Cinderella Denied: Nick Saban's Juggernaut Strikes Again in Trampling Cincinnati

ARLINGTON, Texas—Here we go again.

The Alabama team you watched struggle to beat the likes of LSU and Auburn and lose at Texas A&M; the one that entered the SEC championship game as a near-touchdown underdog; the group with a struggling offensive line, an inconsistent running game and a defense that occasionally looked blah? That Alabama team, the same one, will play for it all.

The Crimson Tide (13–1) and their legend of a coach rolled right over Cincinnati, the Cinderella of the College Football Playoff, 27–6, to advance to a sixth championship game in the past seven seasons and their ninth in 13 years (Bama didn’t make it in 2010, ’13, ’14 and ’19). If you believe that to be a mistype, I…