The Rise of the Tide (and the fall of the Tiger)

I think most people on this board would admit that when Saban finally landed at Bama they were (1) angry, and (2) certain that he could not attain the level of success at Bama that he did at LSU.

As I remember it, most felt that he would not win because he would not be able to recruit the same quality of athletes, that he would not win because he would not be able to recruit because he was now viewed as untrustworthy, that he would not win because he would not stay and deal with the Bama fanbase, etc.

We are now 2.5 years into the Nick Saban experiment at Bama and we have seen that he can recruit to Bama, perhaps better than he recruited to LSU. We have seen that people do not care about his untrustworthiness in the past, and we have seen that he really does not pay any attention to the Bama fanbase.

Furthermore, all signs indicate, much to the LSU fanbase dismay, that Saban has no intentions of leaving Bama until retirement.

Obviously things are not bad in BR. We are top 10 BCS school and loaded with talent for years to come.

However, I cannot help but feel that LSU is on the way down from the pinnacle and that Bama is on the way up.

Just three years in, most on this board seem to think that the Bama game is a sure loss (most thought that last year as well to be honest).

What have we learned in the last three years? Will Saban be more successful at Bama than he was at LSU? Has the rise of the Tide with Saban pushed LSU down a rung or two, and if so, will LSU be able to overcome it?