TALLAHASSEE, Fla. − In the wake of Alabama football's uninspiring 31-17 loss at Florida State Saturday, team captain and quarterback Ty Simpson mentioned something about how common it is for national champions in college football to lose a game.

It was an attempt to point out that an 0-1 start doesn't sink the Crimson Tide's goal of a championship, but however accurate that might be, nothing about Alabama's performance gave the impression that a championship is anything more than a pipedream.

Not its offense, which struggled after a promising touchdown drive to open the game.

Not it's defense, which yielded a staggering 230 rushing yards.

And perhaps not even the strength of its opponent. FSU looked good, to be sure, but it remains to be seen whether the Seminoles are contenders

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