Crimson Tide voted No. 1
January 9, 2010
It’s unanimous. Alabama is back on top in college football.
The Crimson Tide was voted No. 1 in The Associated Press poll early Friday to earn its seventh AP title after beating Texas 37-21 in the BCS championship game.
Only Notre Dame has more AP national championships, with eight. Oklahoma also has seven.
The Crimson Tide (14-0) hadn’t finished No. 1 since 1992, but in just three seasons under coach Nick Saban, the South’s most storied program has returned to greatness.
“Third year and we’re already national champions?” Alabama nose guard Terrence Cody said. “That’s hard to believe.”
Texas (13-1) is No. 2 in the Top 25 and Florida (13-1), last season’s champion, was third.
The only other unbeaten team in the nation, Boise State (14-0), wound up fourth. It was the Broncos’ best finish in the AP poll. Back in 2006, the last time Boise State busted the BCS and went undefeated, the Broncos ended up fifth in the final rankings.
Only four points separated Florida and Boise State.
The USA Today coaches’ poll had the same top five as the AP, but the gap between No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Boise State was 11 points.
The Tide is the fourth straight Southeastern Conference team to win the national title. No league had ever captured three straight before last season. Alabama is the first unanimous No. 1 in the final Top 25 since Texas in 2005.
Ohio State finished fifth followed by TCU, Iowa, Cincinnati, Penn State and Virginia Tech, giving the Big Ten three top 10 teams, the most of any league.
Poor postseason showings in recent years have hurt the Big Ten’s reputation nationally, but this season Ohio State and Iowa won BCS games as underdogs and Penn State beat LSU in the Capital One Bowl.
Pac-10 champion Oregon starts the second 10, followed by BYU, ACC champion Georgia Tech, Nebraska and Pittsburgh.
For the Cornhuskers, it’s the best final ranking since 2001, when they finished eighth.
No. 15 Pittsburgh, along with Wisconsin, Utah, LSU, Miami and Mississippi complete the top 20. The Hurricanes hadn’t finished a season ranked this high since they were No. 17 after the 2005 season.
The final five were Texas Tech, Southern California, Central Michigan, Clemson and West Virginia.
USC’s victory in the Emerald Bowl against Boston College helped the Trojans avoid ending a season unranked for the first time since 2001, coach Pete Carroll’s first year.
Alabama won five AP championships under Bear Bryant, three in the 1960s and back-to-back titles in 1978 and ‘79.
After Bryant retired in 1982, Alabama couldn’t keep up with the high standards he set. Gene Stallings, one of Bear’s Boys, came the closest, winning a national title in 1992.
But in the late 1990s and earlier this decade there were some lean — and at times embarrassingly bad — seasons for Alabama.
The Tide lured Saban away from the NFL after the 2006 season. He had ‘Bama back in the national title hunt last season and completed the journey this season.
“I’ll tell you what I told the team,” Saban said, “that I’ve never been prouder of a group of guys for their resiliency, their buy-in, their hard work, the blood, sweat and tears that they put in to accomplish what they accomplished this season.”
Tags: Alabama, bama, coach nick saban, Crimson Tide, fourth quarter, greg mcelroy, Insider, julio jones, leigh tiffin, mark ingram, Tide, touchdown pass, yard field goal, yard touchdownRelated posts
Saban accepts championship hardware
January 9, 2010
Nick Saban is thrilled to have brought another title to Alabama and a lot of joy to everyone involved in the Crimson Tide program.
Saban spoke at a news conference on Friday, sitting alongside four trophies crowning Alabama as the national champion following a 37-21 victory over Texas.
The Associated Press trophy honored the Crimson Tide for being voted No. 1 at season’s end. The others were from the National Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association and the crystal BCS trophy he received on the field Thursday night.
His wife reminded him this morning that a statue of him will be going up outside the stadium in Tuscaloosa. He says he hopes it serves as a model of the reward for working hard.
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Bama VS Texas OverView
January 9, 2010
It was over when… Texas QB Colt McCoy went down on the second series, leaving the game in the hands of freshman Garrett Gilbert.
Gameball goes to… Mark Ingram, who followed up his Heisman win with 116 yards and two touchdowns against the nation’s No. 1 rushing D.
Stat of the game… 11. Alabama QB Greg McElroy attempted just 11 passes, completing six, for 58 yards on the day.
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Dareus deals dual blows to Horns
January 9, 2010
Like a baseball hitter who knows when he gets a hold of one just by the way his hands feel on contact, Marcell Dareus knew he’d tattooed Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.
What he didn’t know was that it would be the final play of McCoy’s brilliant career.
“I didn’t want him to be out for the game. You never want to hurt anybody, and you always want to beat teams at their best,” said Dareus, Alabama’s sophomore defensive end.
“But I knew I’d got him by the way the hit felt and by the way his head rocked back. I got a clean shot on him, and those are the kind of hits you can feel.”
