TAMPA, Fla. -- All this over the winning streak tied for 18th longest in college football history?

What Alabama has accomplished, of course, is much more than that as it heads into College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday. For starters, its 26-game winning streak does sort of distract from the main point.

Eighteen other programs have longer streaks -- four alone since 1990 (Miami twice, Florida State, Nebraska and USC). Alabama has to win its next six games just to sneak into the top 10 all-time.

But all of it masks a larger discussion: Is Alabama's current run of unprecedented excellence good for college football?

A win Monday night makes it five championships in eight years for Nick Saban with no end in sight. Saban is 65 but can pass for 55 with an energy level that puts some 35-year-olds to shame.

Only once in the past 96 games has his team not been favored to win. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair.

"If we lose, I'm going to say, 'Someone needs to do something about this!'" John Swofford exclaimed.

The ACC commissioner was kidding. He has more than a passing interest in the result. A Clemson win would give his conference a second national championship in the past four seasons.

A loss would continue Alabama's chokehold on the sport.

"Were the Yankees [winning] good for baseball?" countered Bill Hancock, the CFP executive director.

"I go back to UCLA's run in college basketball," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. "Was that good for college basketball?"

Admittedly, these aren't the most objective sources on this subject. Still, there is plenty of grumbling in the coaching profession about Saban having every advantage -- resources, facilities, 21 off-field "analysts," according to one source.

That's the pool of talent that spawned Steve Sarkisian, the former USC and Washington coach who was elevated from offensive analyst to offensive coordinator this week.

But in another sense, Saban has been to college football what the space program was to technology. That GPS on your phone? It got its start guiding rockets.

Using NFL alumni from Alabama in practice to prepare for Clemson? Yep. Saban already outsmarted everyone bringing in former players John Parker Wilson and Trent Richardson to practice with the Tide before the LSU game.

Innovation can be genius. It sucks if you're the one being beat out. Saban merely took advantage of NCAA legislation that allows such practice advantages.

"He's changed college football," Clemson's Dabo Swinney said. "I mean, he really has been a pioneer and changed a lot of the way things are done in college football."

But has it resulted in you experiencing Alabama Fatigue?

"I don't know if I even think that's a fair question," Swofford said. "They've done what they've done. They've set a remarkable standard. You look to Florida State's run, 14 years [in the top four] under Bobby Bowden. Was that good for college football?"

Depends on which rabbit hole you want to go down. We've entered the playoff era largely because an Alabama-LSU rematch in 2011 was a TV ratings flop.

The country as a whole had little appetite for a game it had already seen during that regular season. The Tide didn't win their division that year but were allowed to play for the national championship.

Monday is a rematch of a different kind -- the first championship game rematch in the sport's history. The interest level has spiked.

Both teams' fan bases are in driving distance of Tampa. Ticket demand for this game is by far the highest in the three-year history of the CFP. That's a year after Alabama-Clemson I resulted in the cheapest average ticket for a title game in six years.

"I think you've got to have your star programs and your dynasties," said Joey Johnston, who has covered sports here at the Tampa Tribune for 36 years. "Those are important, particularly when they end. It's a huge moment."

Even if Clemson wins big Monday, there is no guarantee this particular dynasty is anywhere near ending. This run has been good for Alabama, the SEC and Southern football culture as a whole. Even if you aren't a Bama fan, your hate counts.

Love 'em or loathe 'em, you're sure as hell going to watch.

Being a familiar brand, Alabama is usually good television. It's almost impossible to remember that there's still only one other undefeated team in the country.

"I don't know if we'd want to see Western Michigan in this game," Johnston said. "Most of America [wouldn't]."

The same TV ratings rules still apply: A 10-0 Clemson lead in the first quarter keeps folks interested, increases social media engagement and off we go.

But another Alabama rout, which have become so common this season?

To this point, overall ESPN ratings for New Year's Six bowls are up 17 percent, according to an industry source. The CFP Semifinals on New Year's Eve resulted in a slight ratings increase from the 2015 disaster.

Ratings were down 36 percent then because the semis were played during the work week on New Year's Eve.

Is any of that an indication of Alabama Fatigue?

"I've never heard the phrase, 'A sinking ship lifts all boats,' Sankey said. "The nautical phrase is, 'A rising tide lifts all boats.'"

The pun was intended.

"I know in our conference there are 13 coaches evaluating how they would win our championship next year."