ROLL TIDE: A TIME FOR MAKING SHORT STATUES

Because I’m bitter, my favorite ’Bama joke: How is an Alabama fan like a maggot? They can both live off a dead Bear for 30 years.

Nice post, Orson. Look me up next September, the nachos are me – or my buddy and fellow Sabanite, TAFKATOSU.

I ditto BamaCPA. Except in New York. This has been a favorite site for me since last summer, and I look forward to it still being my favorite.

Somewhere tonight, my old man is sat at the right hand of the Bear, in a pile of empty Co-Cola bottles and empty Golden Fake sacks, shooting off a pistol with a wild grin on his face at seeing Joe Namath avenged.

I didn’t talk this one up too much, because let’s be honest – the Tide has been behind Vandy and Cal in the priority list for a long time now. But I couldn’t stop tearing up a little, because there is a wee tiny bit of my childhood that sparked back to life this evening.

Rammer Jammer, et al. =)

Bob Wells said:
January 7th, 2010 at 8:04 pm

haven’t seen a clusterfuck like that since "Traci, I Love You"
…..and I hope you enjoy the rest of UT’s offseason….
and I sent the Kookshow clip to the yahoo.mail

Congratulations Alabama.

You’re gonna annoy the hell out of the rest of us even more now, but that’s okay. Each deposit of hubris you make at the bank now, we’ll get to withdraw later with interest, in the form of nice shiny ingots of pure schadenfreude.

And now…cry havoc and let slip the pellet guns of the Fulmer Cup (sponsored by Sanrio)!

As a calm and rational Bama fan, 28 years of age with a graduate degree and priorities………WOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Riis makes up up for every 28-14 loss when Sheila was here, every Auburn loss, every coaching change. All of it. Tonight is why I’m a fan. RTR!!!! Till next year…

ROLL TIDE!

That is all.

(Well, actually, I have to wonder if Saban is going to follow his normal 24hour rule tonight. By 8pm tomorrow, will he have completely forgotten about it and moved on to recruiting and preparing for next year?)

I guess it was only fair to let Bama get one this decade. Enjoy your #1 preseason ranking, and the expectation and failure that comes with it. Just remember, the hubris bank might have a 0% introductory APR, but that fine print will fuck you in the end.

Anyway, SEC 6-0 wooo

best college ball blog hands down …great writing on the game …in fact the best I’ve read yet …RTR

Save your “W.W.C.D” shit everyone.

Oh by the way…FULMER CUP SON COMMODORES ARE COMIN’ FOR DAT AZZ!!!

…what? We could catch a case for embezzlement or some shit…

If McCoy had played Texas would have won. I just wanted to be the first to post that unprovable assertion.

Congrats, Bama, on your 473rd National Championship!

(Look, I’ll give you all you want, just leave ’66 and ’73 alone…those are ours, dangit.)

no! 66 is ours, even if we don’t claim it!!

It was preordained. I wore my lucky scarf that I wore in the Dome when we beat Miami!

Texas never gives up. 1000 cocktails to the Horns

Anyone who says that Texas woulda been on top with McCoy should remember that a first quarter injury to Bradford is how they got to the big game in the first place.

As far as the rest of it: Florida completely understands your pain, Texas. Crushing loss to Alabama, crying all-star quarterback, its all good, we understand.
Put Mack Brown on dehydration watch. Give him some pedialyte and a nice soothing book to read and things will be right as rain in a few months.

S-E-C

@7
It takes a national championship to remind you of why you’re a fan? Even when Meyer is dying and we re-hire Stan Dreyton, I wake up and look down at my jean short pajamas and say, “This is why I’m a Gator fan.” Every day.

first, a gracious congratulations to ‘Bama – I may be Auburn first, and SEC second, but I am state of Alabama third, so fuck all you other 49 haterz

second, my regrets to Colt McCoy and TX fans, but there is not a quarterback in the nation who could have beaten Alabama last night…without a good running back in the backfield. No running game=fail. That you managed to go undefeated all season with no top-level RB is just a sign of how bad the conference is, and until that changes you will not be seeing any crystal footballs in your future. Take Ingram or Richardson and put him on your side and TX is in this thing to the end.

third, my condolences to the ‘Bama nation… because there has to be a growing fear that a mercenary like Saban will one day tire of the Crimson Insanity… he is not a ‘Bama Boy, never will be and cannot be paid enough to become one. Either greener pastures or higher challenges will call (West Virginia?) and he will move on….just ask LSU.

Tenn and Auburn both say "bring on 2010″ – we are awaiting our chance to play the Natl Champs with glowering hate and passion…. hope ‘Bama can say the same

WDE

Was anyone else terrified when you realized a couple of players were about to pour the Gatorade on Saban?

I was watching between my fingers

Peter Bean and I will commence group therapy sessions regarding star players being hurt early in a championship game forever causing a case of ‘what ifs’. Now on to the Fulmer Cup and 8 months of an agonizing wait for next season.

Thanks for another great year of blogging, Orson!

Unfortunately, there is no time to put EDSBS on “Overwatch”, and take a smoke break. The second season, aka the beast known as the “Fulmer Cup”, starts now…

What, too soon?

