Sweet Home Alabama, Roll Tide Roll
Gotta give it up for Texas, and freshman QB Gilbert, though. They never quit, and had a shot at winning the trophy late in the game. Gutsy, gritty performance that came up just short.
Props to Bama for a great win, though your coach looks like he’s about to have his feet gnawed off by rats. Would it kill the guy to grimace?
Obviously losing McCoy in the first quarter was a nightmare. And our nonconventional run game didn’t help matters. Nor did Greg Davis’ lack of confidence in Garrett Gilbert in the first half.
Having said that… Saban almost directed one of the biggest collapses in recent memory in the third quarter. Luckily the Texas magic faded and the Bama D came up big with the forced fumble.
I’m really proud of our kids and look forward to greeting them in the halls once the semester starts (a good number of 'em are education majors). The future looks bright for the Horns with Gilbert under center. The kid stepped up and almost conjured a win in the toughest circumstances possible.
But again, respect to the Crimson Tide. Hope I don’t have to hear any more stories about Ingram Sr being locked up, though.
Yep, McCoy is Texas’ leading tackler. With him out of the game it was easy for Alabama to move the ball and score.
Thanks, Hippy. Much, much respect to the Texas Longhorns. Fabulously played game. That was what a national championship game should be.
You know that 'Bama got three touchdowns off of extremely short fields and a turnover, right?
Alabama absolutely deserved to win, but this is an asinine comment.
You must be kidding. They “got to” play against a freshman? They got in there and laid the motherfucking lumber and knocked McCoy out. I don’t want the kid to be hurt, but it’s a perfectly fair part of the game. It’s not like McCoy went out before the game.
That’s why it’s a team sport, and why defense wins championships. There’s no asterisk. Texas played fantastic ball, but Alabama beat them fair and square with tough, hard-nosed defense.
No, it’s not an asinine comment. Saying there should be an asterisk next to the title is an asinine comment.
Yes I watched the game, I know about the short field position, I’m not even an Alabama fan (Washington Huskies fan), but the asterisk comment was ridiculous.
Also, what did Texas do with extremely short field position? 2 field goals.
The SEC is now 6-0 in BCS title games. The last time the SEC champion did not win the national title was 2005.
As a Bama fan, it just felt like boxing a girl the entire time. Either you get embarrassed by keeping it close/losing or no credit if you blow 'em out. Bama wasn’t punished for two big turnovers early on, and racked up some quick points against a shellshocked Texas and a boneheaded call by Mack Brown. Not to take away credit from Gilbert and Texas in the second half, but a lot of that was blown coverage and easy tosses. Bama pulled it out and made the plays and calls that it needed to, but it would have been much more satisfying to drive the ball down the field instead of recovering a freshman’s blind side fumble on the 3 and need 3 shots from a Heisman winner to seal the game.
A championship is a season-long accomplishment, and there’s definitely no asterisk here. It’s a hell of a lot better than any kind of loss, but I like seeing great teams shine. Alabama did just enough to not blow this one.
Pessimist. I say they stood up and beat a great team when they had to.
Yup, and I posted my disagreement with DtC. That has nothing to do with the effect that McCoy would have had on the game.
It is stupid to assert that anything different would have happened with McCoy in the game. For all we know, McCoy might have been pressured into five interceptions, and 'Bama runs away with it. Or he might have engineered a whole bunch of drives and 'Bama is laid out in the dust. Or someone ends up winning on a 65-yard field goal as time expires. Who knows?
Obviously, Texas without McCoy is not as tough a team as Texas with McCoy. So what? That doesn’t make the Alabama result any less valid. Nor does the fact that they only managed one lengthy scoring drive, IIRC. That’s how 'Bama does things, with smashing defense that produces things like turnovers, and limited scoring by the opposition. Texas started off with two short field drives, and only produced 6 points out of them. Had they been up 14-0 to start, maybe the whole thing goes differently. Props to the 'Bama defense for keeping that from happening.
But to call that the best National Championship game ever is a bit much. Too many errors, not enough stellar play. It was good, but not great.
Fuck you, Nicky the Weasel. And fuck you too, football gods.
Meh. It was a scrappy, hard-fought battle that left both teams’ nose bloody. It was a brawl, and I saw LOTS of stellar play. It was just mostly on the defensive side of the ball (and I’m including Texas in that - Sam Acho, Lamarr Houston, and Roddrick Muckelroy had a monster game. Five sacks of McElroy, and systematic destruction of the passing pocket.)
However, I also saw stellar play on offense. Gilbert and Shipley nearly stole the game back between the two of them. Texas’s O-line shut Bama’s D out of the backfield (except at one magical juncture). Bama put up TWO 100+ yard rushers against a defense that only allowed 65 yards on the ground during the season.
I know people want lots of offensive fireworks, but sometimes that’s not how the game is played.
Oh please. While I agree with you that the game was perfectly valid, and nothing should be taken away from Alabama for winning it all, you’re just plain wrong if you think the game wouldn’t have been different with McCoy. The step down from McCoy to a freshman QB was pretty damn evident, and Texas is a helluva lot different, and a helluva lot better, team with McCoy than without.
Alabama won fair and square. But McCoy going out in the first quarter made a huge difference.
McCoy turned the ball over 12 times all year. The kid who replaced him turned it over 4 times in one game. It is stupid to assert that the game wouldn’t have gone differently.
What’s your point?
I know you agree about the asterisk. But it sounds like you think that if McCoy had stayed in the game that Alabama would not have been able to rush the ball as effectively as they did against the Texas D? Because that was my point that you seem to disagree with.
With McCoy in the game the Texas offense would certainly have been more effective, but we don’t know how much more effective and we do know for absolute certain that Texas could not stop the Alabama rush. 2 different backs with 100 yard games is a pretty good day for any football team. So maybe Texas wins with McCoy (I give it about a 30% chance), but it would have been far from easy, which means no asterisk.
While I agree that absolutely McCoy would have done better than the freshman QB, you did watch the Texas Nebraska game, right?
McCoy 20/36 184 3int
Sorry. By “different” I meant “different in the way of who won.” Obviously there would be a difference in the game. :rolleyes: