Alabama SI Cover Tournament: 'Bama Is Back vs. Dynasty

Help BamaCentral determine which Alabama Sports Illustrated cover is the best, and a Top 25 list

We return to the Bear Bryant Region where Mike Shula's signature win as a head coach squares off against Nick Saban's only undefeated national championship. 

It's 'Bama's Back, celebrating the Crimson Tide's 2005 victory against Florida, going up against the 2009 title game against Texas. 

At stake, a spot in the Sweet 16 in the Alabama SI Cover Tournament. 

BamaCentral is holding a 48-field single-elimination tournament to determine the best Alabama Sports Illustrated cover.

Vote on Twitter (@BamaCentral) or Facebook (@AlabamaonSI). The voting goes 24 hours for each matchup and the result added to the original post on BamaCentral.

Second round

Bear Bryant Regional

Game 25: 'Bama Is Back  vs. Dynasty

Bama Is Back (Brodie Croyle)

Sports Illustrated

Story headline: The Tide has Turned

Subhead: After a decade of struggles, Alabama is again rolling behind a strong-armed quarterback who wears number 12. Florida found that out the hard way

Excerpt (by Mark Beech): What makes this Alabama team so much fun to watch is that coach Mike Shula finally has an offense to go with his magnificent defense, which ranks sixth in the country after finishing second last season. The difference between this year's Tide and last year's 6-6 team has been Croyle, who missed all but the first three games of 2004 with a torn ACL in his right knee. He was completing 66.7 percent of his passes when he went down in the first series of the second half against Western Carolina, a game that Alabama was leading 31-0. "I knew right away when it happened," Croyle recalls. "With everything I'd been through at Alabama, it was like, When's it going to end?"

Without him, the offense foundered. Backup Spencer Pennington--who left the team after the season to concentrate on baseball--was an inconsistent passer, which forced Shula to rely excessively on the running game. The all-too-predictable attack finished 94th in the country in total offense.

This season Alabama leads the SEC in pass efficiency and ranks fifth in total offense (402.4 yards per game). On Saturday, Croyle connected with six receivers, at points all over the field. "Everything starts with the quarterback," says [offensive coordinator Dave] Rader, "and having Brodie allows us to do a lot of things."

Dynasty

Story headline: Staying Power

Subhead: With an earnest coach, a wealth of returning talent, unparalleled recruiting and its chief rival in flux, national champion Alabama is just starting to roll

Excerpt (by Austin Murphy): For the second time in six years the stern-looking coach stood on a stage surrounded by overjoyed athletes, holding a crystal football over his head. As Nick Saban dutifully went down the list of dignitaries he needed to thank, the expression on his face could best be described as a kind of semigrimace. At the pinnacle of his sport after leading Alabama to its first national title in 17 years—a 37-21 victory over a wounded Texas team in the BCS championship game last Thursday night at the Rose Bowl—Saban reminded us that those best equipped to win championships are often the least equipped to celebrate them.

"I guarantee you," said a smiling Terry Saban, as she watched her spouse of 38 years, "he's already thinking about next week."

Did the couple have plans? "He said he'll give me two days," Terry said, "and then he has to meet with some of the players about going out for the [NFL] draft."

Two days? "Two days," she repeated. "And I'll take it."

Result 

Dynasty def. Bama’s Back, 77.6-22.5 percent