;-)

The hubris bank will be expanding their hours to accommodate the heavy deposit traffic until September, but good for the Bammers. Lord knows they got a better ROI than UT. And, in Bama’s defense, while I understand the asterisk talk, the fact that they didn’t get UT’s best shot sucks for UT not for Bama.
As a sidebar, somebody smarter than me needs to address why it matters to us who is pulling for whom. I had people email me out of the blue to talk about whom they were pulling for and why. As if it mattered. I’m sure it is either some form of participation for the fan or some tribal instinct to align but it’s odd to me that, even here, people are quick to point out their allegiances.

No doubt the sports department at all Wal-Marts in Alabama will see a huge increase in sales today.

13 cocktails to both teams (or 8, depending on how you count).

A grudging tip of the hat to the whorns. When the chips are down, it’s one thing to nut up and say you’ll fight to the end. It’s quite another to have the talent and attitude to actually deliver.

Does Mack Brown order up another asterisk for the wall in Austin? Maybe they should just change the spelling to Texas*.

First post on this site, but have been a reader for two years.

No dog in this hunt, but would like to express my disappointment in not getting to see the game we all wanted to see. That is the risk today with limited rosters, dispersed talent. One key player goes down and everything changes (see Bradford shoulder, Stanzi ankle, Tebow concussion, etc). The MVP of the game was Dareus with his clean hit on Colt. This was a weak season anyway. The reason we had all the unbeatens, is all the weak teams across the board. At the end of the season nobody would have been afraid to take on any of the five unbeatens. Best game of the BCS was Ohio State v Oregon. I think either of those teams could have beaten Bama last night. Bama won on Defense. They have a very average offense. Ingram and Richardson are very good, but without a passing game, they would have been in big trouble if Texas had not have given them the cheap score at the end of the half. Had they not gotten that gift, they would have needed to throw more and Texas would have been competitive with them playing a guy to probably took no snaps with the first team receivers in the past week.

So Bama wins, because they did what they had to, to win. Roll Tide! The SEC gets four in a row, and keeps the bragging rights for another year. Next year we will do it all again. Thanks for keeping this site up, it is some of the best stuff I read during the season.

Speaking of lucre, this was not reported but Saban got an additional $500k for smiling for thirty consecutive seconds on camera.

Why couldn’t Bama run just one play out of the wishbone? Is that too much to ask?

Hats off to UT. They didn’t get the message that they were supposed to lay down in the 2nd half.

Like anyone else, I would’ve been amazed outta my ass had Gilbert completed the greatest comeback in history, but hats off to Dixie’s football pride, Crimson Tide.

Big XII football: If you don’t leave before Senior year, we will destroy your college career. (does not apply to Suh)

BoKno @ 17: “Take Ingram or Richardson and put him on your side and TX is in this thing to the end.”

Down by just a field goal, and with possession of the ball, with three minutes remaining counts as “in this thing to the end” in my book.

Is the distended final score already making people overlook how this game actually went down? That was fast.

I think the big question today is what time is the dark back room meeting at ABC/ESPN studios where May, Fowler, Corso, Herbstreet, and Munchberger decide what new confrence to over-hype as the next “Great White Hope” to dethrone the SEC.
It was the Big 10 back when Ohio St had A.J. Hawk and Michigan had Mike Hart but back to back woodsheddings of Ohio State in the Nat’ Title game ended all that. Most recently we have had to spend 2 years hearing about how the Big “Throw the ball 80 times a game” 12 is top to bottom every bit as good as the SEC. Florida was too physical on Defense for the most prolific offense of all time and this year it was Bama’s Defense that carried the day, just like LSU used Defense to beat Ohio St. as did Florida the year before.

So for all the Big East, ACC, Big 10 that is really 11, Big 12, and PAC 10 fans out there get your confrence all dolled up cause ESPN might be selling you as the next “Top to Bottom Just As Strong As The SEC” Confrence. Hey, maybe Herbstreet will go out on a limb and pick the Mountain West.

Four Nat’ Titles in a row
Average 40 players in the draft every year since 2000
and Defense, Defense, Defense
The SEC remains the Bull of the Woods!

1. - Since you brought up top to bottom – The SEC was very pedestrian this year in that regards. They had 2 of the best 4 or so teams – but what about the rest?

BoKno- Tejas WAS in it deep into the forth quarter, even after replacing the teams best player and field general with a rookie backup.

fatDuck- I assume you are refering to the SEC winning it’s last 6 attempts at the National title.

DISLOCATED AND/OR SPRAINED SHOULDER NASHNUL CHAMPEENCHIP ROLL TAHD!!!!!!

Congratulations Ala-goddamn-bama, as my old friend Teddy used to say. I didn’t think I’d get to see as stellar a defensive effort as Nebraska put up against Arizona, but Bama delivered last night.

Congratulations Tejas, you could have laid down and died at half-time, but you didn’t. That second half effort closing to within three was rousing.

All in all, the game was as entertaining as I had dared hope it would be. And now the long, dark season begins. Viva la Fulmer Cup!

