HOOVER, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference isn’t shy about boasting its national championship run. The conference is home to the past six college football champions.
But there’s one thing the four title teams — Alabama, Auburn, Florida and LSU — haven’t accomplished in that impressive span. No one has won two straight titles.
So as Alabama prepares to defend its 2011 championship, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said it’s vital for his team to stay hungry if they want to hoist the trophy again.
“Having success in a football program can have two effects,” Saban said. “You can demand more success or you can get a little complacent and be relaxed about what you have accomplished, really think more about what you did rather than what you’re going to do. … It’s human nature to relax.”
Alabama’s veteran players who attended SEC Media Days said they don’t want it to happen in 2012. And they can speak from experience. Defensive end Damion Square and tight end Michael Williams each referenced the 2010 Crimson Tide, which lost three games after winning the 2009 championship.
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Square said Alabama spent the offseason determined to move past last year’s success and chase another championship.
“I was one of the guys that experienced the 2010 year,” Square said. “I know the bad things that were around during that year that we couldn’t quite get rid of.
“So just stop those things at the door, not let those things coming out of the building.”
Saban referenced the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, the New York Yankees and tennis star Roger Federer as examples of athletes and teams who have enjoyed sustained success when he spoke to the media Wednesday.
He believes his current team, which is remodeling after stars running back Trent Richardson, safety Mark Barron, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and linebacker Dont’a Hightower were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, is trying to replace 13 starters. But they are hungry to repeat.
“This team seems to be less affected by the previous year, what has happened in the previous year,” Saban said. “There’s a lot of players on this team that this is the opportunity for them and their season.
“This team seems very much committed to creating an identity for themselves.”
Alabama’s strength should lie in the trenches, where three offensive linemen were named to preseason first-team All-SEC performers Thursday (Barrett Jones, Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker). Two more Alabama players — Square and Jesse Williams — were second-team picks on the defensive front.
So with quarterback A.J. McCarron returning for his second season as a starter, the Crimson Tide believes the pieces are in place. The goal, then, is to fight through any complacency that exists.
“It’s one thing to talk about it, which we do all the time,” Jones said. “It’s another thing to live that out and to be just as hungry as we were the year before.”
Alabama does have one potential plus in its corner to remain motivated.
The Tide won’t enter the season as the SEC favorite. That tag belongs to SEC West rival LSU, which was tabbed as the preseason team to beat in the media poll.
Alabama and LSU will meet in Baton Rouge, La., on Nov. 3. But the Crimson Tide has tests before then, including the season opener against Michigan in Cowboys Stadium and the road game at Arkansas on Sept. 15.
So there’s plenty of challenges facing Alabama in its quest to become the first team to repeat as champions in the Bowl Championship Series era. Nebraska was the last to win two straight titles, accomplishing the feat in 1994 and 1995.
But Square said Alabama is hungry and plans to win another trophy in 2012.
“We saw what can happen,” Square said about the three-loss 2010 season. “We’re going to be prepared this year.”