20/20 Hindsight: The BCS National Championship Game
by kleph on Jan 8, 2010 10:00 AM CST
in Football
27 comments
The mavens of the nation's sports media have weighed in on last night's victory by the Crimson Tide over the University of Texas Longhorns in the BCS National Championship game. Here's the roundup:
Texas and Alabama played a teeth-gnashing, bloody-knuckles game that fit the style of their forefathers, Alabama’s Bear Bryant and Texas’ Darrell Royal.
Pete Thamel | The New York Times
It was a BCS National Championship Game that turned into a classic — even if the University of Alabama would have preferred otherwise.
Gentry Estes | The Tuscaloosa News
This was the heavyweight matchup, the supreme battle that was supposed to settle the national championship. An Alabama running game that featured the Heisman Trophy winner was matched against the nation's top rushing defense Thursday night.And the outcome? No contest.
Don Kausler Jr. | The Birmingham News
Alabama won the Bowl Championship Series national title Thursday night, 37-21, using two jarring back blows to two Texas quarterbacks to turn the Rose Bowl into Crimson, clover and game over. Two back shots is what it took, one at the beginning and one near the end.
Chris Dufresne | The Los Angeles Times
For 18 years, Alabama’s been contributing to the general glory fund in painful sums. Tonight they got to withdraw their share with proper dividends. Well done all around, sirs and madams.
Spencer Hall | EDSBS
The houndstooth hat is a memory — the Snake, Joe Willie and Bart Starr replaced by guys named Julio, Javier and Mount Cody. Alabama football, though, is alive and well, thanks to a defense that would have made the Bear smile.
Eddie Pells | The Associated Press
A bizarre postseason of college football ended fittingly on Thursday in Rose Bowl Stadium. It kept your attention until the very end. But, in the end, it was Alabama and coach Nick Saban, as expected, holding the crystal trophy as winners of the BCS title for the 2009 college football season.
Joseph Goodman | The Miami Herald
The wear and tear was noticeable on their faces. Tired Texas players like Lamarr Houston and Roddrick Muckelroy showed the effects of trying to contain bruising Alabama running backs Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson during a long night at the Rose Bowl.The Longhorns’ No. 1 national defense was gashed for a season-worst 205 rushing yards.
Tim Griffin | ESPN
Alabama should have won Thursday night's BCS National Championship Game handily... But that wouldn't have been very 'Bama-esque.
Stewart Mandel | Sports Illustrated
It may not have been a fair fight, and it may not have been pretty. And someday, when the state of Alabama sobers up, when the echoes of the "Rammer Jammer" cheer fade from the Arroyo Seco and thoughts turn to next season, Crimson Tide fans still won't give a damn.
Ivan Maisel | ESPN
The Crimson Tide won college football's national championship by defeating an opponent that was not at its best. That's how this season's BCS finale will be remembered – as much for Alabama's excellence as Texas' rotten luck.
Michael Lev | The Orange County Register
The Tide weathered Texas' initial punch, produced two 100-yard rushers against a defense that hadn't allowed even one in any of its previous 13 games and took advantage of the circumstances they were presented to close the deal. The early injury to star quarterback Colt McCoy and brief fourth-quarter rally under Gilbert kept the focus on Texas for most of the night, but Alabama was everything it was supposed to be as a top-ranked favorite, and finally has the hardware to prove it.
Matt Hinton | Yahoo!Sports
'Bama is officially back, winning the Bowl Championship Series title, its first in 17 years and eighth overall. However, this defensive struggle came down to the final minutes. With just over three minutes remaining and Texas trailing by three points, the game was in the hands of a Longhorns backup quarterback, Garrett Gilbert.
Kelly Whiteside | USA Today
"Finish." The mantra that drove Alabama through last spring, through summer camp and through a perfect season echoed fully when the Crimson Tide needed to make plays in the BCS National Championship Game.
Ken Rogers | The Dothan Eagle
The running game wears teams down. The defense changes games. Yes, Alabama, this season's version of the Crimson Tide could have been your dad's Crimson Tide, too. Or Bear Bryant's.