TWG @ 27

Clean hit by Dareus? Reverse angle shot appeared to show him lowering his head at impact. A 300 lb tackle spearing, isn’t that more like assault with a deadly weapon?

Things of which I am certain with John McLaughlin Bran Metaphysical Certitude:

1. Garrett Gilbert is going to be a great one. It usually takes a bit more than two quarters to get one’s feet under one’s self against a defense loaded with NFL-level talent coached at an NFL level and on the biggest stage in college football. A barge of drinks to you, young man. Although keep it quiet and parked around back because we are in Fulmer Cup season now.

2. Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson are going to make life miserable for many in 2010. I’d say Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard were the best tandem ever in college ball (for now), but these two are not “Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside” or “Thunder and Lightning” so much as confirmation that Transformers do exist and you can fold the super turbocharged Mack truck model into a 5’8" 220lb. pack of kill.

3. Nick Saban is a great coach. Kirby Smart and Jim McElwain have talent and probably bright futures as head men in their own right, but Bama probably owes this title to Joe Pendry. The Alabama offensive lines have been his work and over the past two seasons have been among the most physical in my memory. (Yes, Nebraska fans—the ’95 vintage of Big Red will ALWAYS be the best.)

4. I have five hundred bucks for the person who can make it August, and just so there is no pressure, you can even wait until he day after the Super Bowl.

5. Orson, Holly and the whole Hee Haw Gang are the shnizzle.

6. ROLL TIDE ROLL

DanF,

I’d brag about beating the ACC title game participants, but that’s not really anything to brag about. There does tend to be more talent in the SEC, which is why the SEC produces more draft picks than the other conferences, but obviously, that talent advantage doesn’t always translate to any sort of dominance. Especially in a year where the league had a distinct quarterback deficiency. Take out the two obviously good teams and the league managed a respectable 4-4 in bowls, which is, you know, meh.

TWG@27 says…“Best game of the BCS was Ohio State v Oregon. I think either of those teams could have beaten Bama last night. Bama won on Defense.”

I can’t buy this argument. Just because the Rose Bowl was a nice game, I can’t make the stretch that either tOSU or Oregon would have beaten Bama. The statement above is right about Bama’s D. Yep, that’s what won it for them. And because that D leaves opposing QBs, RBs, et al saying things like"holyshitwhatwasthatmyGodsofast-pleasesomeonehelpmeupohnodon’ttouchmeithurtsithurtsithurts" is precisely why they are unbeaten and sitting on top of the heap this morning. They rattle their opponents mentally and make them do stupid things. And they rattle them physically and make them do unfortunate things. I just don’t believe tOSU or Orgeon would have fared any better.

Nicky Baby Saban did not look pretty in pink after the game yesterday.

One theme we’ll hear a lot about in the coming few days: yes, Texas lost Colt McCoy, but Bama’s offense was also playing with one hand tied behind its back: McElroy played with 2 cracked ribs.

Maybe his injury wasn’t as severe as McCoy’s, but this CLEARLY wasn’t the same offense that piled up 490 yards on a pretty sharp Florida D.

The real difference in the game: Alabama had a rushing attack it could turn to. Texas did not.

I’m confused how just 3 purely dominant teams in their given years suddenly gives the likes of Vandy, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Souh Carolina bragging rights… someone clue me in on that please… You have some GREAT teams… but lets not polish the turd that is Spurrier being unable to win a fucking bowl game. Or didnt Penn State just beat LSU, and NORTHWESTERN take Aurburn to OT?!? Wasnt Arkansas lucky to win because ECU missed FOUR field goals?

Lets hold off on the SEC bravado, and just give Alabama the credit today… because Joe Cox and the Bulldogs didnt win shit yesterday!

Biggus,

Agreed. My initial post aside, I do believe the SEC is the best conference. As you point, in a somewhat “down” year for the rest of the conference, they still managed a decent bowl record.

Mack Brown was schooled like a fool by Saban and Co.
He got some book smarts in the second half, though.

Lee Corso is the analyst of they year, especially when he piles on the outrage. heehawwww

@19

Texas does have a running game; Colt leads it. For any of you who believe a QB cannot be the owner of a team’s rushing attack, ask Tebow’s Heisman season what it thinks about that.

Florida was really the only SEC team to be anywhere what you’d think could be called impressive. Granted it was against a Big East team, but at least there is an offense somewhere in there. Alabama’s offense was not seen last night. The SEC might be the best conference out there, again, but just barely. Ask Northwestern, Penn State, Clemson, VaTech, Uconn and ECU what they think.

@31 and 33

Highlighted and agreed.

Things to consider:
1. Garrett Gilbert’s only passing TD’s of his career (freshman season) were against the best of the SEC defenses.
2. Alabama’s defensive line should ask Nebraska how to beat up an offensive line.
3. Alabama’s offensive line needs to ask someone how to block and pick up blitz schemes as they just could not handle those “pathetic” Big 12 defenses.
4. Nick Saban will act upon any possible way to make himself look more like a classless punk. See douche-like TD at end of game. Act like this guy in public if not in private:
“I told Coach Tressel, ‘If you tell me you want me to come back and win a national championship, I’ll do it,’” Gibson said Tuesday night. “He said, ‘No, it’s not about me Thad, it’s about you and your family.’”

