"Julio Jones his first of many I would say" Oh he had no idea...

the good old days when we had a kicker

2008 was a magical year for Bama fans. If you been a Alabama as long as I have 60+ years, you could tell good things were coming in 2007. Roll Tide!

some say hunter renfrow played in this game

The amount of talent on this team was insane. The likes of Jones, Ingram, Hightower... good lord.

In high school 1968 I was an Alabama fan living in Maryland, I read everything I could about the team and Bear Bryant......playing football, my high school colors were almost the same as Alabama, the only difference was a small black stripe on the shoulder pads.....when I moved to Alabama in 1985 it was a dream come true...ROLL TIDE...!!!!

Somewhat ironically, this game was also the catalyst in starting the Dabo Swinney era at Clemson.

10 years later... 5 National Titles, 4 CFP appearances, with 2 titles won 1 loss and a loss in Semifinals to Ohio state. Ten consecutive 10+ win seasons, 2 Heisman trophy winners and over 70 players drafted into the NFL, 15 of which were 1st round picks!! Roll Tide, Roll!!

Julio Jones is playing in the stadium that he would later on blow the top off in the last game ever played in the Georgia Dome.

CFP should be renamed the Alabama Invitational Tournament.

I remember watching this game on TV, and I knew then that this was the beginning of something big. I tend to call this game the "Bama Is Back" game.

“Favorites over alabama” is not a phrase often heard anymore.

I remember this like it was yesterday. One of my favorite quotes during this game was "Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. Complete domination by Alabama"

The game that started Bama-Clemson rivalry

I remember watching this live with my dad. I was about 10 and didn't really get how monumental this game was but will never forget that memory. ROLL TIDE

It saddens me, the lack of knowledge of when Alabama first dynasty was. Bear Bryant was not the first coach at Alabama to lead a dynasty. He was brought in for the same reason as saban, to revive a once historically great football program. Alabama's first dynasty came at the hands of that "denny" guy the stadium was named after. George Denny was an athletic director for Alabama in the 1920s. He realized the rest of the country was being captivated by this interestingly tough sport called football. He hired a man named Frank Thomas (not the baseball player) to be the head coach and Thomas went on to win multiple national titles in his fairly short tenure at Alabama. Before Denny and Thomas, football was a relatively unknown sport in the south. If I'm remembering my history correctly, Alabama went to the rose bowl in the 20s as a heavy underdog to USC and bama won in dramatic fashion. The 40s and 50s didn't do Alabama any favors as they had multiple losing seasons and entire seasons were cancelled due to ww2. In 1957 Alabama was particularly bad. Bad enough that they gave a man named bear Bryant a call and boy, did he answer. Bear Bryant retired in 80 or 81 after winning 6 national titles. The 80s were not good to Alabama on a national scale, though some will say that Bryant a legacy drove to a coye of 10 win seasons. They did again reach the top of the college football mountain in 92 under coach Stallings but if one championship is a dynasty then every champion of every sport every year is a dynasty. A dynasty is not being "pretty good" for a few years. A dynasty is winning titles. Not conference titles. National titles. Plural. What makes the saban dynasty unique is that is lasted for 10 years now. For the last 10 years Alabama has 5 national titles. That means that the other 128 teams in college football have 5 tiles in that same time. One team has taken half the championships over the last decade. THAT is a dynasty. Clemson winning one title is NOT a dynasty. Ohio State winning one title is NOT a dynasty. And to all that are just waiting for saban to retire so their team has a chance again, ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

Well we had kicker this year Roll Tide Roll National champs

It's also what started the Clemson rise to.a national power, it was the game that got Tommy fired and dabo hired

You could argue this was the game that produced Clemson's great historical run too since this thrashing led to Tommy Bowden being fired in the middle of the season, where he was replaced by Dabo Swinney.

Bama hasn't looked back since! ROLL TIDE!

Won't ever forget this game. I was in Iraq, stayed up til like 2/3 am to watch this game, and won some money!!

Do not forget history. This is Alabama's third dynasty. Just because that was a decade or so with some losing seasons does not mean that the Tide has not been rolling for a long long time. When I attended we often did not go to the games because they were such bad victories as to be boring in the heat. The house I lived in now part of the stadium enabled me to sit on the porch swing and every time a cheer was heard, I knew we had scored again.

Damn man saban got hired when I was in 5th grade I'm 22 now I've watch damn near every game since

It’s been a great era to be a Bama fan! I’ve been a Bama fan my whole life. Cheering them on in 91 when they beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the NC. Then through the dark times of the 3 Mikes. Then Nick Saban came to T town and Alabama has been the best

The freshman class at Alabama is legendary. Julio, Ingram, Hightower...