Eddie Pells | The Associated Press
[Mark Ingrams'] fourth-quarter touchdown was the play that finally broke the Texas Longhorns in the BCS National Championship Game and propelled the Crimson Tide to a 37-21 victory, giving top-ranked Alabama its 13th national championship on the same field where it won its first title 83 years earlier.
Tommy Deas | Tuscaloosa News
Texas was carried to its national championship at the Rose Bowl five years ago on the back of a veteran quarterback in a brilliant performance. A true freshman who had only mopped up in nine appearances this season nearly pulled it off this time.
Blair Kerkhoff | McClatchy Newspapers
The argument, if there even really was one, is over. Any notion that the Southeastern Conference is not the best in college football ended Thursday night at the Rose Bowl, where top-ranked Alabama beat No. 2 Texas 37-21 in the Bowl Championship Series title game.
Gary Klein | Tribune Newspapers
And now it’s the SEC from sea to shining sea. Alabama beat Texas 37-21 in the BCS national championship game Thursday night, giving the Tide (14-0) what should prove a near-unanimous football crown and making the Southeastern Conference the current holder of all four BCS bowl games from California to Miami.
James Varney | The Times-Picayune
The Crimson Tide won SEC and BCS championships in only Nick Saban’s third season, defeating two great teams, Florida and Texas, respectively. And don’t be surprised if next season the Tide becomes the first program since Nebraska in1994 and 1995 to repeat as national champions.
Jeff Schultz | The Atlanta Journal Constitution
And thanks to the meteoric rises he has orchestrated now at two separate SEC schools, all within the last decade, there is a difficult argument to be made that Saban has not only accomplished his goals, but exceeded them. But don’t look for him to take all the credit for it.
Spencer White | The Crimson White
And preserve under glass this glorious night that began with breathtaking pageantry, with fireworks lighting up the blackberry skies over a bowl of crimson, white, houndstooth and burnt orange, and ended with a blizzard of confetti showering a Gatorade-soaked Nick Saban, lifting a crystal football to the sky.
Mark McCarter | The Huntsville Times
Saban brought Alabama its first national championship since 1992, and it didn’t come easily, the 37-21 final score against Texas in the BCS title game on Thursday night notwithstanding. Texas got back in the game in the fourth quarter, and the Longhorns didn’t have their star quarterback, the aptly named Colt McCoy. But Alabama was the better team.
Jim Mashek | The Sun Herald
Opposing fans who endured constant reminders of Alabama's rich football heritage from the Tide faithful couldn't help but laugh as the program finally convinced Saban -- after practically begging -- to take the job. No one is laughing anymore.
CocknFire | Team Speed Kills
Dozens, if not hundreds, of Alabama fans at Thursday’s BCS Championship Game were wearing replicas of Bryant’s trademark checkered houndstooth hat. But following Alabama’s 37-21 victory over Texas, Tide fans might have a change of hat. They could soon be sporting the wide-brim, Panama-style headgear favored by current head coach Nick Saban.
Cary Estes | MSNBC
The Bowl Championship Series national title game Thursday night started with a story line of two Texas quarterbacks facing each other. And while Alabama’s 37-21 victory ended with Texas quarterbacks at the helm for both teams, the story had a different cast when the true freshman Garrett Gilbert replaced McCoy on Texas’ first possession.
Thayer Evans | The New York Times
Colt McCoy's eyes glistened as he stood Thursday at his locker, but he refused to let the tears fall... On Thursday, McCoy suffered the final indignity of a glorious but ultimately snakebit career.
Andy Staples | Sports Illustrated
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy hurt his passing shoulder on the Longhorns' first drive of the Citi BCS National Championship Game Thursday night, knocking him out of the biggest -- and final -- game of his college career. McCoy told ESPN.com after the game he had a pinched nerve in his right shoulder. He said his arm felt like a "noodle" and had no strength.
Kevin Schalabach | ESPN
On college football's greatest stage, in the game he waited five long years to play, Colt McCoy took five snaps. And just like that, a dream died, and a national title with it.