Dear Alabama, Saban will screw you too in order to better himself. It is only a matter of time.

No one is saying that the Cocks can even think of bragging about a loss to UCONN, or that Vandy is a football power. However, if you watch enough ESPN and listen to Munchflubber call games there is undeniable SEC envy which mostly comes from the fact that most people in the media that cover college football are from Big 10 or 11 country and hate the SEC. Every year we have to hear about how the PAC 10 (based on there one real team this past decade), or the Big however many you want to number is “top to bottom as good as the SEC”. No one in SEC country thinks that South Carolina or Miss. St. could go and win any confrence (well maybe the ACC) but if you place the SEC #1 against any other #1 or the SEC # 5 against any other #5 , etc. the SEC is better.
The SEC rarely gets such a match-up in bowls because the SEC sends 8 or 9 teams bowlin every year. What you usually see is the #5 or 6 team in the SEC playing another conf. #2 or 3 team.

I’ll be wearing my burnt orange shirt with the same smug sense of superiority that I do every other day.

Orson,

You make me laugh at least once a day. Seriously. And I can’t say that about anyone else. Thanks for all you do. For those of you who don’t follow Orson and Holly on twitter, they are hilarious.

Anyway, it’s been a great season.

Roll Tide.

Why the “SEC” chant when “your” (LSU, FLA, BAMA) team is winning the freaking National Championship? Is this more of a sociological thing than having much to do with football, conference superiority, etc?

ccrider

you need to look at vegasinsider.com. The SEC was favored in nearly every bowl game. AU did not cover for certain vs. Northwestern and PSU/LSU was a pick ’em. So ease up on the BS. This blog has too many people that see reality for you to blow the SEC smoke up our asses. One of the realists is the proprietor of this here blog, who has posted as such. The SEC has the champion this year. It was not their best year top to bottom.

BTW – in the final polls, the lowly Big 11 had 3 in the top 8. It is cyclical folks. Now for the long wait til September. Thank jebus we have Orson, Holly and LSUfreek to entertain and enlighten us.

1. Kudos to ’Bama for a great season. Still trying to figure out how Mark Ingram is the best player in his conference, much less the nation, but whatever: 13-0 against some strong competition is a great achievement.

2. On Texas and asterisks: I refer you to 1994, when Nebraska QB Tommie Frazier goes out with blood clots for a few games. Then Brook Berringer’s lungs inconveniently collapse against Wyoming. Nebraska starts walk-on Matt Turman (who, of course, is remembered in NE as “The Turmanator”) against Kansas State, hitches the plow to pre-felon Lawrence Phillips, and beats the Mildcats to a pulp because THAT’S WHAT CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS DO. Yeah, it sucks your quarterback got hurt – as Denis Leary infamously said: “Life sucks – get a fucking helmet.” Or, in this case, strap up your helmet and deal, crybabies.

3. On SEC dominance: unquestioned at this moment. But if the Holiday Bowl is any indication (and please, Loving New Testament God, lettheHolidayBowlbeanindicationof2010andbeyondamen), my beloved Huskers might be willing to dance with the SEC come next January.

4. n +1 cocktails to Orson, Holly et al, for making the best sport on the planet even better.

Dear BeacherTeacher

(stand back ’Bama boyz, I can handle this)

Regarding your list:
1. That SEC defense handed G Gilbert his first two interceptions too
2. Nebraska should ask Alabama how to crush TX defenses
3. TX should ask Alabama how they produced not one but TWO 100+ yard rushers in the game
4. It is not classless to rush directly at a team and score. TX should have played better defense

but I do agree that Saban will walk from Bama leaving them in the hands of a future Shula

@52

Smoke? First off I am talking conf. talent not spreads and bookies I don’t care if SEC teams covers b/c covering has nothing to do with it. The SEC sends more players to the NFL than any other confrence, this past decade LSU won 2 nat titles, Florida 2, Bama 1, and Auburn got screwed out of a chance to play USC so that Chokelahoma could loose another BCS bowl game.
The Big 11 is solid Wisconsin and Iowa looked great, and The Vest finally got over his Rose Bowl hump, but could Ohio State beat Bama? NO. Could Iowa beat Florida? NO
USC has been a great program for the past decade but they only have one Nat’ title (well two if you count the one year where the BCS wasn’t good enough to decide so USC got a share from the media which just so happened to be a year that an SEC team won the BCS game)
I am not saying that all teams not in the SEC are garbage and every team in the SEC is superior. I am saying that there is far more balance in the SEC over the past few years. The PAC 10 has one team to hang there hat on, the same has been true for the Big 10 since the vest arrived, the SEC has Florida, LSU, and now Bama; Auburn was great for a couple of years and in the NAt title hunt, Georgia was also buzzing around the top for a while.
 I am just sick of the overcompensating the media does for the other confrences. When they think they have one that can compete with the SEC that is all we hear about.
In the pre-season you would have thought that the QB position did not exist prior to Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy oh and yeah there was some kid in Florida who was just a glorified fullback with the worst throwing motion ever, but when Vince Young had a long delivery and scored a 2 on the wonderlic it didn’t matter b/c he is a winner and he will find a way. When an SEC player gets complimented on ESPN it is always back-handed like " He’s a geat leader but his game won’t translate to the next level."
But I love the argument about not winning by enough points, or pointing out that in a 12 team conf. some teams are weak, I mean the Wash St., Indiana, Baylor, Duke, and Syracuses of the world are what …winning teams just misunderstood?

