There’s something different about this Alabama football team.

You can’t actually see it.

This isn’t something on the stat sheet.

And normally, the cynic in me would dismiss this explanation of this mini Crimson Tide renaissance if it wasn’t so intangibly obvious.

But the rise from the black hole of a non-playoff (gasp) Sugar Bowl preceded by two ego-bruising losses to a Rose Bowl semifinal isn’t insignificant.

Consider the 2023 roster had to replace NFL draft picks No. 1, No. 3 and No. 12, it’s not unfair to say this is a less-talented team than last year’s SEC West runner up.

Yet here they are in sunny southern California less than a month after dethroning Georgia with an eye on recapturing what’s been an Alabama birthright in Monday’s Rose Bowl semifinal against No. 1 Michigan.

So, how?

In painfully simple terms: They tightened the bond this year.

They’re friends.

Everyone.

We’re not talking kumbaya by the campfire but this Alabama football team made a conscious effort to improve the internal culture of a dynasty in decline.

The results back up the claims.

Less talented. More results.

Better team.

Senior Malachi Moore describes a less stratified locker room where

“Like yesterday we on the bus ride back from practice,” Moore said, “we all just turn the speakers on, singing together, and just bonding together, man.”

So maybe a little kumbaya.

And that’s different from the past?

“Yeah,” Moore said, “we weren’t doing it as much and this year we kind of like put emphasis on it, and it turned out good for us.

True.

Linebacker Dallas Turner agreed.

“I feel like the (difference in) personality in this team and the past two teams I was on is the chemistry we have as a whole team,” he said. “The past few years, you know, it was a team but you had little groups and cliques. .. I feel like the chemistry and bond is very good compared to the last two years.”

So, to be clear, this wasn’t necessarily the case the past two years?

“Nah,” Turner said. “Nah.”

The evolution of this program was an offseason project. Turner said several former Alabama players from a decade ago emphasized the importance of solidarity internally. HaHa Clinton-Dix, a Tide safety from 2011-13, was hired in the offseason as the director of player development. He joined former teammates Josh Chapman and Denzel Devall who shared the same official title in the Alabama staff directory. Turner named all three as instrumental in guiding their predecessors on the right path.

“I just think we’re so together,” third-year linebacker Deontae Lawson said, “and I think as people, like the people, our leadership group, how they’re able to connect with the young players, that can make a huge difference because when you can create a relationship off the field with someone, then on the field, I mean, you can tell them to run through a wall and they’ll do it and that’s great for us to have that definitely been in our favor.”

Lawson also agreed that wasn’t always the case in his Alabama career.

“When I first got here, I just don’t think we were close enough, but we’re a team,” the Mobile product said. “But like off the field we weren’t as connected as we are this year, and I think that has made an improvement in our play.”

Several players pointed to offseason events that helped draw the team closer. Fifth-year senior Justin Eboigbe pointed to a moment that tested that bond.

“Just understanding after that Week 2 game, we knew everybody didn’t believe in us,” the defensive lineman said. “A lot of people lost hope in us. And even the next week, USF, you hear people saying we wouldn’t be where we are now. We actually had a team meeting the Sunday after that game. A player-led meeting. We spoke our mind. Everybody got everything off their chest. … It was a devastating two weeks, that made us closer.”

In the moment, it felt like this team was headed for the same fate as the last two. Alabama lost in vaguely similar ways to Texas A&M in 2021 before the Tennessee and LSU nightmares last fall. Like the Texas loss in September, Alabama fell behind early in each loss and came back to take fourth-quarter leads before fading late.

At least from the outside, the nature of those losses was indicative of a cultural shift after the exodus of the 2020 national title team that Saban lauded for its tight-knit bond (on top of filthy talent).

Where Alabama buckled under pressure last year, it survived every fist-fight it entered after the Texas loss left no choice. There were harrowing moments at Texas A&M, a 20-7 halftime deficit against Tennessee, a first-half shootout against LSU, a 4th-and-31 in the Iron Bowl and an SEC title game meeting with two-time defending champion Georgia.

Any one of those moments would’ve (and frankly should have) banished Alabama to a pre-New Year’s exhibition.

But it didn’t.

Moore at least partially credits the bond they built within what was viewed as a decaying empire externally.

“I think this my most fun year I’ve had playing football,” Moore said. “Just taking the field with those guys each and every Saturday, just the energy we bring, the energy that our teammates have on the sideline for us, it’s definitely a great experience.

“Like I said, it’s the most fun I’ve had playing football in my lifetime.”

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.