It was also the hit that paved the way to Alabama’s 37-21 win and its first national championship in 17 years.
McCoy never returned from the pinched nerve he suffered on Texas’ fifth offensive play of the game. His backup, true freshman Garrett Gilbert, played valiantly, but he also wasn’t the real McCoy.
“That comes with the game,” said Dareus, named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Citi BCS National Championship Game. “Sometimes you miss. Sometimes you land a good one. The main thing is that we made enough plays to walk out of here with a championship.
“That’s what we all came here for, to get this program back to winning championships. It still hasn’t sunk in. It probably won’t for a while.”
Dareus’ night was far from over after knocking McCoy out of the game. In fact, he would strike again in the first half with a play that completely turned the game in Alabama’s favor.
With 15 seconds remaining and Alabama leading 17-6, Texas coach Mack Brown decided not to play it safe.
Instead of taking a knee and going into the half down 11, the Longhorns tried a shovel pass from their own 37. The ball deflected off of Texas receiver D.J. Monroe’s hands, and Dareus was there for the carom.
“It almost seemed like slow motion,” Dareus said. “I saw it hanging there and knew I had to get it.”
Dareus might be a 6-foot-4, 296-pound defensive end, but he looked awfully comfortable toting the rock.
He stiff-armed one Texas player and then did a little pirouette on his way to a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown.
“All I was thinking about is Mark Ingram and Javier [Arenas] and just doing moves I didn’t think I could do,” Dareus joked. “I was like, ‘I can’t believe I pulled off that screen.’ I saw the lineman coming for my legs, and my first reaction was to spin.
“I looked to my left and saw Eryk Anders. I knew it was a touchdown. I could not wait to get to the end zone.”
Dareus’ return made it 24-6 going into halftime and totally changed the complexion of the game.
And with the way Texas battled back in the fourth quarter, who knows where the Crimson Tide would have been without Dareus’ defensive touchdown?
Or his only tackle.
That’s right, the only tackle he was credited with was the one on McCoy.
“That put a dagger in them. You could see it in their faces,” Alabama nose guard Terrence Cody said. “The game started going downhill for them from there. They came out after halftime and fought back, but we had to finish. That’s what we do.”
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Bama Vs Florida OverView
December 6, 2009
It was over when… Javier Arenas picked off Tim Tebow, thwarting a UF rally.
Gameball goes to… Mark Ingram, who finished with 3 TDs and 189 total yards.
Stat of the game… 490. Florida allowed 490 yards, the most under Urban Meyer.
Tags: bama, game, Game OverView, gameball, javier arenas, mark ingram, tds, tim tebow, urban meyerRelated posts
Bama Vs. Auburn OverView
November 28, 2009
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Bama Vs Tennessee Over View
October 25, 2009
It was over when… Alabama blocked Tennessee’s 44-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the game with the Tide up 12-10.
Gameball goes to… Terrence Cody. The nose guard blocked his second field goal of the fourth quarter as the clock ran out.
Stat of the game… 0. The number of TDs Bama scored in the win, as all of the Tide’s points came off 4 field goals.
Tags: bama, clock, field goal attempt, field goals, fourth quarter, game, Game OverView, gameball, nose guard, stat, tennessee, Tide, yard field goal, yard field goal attemptRelated posts
Defensive demolition sparks Tide
October 11, 2009
OXFORD, Miss. When Alabama dominates, it’s never as pretty as USC. Nick Saban’s teams don’t put up a point a minute the way Florida does. But don’t mistake the No. 3 Crimson Tide’s 22-3 defeat of No. 20 Ole Miss as anything but a blowout.
If this were “CSI: Oxford,” the detectives would have known whodunit before the first commercial. Alabama left all the clues Saban’s best teams leave: The defense forced five turnovers, the opposing quarterback refused to set his feet, and every first down the Tide allowed became a cause for celebration.
“Probably the most complete team win we’ve had all year,” Saban said. “We’ve got a good team. Our guys play hard and play well together.”
The Tide D swarmed the Rebels Saturday.
Saban’s 2003 BCS champion team at LSU played this way: Defense and special teams make play after play, and the offense has its moments. Too many of those moments Saturday involved kicker Leigh Tiffin, who went 5-for-5 on field goals. The Tide’s lone touchdown came on a 36-yard run by Mark Ingram late in the first half.
The slow creep of the Alabama lead left the illusion that Ole Miss remained in the game. The rest of the game indicated otherwise. Ole Miss finished with 212 yards of total offense and was held to the lowest point total in head coach Houston Nutt’s two seasons.
“Very few people score points against Alabama,” Nutt said. “… We ran into a real wall today.” Take Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, who began the season as a Heisman candidate and ended Saturday as a tackling dummy. The stats show that Alabama never sacked Snead. But the junior transfer from Texas got hit more than the Washington Nationals’ bullpen.
