to claim title No.18

Who will challenge them? Who will rise to try and slay the invincible crimson and white-looking juggernaut?

Here are my five teams that may throw a proverbial monkey wrench in Nick Saban’s plans.

Clemson: The David to Alabama’s Goliath, Dabo’s crew from Clemson seems to give Alabama problems.

Whether it is Deshaun Watson throwing darts or their NFL-loaded defensive line of stars, Clemson may be the one Team ‘Bama is most sick of seeing.

Thanks to their last three meetings in the College Football Playoff, Clemson has truly emerged as a true rival worthy of their attention.

Ohio State: Another perennial thorn in Nick Saban’s side is former Florida coach and current Buckeye boss in Urban Meyer.

Alongside Dabo Sweeney, Meyer is one of the few coaches who can boast of having some success against Saban.

That and the fact that ‘Bama losing to not only a perennial conference that many SEC homers have long considered inferior in the Big Ten, but to Ohio State…and Meyer.

Yes. It still stings deep in the heart of SEC Nation.

Auburn: Whenever it’s Auburn…all bets are off. Considering that Auburn beat Alabama down on The Plains 26-14, to give the eventual national champs their only loss, Bama certainly has extra motivation to even up the score in Tuscaloosa this season.

LSU: LS-Who? Despite their 2-7 record against ‘Bama since 2010, and losers of seven straight in the so-called “Saban Bowl”, the Bayou Bengals always give the Crimson Tide a straight-up, old-school defensive slough of a game.

There is big boy football and then there is BIG BOY football. And whenever ‘Bama tangles with LSU, that’s exactly what you’ll get!

Georgia: What is it about Georgia that evokes such a sense of potential and underachieving at the same time. For all of their talent throughout the years.

Whether it’s Matthew Stafford, A.J. Green, Knowshon Moreno to the recently departed Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, Georgia has always managed to come up short in big games, let alone vs. Bama.

While both teams won’t face each other until a likely SEC Championship game–which will be in their backyard, again–don’t think that Georgia will be haunted by that CFP title game heartbreaker.

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