Alabama Adulation

The Texas Longhorns were touched up and taken down in more ways than one during Thursday night’s BCS college national championship. Crimson Tide linebacker, Eryk Anders forced backup quarterback, Garrett Gilbert, to fumble with 3:02 left in the game to help top-ranked Alabama win their eighth national title. The Tide rolled to a 37-21 victory and handed the Longhorns their first loss of the season. Texas starter and Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback, Colt McCoy, was bumped from the game on the Longhorns’ fifth offensive play. The senior was knocked out in the first quarter, and hardly a factor for Texas in his first return to the Rose Bowl since he was a redshirt freshman. The 14-0 Tide stormed to a 18 point halftime lead with McCoy nursing an injured shoulder on the sideline. The son of former NFL signal caller, Gale Gilbert, Garrett stepped up to nearly lead Texas back. The Longhorns came within three points midway through the fourth quarter before Alabama’s defense preserved the win.
Number two Texas jumped out to a six point lead in the first quarter. Mack Brown’s kicker, Hunter Lawrence, booted a pair of field goals within a minute of each other to give the Longhorns an advantage heading into the second quarter. Texas did a stellar job sacking Alabama’s Greg McElroy three times on the first two Tide possessions. The Longhorns’ defense pressured McElroy up front to keep the snazzy backfield from running and hold ‘Bama scoreless for fifteen minutes. The Tide aggressively attacked McCoy for no gain with 10:54 in the first, inevitably putting an end to the quarterback’s college run. Nick Saban’s heavily favored Tide didn’t score until the second quarter. Alabama lit up the scoreboard four times before the half. They posted 24 points by running, kicking and intercepting the football. McElroy’s 23 yard pass to Julio Jones put Alabama on the Texas 12 yard line before the first quarter whistle. It was the only catch made by the sophomore, but one that set up the Tide’s initial touchdown. Heisman winning running back, Mark Ingram, managed to score one of his two touchdowns from two yards out to trim Texas’ lead to one. The Tide’s physical offense ran for 206 yards, including 116 from Ingram. Trent Richardson also eclipsed the 100 yard mark, giving the Tide a 14-6 lead on a 49 yard surge with under eight minutes in the half. Texas was unable to do much without their All-American quarterback in the first half. Austin native, Gilbert was picked off four times and lost a fumble in the defeat. The Tide defense rattled the 2008 national high school player of the year. Senior defensive back, Javier Arenas, intercepted the inexperienced Gilbert twice. Ingram and Richardson exchanged rushes at the two minute mark to set up Leigh Tiffin’s 26 yard field goal with .30 seconds in the second. The final touchdown of the half came on a Gilbert misfire. The floundering offensive line failed to stop lineman, Marcus Dareus, from snatching a shovel pass and returning it 28 yards the other way.
The Longhorns showed some life late in the third quarter. Gilbert got in sync with his offense and found a rhythm to deliver a 59 yard drive, resulting in a Texas touchdown. Talented Texas receiver, Jordan Shipley’s 44 yard catch with 1:31 remaining in the third made it a 24-13 Tide edge. Gilbert threw a second touchdown pass to the smooth-running Shipley for a 28 yard score in the fourth quarter. The backup’s arm was successful in converting the two-point to Dan Buckner as the Longhorns suddenly trailed by a field goal. Following an Alabama punt, the stage was set for some Texas drama in Pasadena. The Longhorns needed Gilbert to be a crunch time quarterback in the biggest way. He had his shining opportunity late in the game after Alabama was charged with a holding penalty. On the next play, Gilbert was stripped of the football at the Longhorns’ seven yard line with three minutes left in the season. The fumble-forcing sack from Arenas was recovered by Courtney Upshaw, and the Tide rocked the Rose Bowl from that point on. Three plays later, Ingram was in the end zone for the second time of the night. Richardson finalized the score with his second touchdown after Gilbert’s fourth interception. Although the Texas freshman showed improvement and confidence in the second half, the Alabama defense was too much for the Longhorns to handle. The quarterback was left unblocked on blitzes by the third ranked defense in runs allowed. Gilbert completed a respectable 14-of-30 passes for 130 yards in the second half. McElroy needed just 58 yards through the air to earn the title because Saban’s running game was terrific and the defense dominant. Ingram joined Matt Leinart as the only other Heisman winner to prevail in a BCS title game. The win marked the first championship for the Tide since 1992 and another SEC title stamp. The conference has claimed the last four BCS championships games.

Parting Points: USF football coach, Jim Leavitt, was let go following an investigation he allegedly struck one of his players. Recently fired, Mike Leach, is accusing Texas Tech of libel and slander. The Seattle Seahawks axed Jim Mora after one season and a four game losing streak to end the year. What a day to be a coach! At least it was a good one for Nick Saban.

I’m excited for wildcard weekend; here’s a tune to pump you up too- “Wild nights” by John Mellencamp