“We hit the guy just about every time in the first half, and I think it affected him. It affected them,” Saban said. “… That’s about as fine a defensive performance in the first half as I’ve been around for awhile.”
Snead forgot about setting his feet. He forgot about squaring his shoulders. At the half, Ole Miss had gained 19 yards, made one first down and crossed midfield for one play. Snead finished 11-of-34 for 140 yards with four interceptions.
He has thrown seven in the last two games after throwing 13 all of last season. In Snead’s defense, two of the interceptions against Alabama occurred because split ends Shay Hodge and Markeith Summers couldn’t hold onto the ball.
That brings up a valid point. Snead wasn’t the only Ole Miss player who heard footsteps. Halfback Brandon Bolden completed the unlikely triple play of fumbling a handoff, dropping a pass and fumbling a kickoff return.
“This was the fastest defense if you went from 1-11,” Nutt said. “It’s from the cornerbacks, to the safeties, to the linebackers, to the D-line. They’re the best I’ve ever seen.”
It goes beyond 11, actually. The Alabama special teams dominated, too. Linebacker Cory Reamer blocked a punt in the first half to set up Tiffin’s third field goal. He also knocked a punt out of Dexter McCluster’s grasp in the third quarter, a turnover that led to Tiffin’s fourth field goal.
That’s what Alabama does. They hit and they confuse and they hit some more.
Nick Saban and Bama have rolled to a 6-0 start.
“It’s not just their speed. It’s their size. They’re great tacklers,” Ole Miss offensive coordinator Kent Austin said. “They’re the best defense we’ve faced by far. Easily.”
The Alabama offense scored one touchdown, a great call by coordinator Jim McElwain. On fourth-and-one at the Ole Miss 36, with 1:02 left in the first half, the Tide loaded the left side with what seemed like 15 guys and ran a quick toss to Ingram. He burst through the line and found no one there. A 9-0 lead became 16-0, and the game was all but over.
Quibble if you must that six trips into the red zone yielded Alabama five field goals and a turnover. Five times quarterback Greg McElroy threw a jump ball to wide receiver Julio Jones in the end zone. McElroy went 0-for-5 and should consider himself fortunate that none of them got picked off.
McElroy finished 15-of-34 for 147 yards. Those numbers aren’t all that different from Snead’s. But McElroy’s blood pressure numbers had to be lower. He didn’t make the critical errors that Snead made all game. Plus, Ingram finished with 172 yards on 28 carries.
“Hard-earned yards,” Alabama fifth-year senior left guard Mike Johnson called them.
You could see how much Saban enjoyed this victory. It came before 62,657 fans, the largest crowd in Ole Miss history, eclipsing the record set in the LSU game in 2003. Saban won that game, too, 17-14. The victory sent the Tigers into the SEC Championship Game and on their way to the crystal football.
The comparison stops there. Saban won’t entertain any discussion of Alabama beyond the Tide’s next game, at home Saturday against South Carolina. When asked to compare this team to the Alabama team that began last year 12-0 and rose to No. 1, Saban answered by discussing what it takes to compete for 14 weeks.
After all, that 12-0 Crimson Tide team finished 12-2.
Mark Ingram rumbled to 172 yards and one TD.
“This is like climbing a mountain,” Saban said. “The higher you go, the more treacherous it gets. The focus has to be better. The execution has to be better, and you have to continue to go through the grind to get there. So far we’ve done it but we have to continue to do it.”
It’s a good metaphor and an accurate one, especially the mental picture of Alabama breathing rarefied air.
Tags: alabama team, bama, class, cornerback, cory reamer, Crimson, Crimson Tide, defense, defensive performance, end zone, field goal, field goals, Florida, four interceptions, game, handoff, houston nutt, Insider, jevan snead, julio jones, leigh tiffin, linebacker, mark ingram, midfield, nick saban, ole miss, reamer, rebels, return, score, SEC, snead, stat, touchdownRelated posts
Bama vs Ole Miss Over View
October 11, 2009
It was over when… Ole Miss failed to get a first down in the first half. Alabama’s defense picked off Jevan Snead four times.
Gameball goes to… Mark Ingram, who ran for 173 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, and caught three balls for 14 yards.
Stat of the game… 57. Turnovers killed Ole Miss, but gaining just 57 yards on the ground — on 23 carries — didn’t help.
Tags: balls, bama, carries, game, Game OverView, gameball, mark ingram, ole miss, snead, stat, touchdown, turnoversRelated posts
Bama vs Kentucky Over View
October 4, 2009
It was over when… Courtney Upshaw took a fumble 45 yards for a score to unleash a Tide of Alabama scores.
Gameball goes to… Mark Ingram, who ran for a career-high 140 yards and a TD against the Wildcats.
Stat of the game… 4. The Wildcats picked up a solid 301 yards on Bama, but four turnovers hurt their cause.
Tags: bama, courtney upshaw, fumble, game, Game OverView, mark ingram, stat, td, TideRelated posts
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