The Alabama Crimson Tide football team became the nation’s college football champions once again (their fifth time since 2009) Monday night — to the shock of almost no one. It was a game, however, that fans will never forget.

The College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship game, which turned out to be a 26-23 win for Alabama over the Georgia Bulldogs, had a chance to end in agony when Alabama’s kicker, Andy Pappanastos, missed a 36-yard field goal, sending the game into overtime.

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However, Alabama was able to hold Georgia to a field goal before DeVonta Smith made a 41-yard catch to win the game.

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That play, along with the team’s strong defense, saved Alabama’s season from being infamously infuriating for its fans. The team’s strong play in overtime also prevented Pappanastos from being a scapegoat to fans for the rest of his life.

The win partly served as redemption for the southern powerhouse since it lost the national championship game to Clemson last season. The game also marked head coach Nick Saban’s sixth national championship during his Bowl Championship Series (BCS) head coaching career.

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The biggest takeaway for Alabama from the stunning victory is that the team now has an excellent quarterback for the future in freshman Tua Tagovailoa. He replaced starter Jalen Hurts after the first half — since Alabama trailed 13-0. Tagovailoa completed 14 of his 24 passes for 166 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Since he played a major role in orchestrating a comeback for the team and shined on the highest stage, he likely has a bright future ahead of him leading Alabama’s offense.

Under Coach Saban, three major reasons Alabama has been able to continue on its winning track are recruiting, development and scheduling. Saban is a former NFL head coach in the most competitive conference in college football: the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In 2016 Scout.com reported that Alabama’s recruiting power cannot be matched, which is a credit to the coaching staff and the program’s player development.

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New York Giants offensive guard D.J. Fluker told Tide 99.1 FM in 2014 that the level at which Alabama’s Crimson Tide’s players practice is a major part of their success.

“Playing at Alabama, practice-wise, is probably a lot harder than playing in the NFL,” he said. “Being under coach Saban …each and every day was like an NFL game.”

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That vigorous training leads to more players reaching their maximum potential during their time playing under Saban. The downside of that, however, comes for NFL teams that draft these players — since many of them can hit their peak under this intense training.

Well before Saban kept Alabama’s legacy going, former Crimson Tide player Bear Bryant took the helm as the program’s head coach and revitalized the team into a powerhouse.

The key to Bryant’s success was an emphasis on playing great team defense. His objective was to have 11 players on the field playing as one cohesive unit — a group that could limit their mistakes rather than focusing the defense around a few star players. This worked out exceptionally well for the program, as he won six national titles while coaching the team from 1958 to 1981. The 1961 squad earned the school’s first title in 20 years as it allowed just 22 points in 10 games and shut six teams out completely, according to the team’s website.

Although Alabama let up more than that on many points on Monday alone, the program’s commitment to success remains the same. That success is likely to continue in the future, as Alabama is already a favorite to win the 2019 CFP Championship. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has named it the most likely team to win with 3-1 odds, meaning Vegas is already putting its chips behind the legendary team.

After Monday night, many fans likely are now, too.

Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, ESPN, and other outlets.