ccrider @ 55 -

Ohio State would have beaten Alabama last night. The Buckeyes came alive against Penn State and were basically unstoppable from then on. Their defense would have shut down Bama and Pryor would have done enough to win. But tOSU stunk early in the season and thus they are #5 instead of #1. What’s interesting in all the SEC-Big 10 talk is that no one is mentioning that Alabama basically plays Big 10 football: pounding ground attack, mediocre passing game, good defense. That’s OSU, PSU, Wiscy, and Iowa in a nutshell.

And FWIW, I’ll go ahead and say with confidence PSU will beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa next year….

Just to back CrabappleBuck up…..

Depending what odds you had…

SEC: 6-4 Overall
Big 10: 4-3 Overall

This is where is gets bad for the SEC…

SEC: 5-5 ATS
Big 10: 5-2 ATS

SEC: 6-1 when favored. (6-2 depending on what odds you had for Penn St./LSU (I had PSU favored by 2.5)
Big 10: 1-1 when favored. (PSU/LSU)

SEC: 0-3 as underdogs. Again, see Penn St./LSU odds.
Big Ten: 3-2 as underdogs.

SEC was favored 7 times out of 10.
Big Ten was favored 2 times out of 7.

Fun Fact. For all but one of the bowl games involving SEC teams, the more eastern team won 9 of 10.

PSUfanNYC
I agree Bama does play Big 10 style which was SEC style prior to Spurrier at Florida. Three yards and a cloud of dust the difference is that Bama plays real Defense. Pryor would have done nothing against Bama last night. Saban has taken the ball control and grinding style of the Big 10 and combined it with an SEC defense. Defense is what makes the difference in the SEC.
Next year the field and Tuscaloosa won’t be a waterlogged, gopher hole infested, embarassment that field at the Capital One Bowl was. Bama will crush Penn State with superior team speed and depth on the defensive side of the ball.

One question for Big 10 country, why isn’t Wisconsin getting more love? I caught them a few times on ESPN at noon this year and then in the Bowl game. There O-line looks as good as anyones and Clay should be a name in the Heisman running next year.

@ Bokno

second, my regrets to Colt McCoy and TX fans, but there is not a quarterback in the nation who could have beaten Alabama last night…without a good running back in the backfield. No running game=fail. That you managed to go undefeated all season with no top-level RB is just a sign of how bad the conference is, and until that changes you will not be seeing any crystal footballs in your future. Take Ingram or Richardson and put him on your side and TX is in this thing to the end.

Idiotic. Purely idiotic.

Seems to me like the greatness of the Bama offense was pretty much held in check last night by a defense from the “overrated” Big-12. Despite getting absolutely nothing in terms of help from their QB-less offense, they held Bama to 17 points until the very end of the game. I’m not being sarcastic, I actually believe Bama is a great offense, but given the circumstances I’d say hats off to the Texas D for the job they did.

I’m not sure what’s sadder: your stupid ass illogical arguments or the fact that you’re an admitted Auburn fan who is crowing over a Bama victory. Do you figure that since your team almost beat Bama then some this NC will rub off on your program? Or is this just some mental defense to deal with the Bama fans you live with who are gonna crow for the next 100 years about this title?

Yeah PSUfanNYC….

I think Bama has a slightly better offense than the 112th ranked offense we showcased for y’all so, don’t get to cocky. However, Penn St. fans going to Bama for a game will be a sight to behold.

ccrider -

Alabama will lose 7-8 starters on defense, including basically the entire front 7. Sure they can plug some holes, but they won’t be as good, at least not early in the year. PSU returns 8 offensive starters including all but one O-lineman and the senior RB. Penn State’s young line would have struggled against Alabama this year, but the tables will be turned next year. Penn State’s defense will be a beast. Will they completely shut Ingram and Richardson down? No, but they can hold them enough to win.

And I think the Big 10 proved they aren’t lacking in speed by holding Miami, Oregon, LSU, and Georgia Tech all to under 300 yards total offense.

What is best in life?

To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

Thanks Orson. My hat off to you and yours for another great season of blogging. You make work tolerable.

I might have been watching a different game last night, but ’Bama’s defense wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire in a situation where they knew exactly what was coming from a crippled offense. For god’s sake,they could not cover Shipley at all in the second half. If Malcolm Williams could have actually caught the ball once, there would have been a lot more pressure on the Alabama offense.