Julio’s first TD brought back the memories 🙌🏽 RTR

Thank you! Im from clemson born and raised. watched this game and left the game saying alabama is a dynasty. I have never seen such a good team. and that was game 1

Remember it like yesterday as a 16 year old kid. I knew as soon as I watched this Alabama was back.

First and only time an opponent tried to single block Terrance Cody

Wow this Alabama team seems really good. It’s nice to see the underdog win once in a while.

Was at that game. Remember texting my OU friend - "Our days of going to the Independence Bowl are over."

It’s insane to see Brent and Herby talking about “keeping an eye on the talented Julio Jones”

Happened my sophomore year in college at Clemson and was part of what led to the start of the Dabo era by the end of the season. That was a good old fashioned beating Alabama gave us in this game.

Hearing all these true freshman names are shocking me

This brings back good memories

Wow.. This was awesome to look back on.. Now that both programs have own the decade

I remember this game like it was yesterday...hell of a way to start my freshman year..after that game I didnt think wed have such a good season but I saw what was too come.

So Beautiful...was there...Clemson folks looked a little in shock walking around at halftime...RT

I remember this game. Fun times for sure as u knew we were commin. 6 titles later..oh my.

RTR I remember watching that game so much talent Mark Ingram. Won our 1st Heisman the following year

That 2008 team will always be one of my favorites....the season ended bad but it was a sign of great things to come!

I miss Javier Arenas. That dude was a punt & kickoff return BEAST, and ended up being a GREAT college DB.

"Julio Jones..his first of many I would say" oh the foreshadowing. I'm a UGA fan but man the names on this team and pretty much every bama team since Saban took over is incredible. Even seeing them ranked #24 at this time doesn't feel right. What a dynasty.

What’s funny is this was the last time we had a great kicker😝

I loved this win

I was at this game! Way up in the thin air section albeit but what a great game it was

When they talk about the money and incentives he got as a coach as a Bama fan it’s money that was well worth it

That was a hell of a recruiting class

Keep up the good work Alabama Rolltide

Ill never be able to enjoy and cheer for a team like alabama... Enjoy the years of dominance... We shall enjoy our 2 win season

aw man. i swear i thought they were gonna tell me about the game in 2005 when tyrone prothro's ankle spun in the end zone. THAT was when i became a tide fan. huge prothro fan, hope he's doing well, hope he shall always be well. you, sir, are the reason i'm a bama fan. not saban. much respect to you. and roll tide forever.

Now I've got to do some research on that art deco Clemson font in the endzone. I don't remember that.

Julio Jones as a true freshman! Damn I feel old

How gratifying it was to beat them so thoroughly !!!!

I always feel like it’s my clemson Tigers vs bama. Guess this is how it all started. I hate the tide but gotta respect them. Hopefully this year it’s bama clemson again

I remember that game.

I definitely remember where I was when this got started

That game started 2 dynasties. Sabans at Bama and Dabo at Clemson.

God this freshman class was amazing. Miss these days

I was 10 years old at this game...

I think this is when Saban was able to truly get his players to all buy into “the process”. After they saw what they could accomplish against a top 10 team opening week, the sky became the limit. Source: 6 National Championships in 12 years, and 8-3 in the playoffs.

Bro, as a freshmen in college (19) I can’t imagine the pressure the freshmen have, I could maybe play well with this crowd since I’m sorta used to doing stuff in front of a crowd but still it’s nuts seeing how many people these kids play in front of

Two dynasties that started and ended with the same team. Alabama/Clemson and in the 1950's Oklahoma/Notre Dame.

The good ole days when we had a great kicker. And to be technical Bama had a dynasty in the 70's & 90s also 🤷🏿‍♂️

I'm from Texas but I love the Tide

I remember this game like it was yesterday. As a lifelong Tide fan it had been a rough few years, hell decade honest, but after watching this game I knew with Saban things were gonna turn around. Then I posted about it MySpace. 🤣

I always said it was it was the game against Colorado in 2007 that jumpstarted this run - even tho that 2007 team lost had a terrible lost to Louisiana Monroe, I have much respect for that team - they took the bumps and bruises - all 6 losses were by one possession - and honestly Bama could have beat Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, and Louisiana Monroe easily if not for mistakes - in Iron Bowl and the Florida State game Bama was horrible on offense and both of those games came down to a onside kick at the end - people give all the credit to the 2008 and the 2009 teams but the 2007 team put in the hard work and never gave up - 🐘🏆 ROLL TIDE

As an LSU fan I really liked watching Glen Coffee.

