It wasn't the way the season was supposed to go. Alabama, with the best coach in college football and so many stars returning, was supposed to be the team to do the unthinkable, the team to win three straight national championships.

But that dream was crushed in the final second of the Iron Bowl, when Auburn cornerback Chris Davis took a missed field goal 109 yards for the game-winning score to vault the Tigers into the SEC championship game and then on to the VIZIO BCS National Championship in Pasadena, Calif.

Alabama was only further humiliated in the Allstate Sugar Bowl by Oklahoma as the Tide lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2008.

Tide coach Nick Saban then went out to the West Coast as a guest TV analyst to watch Florida State beat Auburn for the final BCS crown, and in that time he surely had a chance to reflect on the season that was.

There were plenty of highs and lows in Alabama's 11-2 campaign, and the hope around Tuscaloosa is that with time, the pain of losing will subside and what will remain are the lessons to draw upon for next season and the seasons to come.

Offensive MVP: AJ McCarron was exposed by Oklahoma, no doubt. The line failed, McCarron couldn't escape and he threw two of the most uncharacteristic interceptions of his career. But like McCarron's legacy as a whole, his senior season shouldn't be defined by its ending. McCarron was the heartbeat of the offense, throwing for 3,063 yards with 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. His 82.7 adjusted QBR was good enough for 11th nationally, ahead of Braxton Miller, Tajh Boyd and Teddy Bridgewater.

Defensive MVP: Simply put, C.J. Mosley was AJ McCarron, only on defense. He was the unquestioned leader of the defense and its most consistent performer. Mosley returned for his senior season and became the first player in the Saban era at Alabama to post back-to-back 100-tackle seasons. He led Alabama with 108 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hurries. The next-closest tackler on the team was Landon Collins, who was 38 stops behind Mosley.

Best moment: Was that Saban smiling? And jumping? And celebrating? No, it couldn't be. But it was. When the clock struck zero and Alabama beat LSU 38-17 at home, Saban showed a rare bit of joy when he leaped into the arms of his quarterback to celebrate the win. At the time, it looked like Saban was relieved. Alabama, then the No. 1 team in the country, had survived what looked to be its most difficult test of the season in LSU. Winning a championship, it seemed, was the only thing left to do.

Worst moment: One second. That's all it took for Alabama's season to circle the drain. Adam Griffith kicks, the ball is short and Davis does the unthinkable. Auburn fans flooded the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium and Alabama's players were stunned. If the Tide were to "Never Forget" Auburn's come-from-behind win in 2010, there's no way they will let go of what happened in the 2013 Iron Bowl.