Crimson Red Sports

The NCAA passed the bump rule, taking head coaches off the road during the spring evaluation period, and that didn't slow down Nick Saban.

The SEC put a soft cap of 25 signees a year on recruiting classes, and that didn't stop the Alabama coach.

The SEC also gave one oppo­nent after another a bye week be­fore playing Alabama, and that didn't keep the Crimson Tide from winning two of the last three national titles.

(Strange stat, though: Alabama is 2-3 after its own bye week un­der Saban.)

All in all, overt acts by govern­ing bodies that seem to have been designed as anti-Saban speed bumps haven't exactly suc­ceeded in that capacity.

Now comes a four-team play­off, and a question: Could the law of unintended consequences slow down the crimson machine?

Saban wasn't the target when the rest of college football finally got together and agreed to a play­off to replace the BCS starting with the 2014 season. Mike Slive was.

Alabama earning a second shot at LSU in the last BCS Championship Game and making the most of it provided the final push, but Auburn and Florida also have contributed to this run of six straight national titles by Slive's league. So it's not accurate to say that the playoff itself is the latest item on the Stop Saban agenda....

Saban wasn't the target when the rest of college football finally got together and agreed to a play­off to replace the BCS starting with the 2014 season. Mike Slive was.