Alabama also got virtually no pressure all game except for the Arenasing that Gilbert took on that second-to-last drive (Incidentally, that was a HIT. If McCoy had been sent packing on something like that, there would be no question, but what really happened was a combination of a fluke and a coach/father/player who were trying to protect someone’s signing bonus and quarterback recruiting [McCoy has a brother in high school] instead of trying to win the game). I saw a dozen or more defenses over the year who were just as good as the Tide’s.

But one thing is for certain, Saban is a freaking mutant killer robot. If anyone can turn Alabama into a dynasty over the next couple years, he can. And then he’ll eat your children.

Has it not dawned on people yet that the lore, the mystique if you will, of the SEC and their overall dominance doesn’t come from the results in the Outback Bowl, or Independence Bowl. It comes from the big games. The best of the best in the SEC has historically been better than the best of the best from other conferences. The BCS games. It is there that the SEC has made a name for themselves. 6-0 in title games. 14-5 overall in BCS games. Big 10 teams are 10-11. The Big Ten teams have typically embarrassed themselves on the big stage. This year is an exception to the rule and Wisconsin every year. I’m usually not the adamant about these things but I don’t like seeing someone dive in an argument and not understand the basis of said argument is frustrating.

Kevin@LSU

Historically? That depends how far back in history you want to go. If history is from 2003, you have me there. The SEC wasn’t always the way it is today. You have a few factors to thank based on the timeline. You can thank integration, population shift, oversigning and culling the herd, money luring the better coaches (or most eccentric, locations may vary). Bowl superiority may also be due to playing teams not named Southern California in LA, but having LSU playing in NOLA. Just a thought.

As a Penn State fan on the matchup in September vs Alabama – I have very little confidence in the Nittany Lions being able to pull of an upset.

Penn State’s offensive line could be very good next year, but the Crimson Tide defense will be facing a quarterback making his second collegiate start (not to mention there is a 33% chance future quarterback is right now worried about who he is going to take to his senior prom) and we know that Saban will have ample time to dream up myriad ways to confuse and pressure him. Penn State will be forced (if we aren’t willing resorting to it anyway) to run the football and that aforementioned offensive line might not look so good facing an 8 man front.
On the defensive side of the ball, Penn State will definitely become a good defensive team, but considering they lose:
1- The best defensive lineman/best defender on the team.
2- ALL 3 starting linebackers
3- 1+2 plus Jerome Hayes leaving means all the leadership on that side of the ball is gone.

we have to expect to see some growing pains, especially early. On the plus side, PSU returns all of the starters in the secondary. That is great, except as last night proved, Saban has no qualms about throwing only when necessary.

Not that the Bama fans lack it, but they should have all the confidence next year. That being said, I cannot wait for the game.

@ Buck

Thank integration? Did you really bring integration into the picture. Go ahead and explain that please.

But, in terms of historically, I meant the BCS era but we can go back to 1950. I think we’re up to 20 official recognized titles since then. So, 33% the last 60 years.

@ 65

So its not really about the whole “top to bottom” strength, or number of NFL draft picks, or “speed”. Its about the very best team in the league in a given year. Dominance = one really good team wins one bowl game per year (in a flawed system in which their opponent isn’t always the best possible team).

By that criteria, isn’t the Pac-10 pretty damn strong given that they have had 1 really good team for the past 7 years or so? Isn’t the Mtn West or Wac pretty good because they have a solid BCS bowl game record (2-1 each)? And since when is BCS record alone enough to prove “dominance”? Is LSU’s beatdown of an unworthy Notre Dame team in the Sugar Bowl supposed to impress people (its part of that 14-5, after all)?

In the last two years the champion of the SEC had played a tight game with the champion of the Big-12. This year that game was very close despite the Big-12 Champions offense essentially starting from scratch 2 minutes into the game. This is “Dominance”?

I liked the other arguments better.

@54

It is classless to know you’ve achieved victory and put forth any effort to add any more points onto the scoreboard. You show respect for your opponent, your team and the greatest sport in the world…you get yourself in that victory formation and you kneel.

Saban and his coaches are the role models to these kids. They are raising boys to men. I do not personally know those guys so I’m not saying they are bad role models overall, but in my opinion that was a shit move by the coaching staff during what will probably be the apex of the athletic career for most of them.

Here is a chart maybe this will help

SEC #1 > Big 10 #1, Pac 10 #1, Big 12 # 1, ACC #1, Big East #1
SEC #2 > Big 10 # 2, Pac 10 #2, Big 12 #2, ACC #2, Big East #2
SEC #3> Big 10 #3, Pac 10 #3, Big 12 #3, ACC #3, Big East #3

see there is a pattern here. When the SEC #6 plays the Big 12 #3 then the formula doesn’t work: or if the SEC #4 plays the Big 10 #2 then it doesn’t work.

