Georgia won its national title in 41 years on Monday when it beat Alabama 33-18 in the final of the college football playoffs. Bulldogs fans were obviously elated at the victory, but New England Patriots fans have reason to celebrate, too.
Why? It all has to do with the defeat of Alabama.
The Patriots and Crimson Tide have combined to win six titles since the 2014 NFL and college football seasons. Despite the consistent success of both teams, they have never won a title in the same year.
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Take a look at the full results below, with each team’s championship years in bold.
| Season | Alabama | patriots |
| 2014 | Lost in CFP semifinals to Ohio State | Won the Super Bowl over the Seahawks |
| 2015. | Won the national title over Clemson | AFC Championship lost to Broncos |
| 2016 | Lost the national title to Clemson | Won the Super Bowl over the Falcons |
| 2017 | Won the national title over Georgia | Super Bowl lost to Eagles |
| 2018 | Lost the national title to Clemson | Won the Super Bowl over the Rams |
| 2019 | Lost college football playoff | Lost in wild card round to Titans |
| 2020 | Won national title over Ohio state | lost playoffs |
| 2021 | Lost the national title to Georgia | ? |
This is certainly a strange pattern, and its weirdness is further enhanced by the friendship between Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. The two respect each other and the Patriots have drafted numerous players out of Saban’s Alabama program in recent years. The most recent selections were Mac Jones and Christian Barmore. Still, the two teams have failed to finish on top in the same year during the college football playoff era.
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Are these results a trend? Or a remarkable coincidence? Those who are not superstitious will likely believe the latter and attribute the dominance of both teams to great training.
As for those who are superstitious. . . Well, this certainly seems like good news for the Patriots as they battle for a Super Bowl in the second year since Tom Brady’s departure. Still, the team will face an uphill battle to win it all, as they will likely have to overcome the Bills, Titans and Chiefs just to get out of the AFC.
Also, a rookie starting quarterback has never won a Super Bowl in the game’s 55-year history. Maybe Jones can turn things around, but it looks like Alabama and New England are headed for a repeat of the 2019 season.