Josh Jacobs: Before title game 'you could feel it was going to be a rough one' for Alabama
Former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs was wary of the vibe in the Alabama locker room ahead of the National Championship Game against Clemson.
Jacobs told NBC Sports Wednesday morning that “you could feel” that the title game wasn’t going to go well. Alabama lost to Clemson 44-16 on Jan. 7 as the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide for the national title for the second time in three seasons.
“Before the game, the feel, you could feel it was going to be a rough one,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said he also believed that Alabama was mentally fatigued. You can watch the full interview in the video above.
“Being at a place so long after a certain amount of time it kind of wears on you,” Jacobs said. “Especially when you play great teams week in and week out you get everyone’s best shot. It kind of wears on you. I think the team was just mentally fatigued.”
Nick Saban’s “process” has been heralded as a huge reason for his teams’ success throughout the years. But it’s also easy to interpret Jacobs’ comments as an indication that the “process” can also be draining for everyone involved.
After all, Alabama cruised to victory in all but one of its games ahead of the College Football Playoff. The Tide became the first team since 1900 to win all of their regular season games by more than 20 points. And Alabama played just as many games as Clemson did during the 2018 season. The Tigers didn’t come into the championship any fresher than Alabama did.
Jacobs, a junior in 2018, had 11 carries for 47 yards and a catch for 16 yards in the title game. He rushed for 640 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2018 and will likely be an early-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter
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