This is an opinion column.

Nick Saban has said it a million times. He remembers the losses more than the wins. Makes sense. It’s much easier to recall the painful details of his 27 defeats at Alabama than the repetitive successes of his 194 victories.

By that mind-boggling Bama standard, you can consider the 2022 season one of the most memorable of Saban’s 16 years in Tuscaloosa. The team that coulda woulda shoulda been a national championship contender to the end instead came up agonizingly short.

Did Alabama 45, Kansas State 20 in a consolation Sugar Bowl ease the pain of not reaching the SEC Championship Game and failing to advance to the College Football Playoff – or did it make those shortcomings hurt all the worse?

Only Saban and his players can say for sure, but the rest of us can take a pretty good guess.

“The guys that are here today, the team that is here today, is really representative of what the University of Alabama and our program is all about,” Saban said on stage during the trophy presentation.