The SEC is superior because:
1. Wins in big games
2. NFL draft picks
3. Team speed, not just on the outside but at LB, DE, DT, TE; and not just starters but the back ups and 3rd strings
4. Best coaches
5. Best defenses

It doesn’t mean that everyone else sucks it just means that player by player, team by team the SEC is better. Prior to 2003 the SEC as a confrence still has the most Nat’ Titles. Since 03 the bar has been raised but now the confrence is just a lot better than the others instead of just a little better. This was a down year for the middle of the SEC but the Confrence still had 2 reps in the BCS bowls with both winning, still had the Nat Champ, and will still send more players to the NFL. The Conf. also had the Heisman winner in it. Now I will be the first to say that Suh or Gerhart should have won it but I don’t feel bad about it b/c the SEC gets dicked by reporters and ex-winner from other parts of the country all the time. How about southwest voters leaving Tebow off the ballot so Chief Wahoo McDaniel could win the Heisman last year, or how about Charles Woodson getting it over Peyton Manning, or the Oklahoma QB who is now a used car salesman winning it over Eli Manning.
SECers crow about it b/c the rest of the country hates to hear it because it is true, the SEC is just better.

71

It’s an interesting chart and it’s probably very true this year. But all those conferences don’t have the same number of teams so it doesn’t make it an accurate indicator to just 1 to 2 and so on.

At the top, the SEC is the best conference this decade without question. They usually have 1 and sometimes 2 title-worthy squads.

But from top to bottom, the SEC has really no dominance at all versus the other conferences. In the BCS era, their record against other BCS conferences is .512. A couple percentage points over .500 is dominance only in the mind of the most narrow minded homer.

I will say it again. .512 winning percentage.

The Tampa Bay Rays finished last year with a superior .519 winning percentage and I am almost positive nobody thought them winning slightly more than half their games was ‘dominant.’

@ 70

I honestly don’t think Alabama was necessarily trying to score, but if they were, Texas was the right team to do it to. It’s not like Mack Brown has Colt McCoy in games up by 30 and throwing it downfield.

If you can’t stop a backup runningback (granted, Richardson’s not a normal backup, but still) from running right up the middle on you, you need to reevaluate some things.

An old Chinese proverb says, “Man who runs stick-boy QB as a RB at 300+lb defensive lineman loses the damn trophy.”

And that, my friends is why the zone-read option doesn’t get it done in the SEC, unless you have a mutant named Tebow doing the running. Marcel Dareus don’t tolerate.

Tough for McCoy and UT, but bring a running game next time.

That being said, the freshman Gilbert played very well, and aided by Bama’s second half sleepwalking, he nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages. But almost. Don’t cut it.

I have fretted all morning about what happened with Bama’s normally adequate passing game, until I learned of McElroy’s cracked ribs. That explains maybe half the suckage.

Great game, Texas.

As far as feeling Bama’s victory is somehow diminished by McCoy’s injury, I simply ask myself if Texas fans would feel that way were the roles reversed. The answer is hell no. ROll TIDE ROLL!!!

Behold the Juggernaught Lord Saban has built. Run, pissants of the FBS, run for your lives!!!

Now I must go set something on fire.

#74

By ‘played very well’ do you mean this statline…

15 for 40 for 186 yards 2 td’s 4 int’s 1 fumble lost

On what adjusted scale is that ‘played very well?’ I realize there’s a bit of Alabama fans telling themselves that the McCoy injury didn’t change things, but as someone that had money on Alabama, I think Texas wins with McCoy without a doubt.

And it wasn’t a hard hit, as McCoy said after and the replay showed. Shoulders are just tricky and sometimes if you hit them right, you don’t have to hit them hard.

janus09,

Pure winning percentage can be misleading. If MSU plays WVU, that is an obvious mismatch (most of the time), for example and hurts the conference’s overall record. Of course, it can work the other way as well. So since I don’t want to do the research necessary to prove or disprove dominance (however one might define that nebulous term), I’ll just say the SEC is probably not “dominant.” It’s simply the best overall conference most years. And I do think that benefits SEC teams in national title games.

@#75, Gilbert’s performance in the second half was impressive, considering the situation: freshman with negligible playing experience, down by 3 scores,thrown in front of a salty Nick Saban defense with 3 All-Americans, in the biggest game in college football. To avoid a series of 3 and outs would be the best many freshmen could manage, so the fact that he put together 2 TD drives is phenomenal. I guess I had forgotten that fans of most other schools haven’t lived through the John Choker Wilson Experience.

Say what you want, I think the kid played well considering the Thunderdome he was tossed into. It bodes well for UT next year.

As for putting an asterisk by this win because McCoy went out, that’s a crock of crap.

Last time I checked, CFB is a team sport and the backup QB is part of the team. This gets to something I see as a big problem with how rankings are awarded: the number of games where the starter is kept in the game when they’re blowing out the opponent, because “style points” are needed to impress poll voters. As a result, backups get the call and crap their pants when they’re suddenly in front of 100K screaming fans and things are moving a lot faster than what they’re used to in practice. Gilbert was scared shitless in the first half and it showed. They must’ve taken him aside and calmed him down during the half because he improved a lot and could’ve brought the Longhorns back if Bama’s D hadn’t come up with some big plays.

Bama left its passing game at home (thanks to GMac’s cracked ribs) and UT didn’t bring a running game. The “No. 1 Rushing Defense” knew Bama was going to run the ball and Bama still opened up holes, sealed the outside, and moved the chains without a passing game. When your offense is one-dimensional and the linchpin to your program goes down, tough luck. You’ve got all your eggs in one basket and that’s not good strategy.

