Tide rolls Texas for BCS Championship

Congrats to the Alabama Crimson Tide and coach Nick Saban in claiming the BCS Championship with a 37-21 victory over the Texas Longhorns last night. The win marks Saban's second BCS title and he becomes the first to win titles with different programs (LSU).

One fact that cannot escape is that Texas QB Coly McCoy was knocked out of the game early in the first quarter. It was speculated that a shoulder injury had occurred when McCoy was tackled by Alabama's Marcell Dareus. It was only the game's fifth play. Mack Brown would now have to rely on  highly touted true freshman Garrett Gilbert to run the Longhorn offense. It took the kid a while, but he showed some fight in the second half. Some are saying losing McCoy cost the Longhorns another title, but I repectfully disagree.

I say that because didn't Texas come into this affair with the nation's best rushing defense? Both Mark Ingram (116) and Trent Richardson (109) had over 100 yards rushing. That helped lead Alabama to winning the time of possession battle, too (33:39 to 26:21). Which offers another question. Was Texas ranked as the nation's top rush defense because people can't run on them or is it a product of playing in the Big 12 with a fair amount of teams that run a variable of the spread offense? In all honesty, the world will never know on that. All it shows is that stats are just that, stats.

Because Texas could not hold the Bama running game in check, QB Greg McElroy only threw 11 passes. McElroy was seen by many as the one weak link in Alabama's offense. The running game was so successful that McElroy was merely an afterthought. Let the record show that McElroy only completed six passes for 58 yards. The thing is, this guy wins no matter how you look at it. He hasn't lost a start in over half a decade.

I only have one thing that Texas should have done differently and we can all agree on it. What in the world was your staff thinking by calling for a shovel pass? Seriously, why? Wouldn't have taking a knee or calling a running play been better? Sure, hindsight is always 20-20, but I said that before the play. You have a true frosh in at QB. Bama is showing the willingness to take an 11 point lead into the locker room. But, alas, a pick six and the lead goes from 17-6 to 24-6.

Nick Saban. I actually see that you can smile. Just like the Cheshire cat.

Texas had fought all the way back from a 24-6 deficit to only trailing 24-21 with 3:14 left and the Longhorns had to ball at their own 7. A great Bama defensive call for blitzing on the edge, sacking Gilbert, creating a fumble, and taking the ball in the endzone three plays later for a 31-21 lead with 2:01 left. Game over. Right?

It wasn't. Texas got the ensuing kickoff and on the second play of the drive, Gilbert threw his third of four interceptions, giving Bama the ball on the Texas 27. The game clock showed 1:48 remaining. I ask,. You're the head coach, what do you do? I instruct my team to take a knee. Sure, Mack Brown had time outs in his pocket. If Brown uses one, then proceed to run real plays. If not, continue to take a knee and show a bit of class.

Not Saban. He showed that there were to be no classy win this evening by running the ball for yet another Tide score with 0:47 remaining. Are you kidding me? 47 seconds left. You have the game in hand and you call yet another running play. It was obvious that Texas was not going to call any of their remaining timeouts. Okay, the drive did take another 1:01 off the clock, Scoring that touchdown meant a lock. No, how about the previous TD meant that.

I can hear it now. The Texas defense should have stopped them from scoring that last touchdown. Stop it. Just simply stop it. That argument simply doesn't wash here. The game was clearly over at that point. There's no need to pour salt in the wound. Simply a lack of class.

As I said above, no classy win. I say congrats to the Bama players that won that game. Not the head coach.

It was once in a song one that I wanted to forget until now: "I see your true colors shining through."

Yep, we see them.

NCAA Football: Two Rivalries and a Bit More

We're all in for a couple of great games this weekend. At noon on Saturday, the Red River Rivalry is renewed at Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Then, one of the greatest rivalries in college football makes its way to South Bend, Indiana.

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The Red River Rivalry is almost here, and with it comes what will most likely be the best matchup of quarterbacks this season. It's true that Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas' Colt McCoy are friends. Well, despite the backdrop, they're insistant of that friendship. They will put that all away tomorrow.

The Cotton Bowl is the home of this particular game in conjunction with the Texas State Fair. What type of ride will this game take us on?

But one thing we can count on...a lot of hitting. We may be able to count on a lot of points, too. Last year's game sported a 45-35 final with Texas coming out on top. To witness that type of scoring again this year is not out of the question as the Sooners have the 13th rated offense and the Longhorns hold down a ranking of 7th.

Oklahoma does possess a good 1-2 punch in the rushing game with DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. Both Murray and Brown have rushed for over 350 yards and 3 TD. Texas counters with a decent 1-2 punch of their own in Vondrell McGee and Tre' Newton. They almost match the Sooner duo in TD (5), but in short yardage situations, the Sooner defense should be aware of Texas RB Cody Johnson. Johnson has more rushing touchdowns (5) than any other running back in this game. The Sooners have just a bit better running attack. And that benefits Bradford as he continue to mend from his shoulder injury.

But most of the offensive focus will be squarely placed to the QBs: Bradford (left) for Oklahoma and McCoy for Texas. But who will they throw to? That's actually a bit of a problem because both have one specific target. (You think that's been covered in team meetings?) The Sooners look for WR Ryan Broyles and the Longhorns look to WR Jordan Shipley. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops will announce later today if Broyles will be available for the game. Bradford needs Broyles especially since the Sooners are without TE Jermaine Grisham for the entire season. If Broyles is a no-go, then Bradford's focus turns to WR Brandon Caleb. Caleb has similar stats to Broyles, except in TD.

And this game very well could fall onto the shoulders of Bradford and McCoy (right), but in games like this, a different, unexpected player emerges and grabs our attention. That "guy" could be Texas WR James Kirkendoll. With most of Oklahoma's attention going toward Shipley and the other WR Dan Buckner (in passing situations), Kirkendoll could step forward and provide a memorable game.

I like the Longhorns, but do not count out the Sooners. This will be close...something like 31-28.

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Yet another QB matchup...or is it? USC's frosh QB in Matt Barkley and ND's junior Jimmy Clausen. Not really a contest. Clausen is now getting a bit of Heisman hype while Barkley has missed time with a shoulder injury. One question people are asking is if Clausen has earned the hype. He has...somewhat.

One reason he's receiving a push is because he's playing for Notre Dame. Every game Jimmy Clausen (left) plays is on national television. But look at his performances...his entire work. The most impressive is that Clausen has tossed 12 TD and only 2 INT. He also has a higher QB rating than Texas' Colt McCoy, Florida's Tim Tebow and Cincinnati's Tony Pike. Only Pike has thrown for more TD (15 to 12).

But when Clausen is looking to pass, the Trojans must take WR Golden Tate away from him. And the #6 rated defense for the Trojans will have to do just that. If USC can make the Irish rely more on the rush, the Trojans should walk away from South Bend with a "W". Notre Dame is only rated 59th in rushing, but ranks 7th in passing. USC has a more run oriented offense (out of necessity) ranking 62nd in passing and 16th in rushing.

The x-factor: USC RB Joe McKnight (right). With Stafon Johnson out for the remainder of the season, the running load falls on McKnight's back. He has the talent to take advantage of this situation. For USC to leave with that win, McKnight must produce his best game of the year.

The Trojans got an unexpected boost with the appearance of Johnson at a team meeting. And who can forget the slip 'n' slide adventures? That's the difference between California and Indiana. That's why I like USC, 28-17. They have just enough fun to stay loose. That's why Pete Carroll is one of the five best coaches in college football. He finds ways to keep his guys loose.

Do you think they permit slip 'n' slides in South Bend?