national championship is gold forever. When you are within reach of one, you have to grab it. So many little things can go wrong to make even the best contenders fall to the side. Injuries, bad weather game, etc.. It doesn't take much to derail any great contender not named Bama. And I do consider this 2017 team to have been a great contender. With our defense, and Bryant surprising like he was, passing great and a tremendous run threat, this team could have made it to the title game again, or at least a playoff appearance.
The injury bug hasn't hit many of our players, but when it hits the starting QB that the offense is built around, and the only guy on the team that can kick field goals, then that is a hard hit. But it just goes to show how fortunate we were that we didn't have a devastating injury to keep us out of the title games when Watson was the QB.
I firmly believe, with a healthy Bryant, this team could have gone 12-0 or 11-1. I think our next natty run might be next year, 2018, but I definitely think we make a strong run in Trevor Lawrence's soph 2019, or junior year 2020. Then again, the injury situation has to be kind. The path to a national championship is very fragile.
AS for this team, the jury is still out, but they have an uphill battle with the QB and Kicker situation. Still, I am very proud of them for coming out like gangbusters and beating three top-15 teams in September and making it halfway through October before taking a loss.