#77

Ya know it’s really funny, I almost wrote that he ‘played very well’ only on the John Parker Wilson-scale. Congrats to you ‘Bama fans for being rid of him and having replaced him with an ’apparently’ competent QB.

#76

You are absolutely right, but those matchups go both ways and as the data count goes up and up it will eventually be, statistically, a wash.

In this case, the data pool is…..

Sec Wins – 109
Sec Losses – 104

That’s a huge data pool that will wash away anomalies like “USC V. Arkansas” and “WVU V. MSU.”

As always, the difference between the conference is woefully overstated.

ccrider -

See, this is where SEC fans lose credibility. We KNOW Big 10 #3 > SEC #3 because the Big 10 won on the field, head to head. Yes, Penn State beat LSU. I know SEC fans don’t like to consider facts in their arguments, but there’s an undeniable one.

Point by point:

1. Yes, the SEC has won big games of late. That one is yours.
2. The ACC has had the most first round NFL picks the past 2 seasons. Fact. Can’t claim superiority there.
3. So, where are your numbers to support the myth of SEC speed? Penn State wasn’t bothered by LSU’s speed, Northwestern wasn’t bothered by Auburn, even in a loss, and the Big East teams seemed to keep pace as well.
4. The SEC has some good coaches, but no better than any other conference. I’ll see your Saban and Meyer and raise you Paterno, Tressel, and Ferentz. Please don’t try to throw in Spurrier (done nothing in a decade), Richt (no big OOC wins ever), Kiffen (utterly unproven),Chizik (losing record), or Miles (bad in-game coach). SEC teams are consistently among the most penalized in the nation. That stems from poor coaching and lack of discipline.
5. Best defenses? OK, Bama and Florida had good D’s this season, but Iowa, OSU, and PSU were all Top 10 as well.

So your claims are just empty assertions without any support. The SEC may have the top team, but that does not mean they are best top to bottom. The Big 10 has as good a claim as anyone with 3 Top 10 teams and 4 in the Top 16…far better than any other conference.

PSUfan,

Your points are mostly valid, but the ACC having more first round selections in your cherry-picked sample size is irrelevant to the argument. The SEC consistently leads in players drafted overall. Since 1997 they’ve averaged over 38 players taken per draft. Nobody else is even close to that. The SEC consistently has more NFL-caliber talent. This is not debatable. Of course, this fact actually gives your coaching argument more credence.

@ 80

So you say that Spurrier has has been irrelevant the past decade, and yet somehow you try and throw Paterno into the argument as someone who has had recent success? Paterno has only won the big 10 three times since the NC back in ‘86. Not to mention, that 5 year stretch in the 2000’s where he only had 1 winning recond….

Hmmm Looks to me like Alabam came out in the 2nd half and decided they had already won the game if they kept up the intensity it would have never have gotten close. With Mccoy in there the intensity would have never waned.

For everyone pissing and moaning about the outcome of the game if McCoy had been able to play, I ask this. Would Texas have been in last night’s game had they not done something similar to Sam Bradford earlier in the season?

@ Colobama

UT did bring a running game. Unfortunately it was mostly McCoy, and what was left was facing 17 in the box on pretty much every play of the game since Gilbert was no threat to throw. As for Bama’s rushing attack, they didn’t get a first down in the 3rd quarter, and they scored 17 meaningful points against a tired defense which got no help from its offense in terms of TOP or field position.

Bama won, fair and square, well played and all that, but don’t delude yourself into thinking this was a steamroller job or that the McCoy injury didn’t matter.

@ MBD

Maybe. Texas beat Bradford just fine last year.
 
Injuries are part of the game. We all know that. What really makes me laugh is that people really think that losing McCoy had nothing at all to do with the final outcome, or the bullshit about how this freak injury was the result of the big bad king kong SEC knocking around some 98 pound weakling. Freak injuries happen in football. Just ask Bo Jackson, possibly the best RB to ever take a handoff.

Hey Beacher Teacher,

Alabama lined up and shoved it down the throat of the lauded, greatest rushing defense in all of the land. When you get some more Midol, maybe you will calm down and realize that rushing the football wins games.

To Quote Steve Spurrier, “It’s the defense’s job to stop us.”

 Anyone that thinks it is classless to line up and run the football is a douchebag.

I won’t deny that it would have been a different game if McCoy had stayed in the whole time. But guess what? That’s part of the game. Some of these have been mentioned already, but I’ll rattle off a few other factors that someone could complain about that still don’t change the fact that Texas and Alabama were the 2 best teams and that Alabama came out as the best on the 7th: Sam Bradford’s (re)injury vs Texas; Rolando McClain playing sick and needing IVs for hydration during the game; Alabama’s 2nd best (maybe best physically) defensive player hasn’t been playing since the Arkansas game; GMac plays with 2 cracked ribs; and yes, Colt McCoy gets injured early into the title game. I can’t assign points to all these factors and determine which ones add up to have the most impact. All I can do is watch that game and observe that Alabama won that game, and I can’t think of any more important factor in determining who deserves the championship.