Kevin Sherrington | The Dallas Morning News
McCoy, who had returned to Texas for his senior season with the lone goal of leading the Longhorns to a national championship, could only watch as their valiant comeback fell short in a 37-21 loss to the Crimson Tide. It was an absolutely gut-wrenching ending to one of college football's most remarkable careers.
Mark Schlabach | ESPN
This isn't the way it should have ended for Texas senior quarterback Colt McCoy. And it isn't the way it should have begun for freshman Garrett Gilbert.
Lenn Robbins | The New York Post
It's going to be a long time, though, before anyone outside of Alabama -- and Texas fans most of all -- stops asking "What might have been?" if McCoy had the chance to really leave his prolific career on the field. The Longhorns' fate against a truly great defense may not have been much different
Matt Hinton | Yahoo!Sports
Colt McCoy's passage into Texas football lore slammed abruptly, painfully and cruelly shut just 4:06 into the biggest game of his life. And the last of his college career.
Brad Townsend | The Dallas Morning News
The backup is one bum shoulder away from being the guy, and yet, when disaster strikes, the Garrett Gilberts of the world trot into the world’s biggest games with most of their experience derived from doing crummy imitations of Kansas State in practice.
Monte Dutton | The Gaston Gazette
A few inches taller than Colt McCoy and with a bit more zip on his passes, Garrett Gilbert was all set to take over as quarterback at Texas in 2010. September 2010, that is.
Jaime Aron | The Associated Press
They came to see Sinatra, they got Pee Wee Herman. Nothing against Garrett Gilbert but, Pee Wee actually has a better completion percentage. OK, cheap shot but like a lot of fans I felt cheated, or at least let down at the BCS Championship Game where Alabama defeated Texas 37-21.
Dennis Dodd | CBS Sports
Three hours earlier and five plays into a game he'd so long dreamt about, he had taken a blow from Alabama's Marcell Dareus that knocked the feeling out of his arm -- "like I'd slept on it," he said -- and knocked him out of the game. And so, on a night of dreams, McCoy was the lone insomniac.
Ray Holloman | AOL Fanhouse
Colt McCoy had fallen early to injury leaving the Texas offense in shambles. True freshman QB Garrett Gilbert stepped into the harsh spotlight of the biggest game in college football and looked like a freshman ought to look when thrown into that situation; scared and shaky.
John G. Winder | The Cypress Times
After shaking off a terrible first half, freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert passed for two second-half touchdowns to wide receiver Jordan Shipley and pulled the Longhorns to within 24-21 with 6:15 remaining in the game.
Michael Southern | Tuscaloosa News
As Mack Brown tried to list every possible coaching contingency on the eve of the Citi BCS National Championship, the Texas coach missed one. Then the unthinkable happened in the first quarter against Alabama. Colt McCoy went down with an injured right shoulder. True freshman Garrett Gilbert became the quarterback for the biggest Texas game since 2005.
Chuck Carlton | The Dallas Morning News
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Too much reading...
so much work to do….don’t want to be here…must celebrate!!
"The goal is to be a champion," Saban said. "I didn’t say to win a championship. I just said be a champion. That’s our goal here. That’s what we want to do."- Nick Saban
i hate all these punk asses trying to denegrate the accomplishment
if mccoy didn’t have a total glass jaw then maybe texas wouldn’t of gotten their asses whipped, but they did get their asses whipped. mccoy woulda thrown the same pick before half and fumbled the same ball on that sack near the end. if texas didn’t spend 8 conference games perfecting the finesse blocking technique, then maybe their QB woulda survived more than 20 seconds of game action.
for the next five days there is nothing in my heart but hate. pure, untempered, ice-cold hate. fond memories are for saturday. - Kleph
Dude...
…water off a duck’s back…there will always be haters…just focus on the truth…was Texas worse without McCoy? Yes. Would we have made the same decisions had he played a full game? No freakin’ way. Would Texas have had a better chance to win? Maybe. Would we still have won the game and the title? Most likely. Do any of those ‘ifs’ matter at all now? Hell, no. Roll Tide, tbf.