The start of the Bama dynasty was when they defeated UF in the 2009 SEC championship and ran Urban out of the SEC

Saw #24 Alabama, had flashbacks to the Mike years, Hold me Nick.

There were several years in this era where almost every game of the season was a complete dismantling of the opponent in this manner.

The end of Bowden at Clemson and what a class of freshmen at Bama!

When I saw Mark Ingram run that first kick off, I knew he was going to win the Heisman. I kid you not. He ran the ball like had been in college for at least 3 years.

Man, on one hand, this game seems like a lifetime ago- yet, on the other, it seems like it was just yesterday... Interesting that this was the very first opening weekend game in Atlanta, for the College Kickoff Game, or whatever they call it.

Absolutely right. Athletics is a big part of any university and it’s not only football.

"the bad boys of the SEC" - Brent Musburger

Was there. Beautiful..... ROLL TIDE!

That's also the game that started the Clemson dynasty. Bowden started his way out after this game and before seasons and it was Dabos team.

National Championships in men an women's golf, Softball and gymnastics. Keep drinking that hateraide

Ironically this game was the start of two dynasties, Bama and Clemson. This game got Tommy Bowden fired which lead to Dabo taking over. I know Clemson (and everyone else) don't have the hardware to match Saban's Dynansty but this was the beginning a greatness for Bama and the turning point towards greatness for Clemson. They last 6 or so years Clemson has been second only to Bama in wins and that's thanks to Bowden getting crushed by Saban in Atlanta.

This is very well titled, This is the start of the dynasty. Broadcast played AC/DC rockinrolltrain and it dont get better than that.

Little did that Clemson team know they were a out to run head on into a buzz-saw.

I feel like this game sparked the rivalry between the two schools.

I remember watching this game live and being like "uh oh..." as a Georgia fan. Now it's come full circle 10 years later and we're making Tide fans say "uh oh...".

this game also open the door for Dabo

What a night. We had gone through the lean 80's, all the stars lined up in 92 and we won one but couldn't sustain. 2 probations, Dubose, Perkins, Curry. It was a rough 30 years. This game, Bama may have been 24th or 25th ranked. Clemson was supposed to roll. We heard all summer how Clemson was gonna ream us on their way to a possible title. We were coming out of a horrific schollie reduction period and 2008 was the first year we would have 85 schollie players since 02. It's a cliche but in the dome that night there was a feel you couldnt describe. When the game kicked off you just knew Bama was about to do something special. Saban had started the year before and had an undisciplined, lazy group that he had to deal with but beat Colorado in the bowl and they weren't supposed to win that. He weeded out some bad apples, got the team doing things his was asking them to do, had brought in some freshmen that we hadn't been getting. We couldn't get one single great player to come to Bama but he had reeled in Julio and Ingram. This night , the discipline, the heart, the cohesiveness, the want to, the TALENT that we hadn't seen in years was evident. THe sanctions were over, the negative culture was gone, players showing up late for practice, bringing food to team meetings, falling asleep in film...all that was gone. We were Bama again and we....and the nation knew it.

The "Dynasty" started years before that play!

This game started the Saban dynasty, Bear Bryant started the first Bama dynasty

Some of the best nfl players on one Bama team

Clemson and Alabama arectbe best teams in college football

How strange is it to see Alabama ranked #24. The previous year I was at the ULM game where we lost 21-14. I remember driving home wondering why we were paying Saban so much. Boy am I singing a different tune now. After vacating victories, Alabama was 2-6 that year. WOW!!

That freshman class was crazy oh my god

6:33 You are right!!

No matter how good or bad Bama does in a season, they're the measuring stick for every other team in the SEC. Remember when Old Piss tore down the goalpost after winning? A non-fan would have thought they won the Championship. Hail Saban and Roll Tide!

Who would’ve thought that these 2 teams would play in back to back National Championships in 2016 and 2017

The game that started the Nick Saban dynasty and the game that also sparked the Dabo Swinney hire to become Clemsons head coach.

This was a nice win that got the ball rolling in that 08 season, but imo the game that really started the dynasty was the “Blackout Game” later that year when they came into Athens and blew out that UGA team that had Stafford, Knowshon, AJ Green, Massaquoi, Geno Atkins, Justin Houston, Reshad Jones, Brandon Boykin, Cordy Glenn, Clint Boling, Blair Walsh, Drew Butler, basically 2 minor league NFL teams full of pro bowlers. Watershed moment for both programs. Started the slow downfall of Richt at UGA and Bama announced to the country that they were here and here to stay

Any game where Clemson loses is a good game

I remember this game. Loss to Florida that year then dethroned Florida every year after that

Roll Tide!!! Alabama is back! Just in the Nick of time!!