If I had told you on Wednesday, January 10, after 4:00 p.m. that Alabama would have a roster capable of winning a national championship, I would have been taken to a psych ward and tested for insanity. And yet, on the day of the start of the Crimson Tide's season, the majority of media in Tuscaloosa and fans around Alabama would tell you the Crimson Tide has a roster with enough talent to win a national championship.

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From player No. 1 to player No. 22 in the starting lineup, Alabama has the talent to compete with anyone. the depth behind them is the area of concern for Alabama in 2024. Quarterback and running back are the deepest rooms on the roster. While it would still hurt to lose a starter in those rooms, the injury bug could be fought off with the depth. Whereas, along the offensive line and cornerback rooms, more than one injury could potentially derail Alabama's season.

For the sake of this argument, let's shelf the conversation about injuries. If Alabama suffers no major injuries in 2024, how good does the Crimson Tide have to be to win a national championship?

Let's look back at the previous 10 national champions - since the introduction of the College Football Playoff era before the 2024 football season.

Offense

Alabama's offense is expected to be among one of the best units in the country. How good can the unit be in 2024?

2014 Ohio State

Ohio State held the No. 5 total offensive rating with 511.6 yards per game and 6.98 yards per play. They also had the No. 5 scoring offense with 44.8 points per game.

2015 Alabama

Alabama held the No. 45 total offense averaging 427.1 yards per game and 5.89 yards per play. They also had the No. 30 scoring offense with 35.1 points per game.

2016 Clemson

Clemson held the No. 12 total offense averaging 503.7 yards per game and 6.19 yards per play. They also had the No. 14 scoring offense with 39.2 points per game.

2017 Alabama

Alabama held the No. 29 total offense averaging 444.1 yards per game and 6.59 yards per play. They also had the No. 15 scoring offense with 37.1 points per game.

2018 Clemson

Clemson held the No. 3 total offense averaging 527.2 yards per game and 7.35 yards per play. They also had the No. 4 scoring offense with 44.3 points per game.

2019 LSU

LSU held the No. 1 total offense averaging 568.4 yards per game and 7.89 yards per play. They also held the No. 1 scoring offense with 48.4 points per game.

2020 Alabama

Alabama held the No. 4 total offense averaging 541.6 yards per game and 7.81 yards per play. They also held the No. 2 scoring offense with 48.5 points per game.

2021 Georgia

Georgia held the No. 25 total offense in the country averaging 442.9 yards per game and 6.98 yards per play. They also held the No. 9 scoring offense with 38.6 points per game.

2022 Georgia

Georgia held the No. 5 total offense in the country averaging 501.1 yards per game and 7.71 yards per play. They also held the No. 4 scoring offense with 41.1 points per game.

2023 Michigan

Michigan held the No. 69 total offense in the country averaging 382.7 yards per game and 6.21 yards per play. They also held the No. 14 scoring defense with 35.9 points per game.

All that to say, we have a relative "baseline" for what Alabama's offense has to perform this season: 485.04 yards per game and 6.96 yards per play. Alabama will have to score an average of 41.3 points per game. In 2023, those numbers would have equated to the No. 8 ranked total offense and the No. 5 ranked scoring offense.

Last season, Alabama ranked No. 58 and No. 24 in those categories, respectively.

Defense

Does the adage of "Defense wins championships" still hold?

2014 Ohio State

Ohio State held the No. 19 total defense in the country averaging 342.4 yards per game given up and 4.98 yards per play given up. They also held the No. 26 scoring defense giving up 22 points per game.

2015 Alabama

Alabama held the No. 3 total defense in the country averaging 276.3 yards per game given up and 4.30 yards per play given up. They also held the No. 2 scoring defense giving up 15.1 points per game.

2016 Clemson

Clemson held the No. 8 total defense in the country averaging 314.2 yards per game given up and 4.63 yards per play given up. They also held the No. 10 scoring defense giving up 18 points per game.

2017 Alabama

Alabama held the No. 1 total defense in the country averaging 260.4 yards per game given up and 3.99 yards per play given up. They also held the No. 1 scoring defense, giving up 11.9 points per game.

2018 Clemson

Clemson held the No. 5 total defense in the country giving up 285.9 yards per game and 4.19 yards per play. Clemson also held the No. 1 scoring defense, giving up 13.1 points per game.

2019 LSU

LSU held the No. 31 total defense in the country giving up 343.5 yards per game and 5.11 yards per play. They also held the No. 31 scoring defense giving up 21.9 points per game.

2020 Alabama

Alabama held the No. 32 total defense in the country giving up 352.2 yards per game and 5.04 yards per play. They also held the No. 13 scoring defense giving up 19.4 points per game.

2021 Georgia

Georgia held the No. 2 total defense in the country giving up 267.9 yards per game and 4.15 yards per play. They also held the No. 1 scoring defense giving up 10.2 points per game.

2022 Georgia

Georgia held the No. 10 total defense in the country giving up 296.7 yards per game and 4.88 yards per play. They also held the No. 5 scoring defense giving up 14.3 points per game.

2023 Michigan

Michigan held the No. 1 total defense in the country giving up 247 yards per game and 4.28 yards per play. They also held the No. 1 scoring defense giving up 10.4 points per game.

This gives us the defensive "baseline" for Alabama in 2024. The Crimson Tide will need to average 298.65 yards per game given up and 4.56 yards per play given up. The Crimson Tide will also need to average 15.63 points per game given up. These metrics would equate to the No. 10 total defense and No. 6 scoring defense in 2023.

Alabama ranked No. 18 in total defense and No. 16 in scoring defense in 2023. The Crimson Tide gave up 316 yards per game, 5.01 yards per play, and 19 points per game. 

South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack (now Alabama's defensive coordinator) had the Jaguars defense giving up 313.2 yards per game and 5.01 yards per play in 2023. South Alabama gave up 21 points per game. Those metrics ranked No. 15 in total defense and No. 27 in scoring defense in 2023. 

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.