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 8, 2010 11:48 AM CST up reply actions
Don't be silly
It made a huge difference, and Alabama didn’t knock Colt out with a hard hit. It was a completely flukey injury, so it has nothing to do with “finesse blocking.”
by TheElusiveShadow on Jan 8, 2010 1:35 PM CST up reply actions
Wow
Thanks for all that work. And here’s a great quote by Peek in the Stewart Mandel one.
“The game didn’t get played the way I expected it to be played. It was kind of awkward,” said ’Bama tight end Colin Peek, who finished without a catch. “But at the end of the day, getting one ring is better than getting one catch.”
I beg to differ...
: )
"Let's go be champions, boys!" - Greg McElroy
(Formerly SugarBowl93)
by RememberTheRoseBowl on Jan 8, 2010 3:13 PM CST up reply actions
Long after Bama accumulates more championships and the Rose Bowl is a relic....
…the simple, satisfying sweetness of the animal cracker will live on.
Lee Corso: How would you describe tailgating at Alabama?
Kirk Herbstreit: Barbecue and Ralph Lauren
by animalcracker on Jan 8, 2010 8:10 PM CST up reply actions
That made me laugh.
But, unfortunately, if you wanted the snack food of true champions, you would need to change your name to debbiecookie.
"Let's go be champions, boys!" - Greg McElroy
(Formerly SugarBowl93)
by RememberTheRoseBowl on Jan 8, 2010 8:55 PM CST up reply actions
The "what if?" game put forth by shadowy types
If we must play this game, let’s take it to its logical conclusion. What if D’onta Hightower had not had a season-ending knee injury? What if Bradford had not torn up his shoulder? Would Texas even have been in this game? What if McElroy’s ribs had not been bruised? What if McClain had not had a stomach virus? What if McElroy had gone to Texas Tech? What if Tebow had come to Alabama? What if Florida had not taken that cheap shot against Prothrow? Surely, you get the idea without need for further illustration. The only crystal ball around that football arena was egg shaped and it does not predict alternate futures. We can only logically deal with “what is.”
Face it—Alabama won, fair and square. Injuries are a part of football and teams get deprived of the services of great players every week. Under your theory, they should all be included as asterisks, every year.
Your poor loser remarks might make a modicum of sense had McCoy been hit by a car while crossing the street. That would be “bad luck.” The fact is, he was taken out of the game by a fair, hard hit by a member of the opposing team. That is a completely forseeable consequence of engaging in the game of football.
As hard as it may be, please try to keep your homerism to yourself. Your team’s day will come, and when it does, you will not appreciate a sore loser trying to downplay your team’s accomplishments. No one does.
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was
hell."
- Harry S Truman
i dont remember a florida cheap shot
i just remember shula keeping him in the game too long, and the laws of gravity and bad angles doing the damage.
but yeah. all of these are what i’ve been using to rebut the “what if” game longhorns fans will allow to haunt them the rest of their lives. i mean, WHAT IF andre smith hadn’t been suspended for the sugar bowl?
if he had been in that game, we might have won by being able to grind out the clock and keep it away from the ute offense. but then again, if we had won, would we have had the fire in our bellies that made us believe we could win it all?
greatness is achieved by handling adversity, and not letting it handle you. texas fans should look at our program and take that to heart.
"We back" - Mark Ingram
One more "what if?"
What if the refs hadn’t put that second back on the clock?
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was
hell."
- Harry S Truman
Same ole' shit different game!
I can’t understand why people attack any available angle of Alabama football. Everytime Bama wins a football game whether against Tennessee (oh Daniel lincoln had an injured groing muscle) or Auburn (we beat Bama for 55 minutes) or LSU (Peterson Intercepted that ball) opponents fans try give reasons to why the win was flawed. Now The Bama Nation has to deal with another attempt at black balling a hard fought win.
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Colt McCoy and Texas knew the risks of running the QB. Before this game started I read articles from The SB Nation blog Burnt Orange Nation which stated Mac Brown was going to play McCoy hard. You see, Texas had been slammed for their lack of a running game. Throughout the season Texas held back somewhat in running the QB. The reason was simple. They didn’t want McCoy getting hurt. Why risk injury to our star QB with a Big 12 Title game and a possible BCS Title game in the future.
