Nick Saban and Bill Belichick are old friends, and it appears the former did the latter a solid Monday night.
Clemson shockingly routed Alabama 44-16 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, handing the Crimson Tide their worst loss ever under Saban.
How does this have anything to do with Belichick and the New England Patriots? Well, now the Patriots can go win a Super Bowl.
As WBZ's Adam Kaufman points out, Saban and Belichick have alternated winning their respective championships for four consecutive seasons: Alabama won the college football title in 2015 and 2017, while New England beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX and the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
Might as well send the Lombardi Trophy to Foxboro now.
New England Patriots
We should note that Saban and Belichick did overlap titles in 2003, when Saban's LSU Tigers defeated Oklahoma to win the BCS national championship. We should also clarify that Belichick and Saban's coaching histories have absolutely nothing to do with each other, and Saban losing Monday night doesn't actually affect the Patriots' chances of winning Super Bowl LIII.
But if you're the superstitious type, then you'll be expecting New England to dispatch the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC Divisional Round on Sunday en route to its third Super Bowl title in the last five seasons.
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