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Now, the Title Game was the last game for McCoy in a Texas uniform. The offensive gameplan for Texas was to win at all cost. Even if that meant pulling out the stops and removing all precautions taken in the past. McCoy wouldn’t be protected for reasons of future matchup possibilities. It was game time and it was clear Mac Brown intended to use his QB as a means of running the football. It seemed the obvious means of incorporating a balanced offensive attack. we all know the rest of that story.
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But here you see is where it gets intresting. Earlier this week at al.com I read several articles from Bama beat reporters covering the issue of who’s Bama’s #2 QB. Who would take the reigns if G Mac was wounded in battle?Star Jackson vs AJ McArron was the theme. You see, someone at The University of Alabama had the smarts to realize, hey this is football people get hurt. There’s no if but simply when and who. Just ask Dante Hightower if his injury was timely. Even then Saban initiated a plan and Cory Reamer stepped up. Coach Saban and staff had a backup plan whether it would be effective or not they knew who to put in under what circumstances if Gmac should go down.
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Texas lost McCoy after Darius cleanly tackled him on the option run. But then it was as if Texas couldn’t believe what they had seen. Was Bama playing dirty football. Where rules broken. They acted as if McCoy going down was never a thought in their game planning. No backup plan [b] to fall back on. Then burning a timeout to assess the injury Mac Brown fields a Freshman Qb. No Junior or Senior backup here? Texas had clearly thought this game would be started and finished by their Star QB.
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Mac Brown said at the half 70% of their game plan was out the window. This is the National Championship here. WHY was there not a plan B ifr McCoy went down?
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I guess the plan B was an asterik beside Alabama’s BCS crown. The truth is Bama won. Bama has been hurting players on opposing teams all season. Any coach with a little film study should’ve been able to see the strength and hard hitting of this Bama squad. The asterik should go beside Mac Brown’s name on the resume for failing to plan if the plan failed. Roll Tide
Your temper brings dishonor to my happy mooshu palace.
I don't care what any of them say
If every douchebag hack sportswriter from LA to NY says our win is tainted or should have an asterisk, I don’t give a fuck……If the Pope comes out tomorrow and says he thinks that our championship is tainted – don’t care…….maybe the game would have been different if McCoy doesn’t go down from one little hit in the first quarter…..football is a violent game played by big, strong, fast men – and injuries happen…….it is unfortunate, but reality……..we will never know what would have happened……and it doesn’t matter – the only thing that matters is that we are the National Champions and I’m not going to let anything anyone says tarnish the efforts of our guys or their accomplishments
Put a big FAT "W" in the results column
coulda, shoulda, woulda
had bradford not been hurt would TX even have been in Pasadena?
why did the refs put a second back on the clock for that ONE final throw out of bounds against Nebrasuhka and yet not make sure to check the exact second the ball hit an object on all the other throws out of bounds?
if Ingram had been hurt in the first 5 minutes would the " * "be next to a TX NCG win?
The answer to all these and many more questions will be answered on tomorrow’s episode of “As The Tide Turns.”
"BEEF, ITS WHAT'S FOR DINNER."
One Play Separated Alabama/Texas
Really only one play separated Alabama and Texas. Everyone can point to it. No it wasn’t the hit on Colt, it was the interception at the end of the 2Q. The big “IF” is that If all the rest of the action stayed the same then with a little over 3 minutes left to go in the 4Q Texas would have been leading 21 to 17 not losing 24 to 21. Texas would be running the ball and the fumble hit would not have happened. Could Alabama still win: MAYBE but it would have rested on Alabamas offense to score the game winner at the end. The point is that Texas could still have easily won WITH a freshman quarterback. I’m not sure how Florida would have fared without Tebow but in the final analysis Texas did just fine. The final touchdown by Alabama was more for show to make the game look like it wasn’t close. I’m looking forward to a Janaury 2010 BCS rematch with Garrett Gilbert at the helm again against the Tide!
by NYY again in 10 on Jan 10, 2010 8:24 PM CST reply actions
man i gotta say...
i really thought texas fans were a lot classier than what ive been reading. i can honestly say ive never seen so much whining in my whole life. there needs to be a support group for people who lose to bama. its obviously very traumatizing.
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