The College Football Thread

[Neroon]

I was glad to see a MAC team finally win!!!!

Watching the national championship game, and it's rounding into what I expected it to be. Thought the Longhorns are up 6-0... they should be up 10-0 at the very least. They got down to insdie the 5 and couldn't punch it in. Why they didn't go wide I will never know, given the Tide's well known resistance to TD's in the red zone.

Now it's 7-6 'Bama... and it was easy. Ingram keeps rolling along and the Tide OL is blasting the Texas line. That was what experts seemed to think would be Texas' biggest problem - line play. They have a strong defense, but not against the bruising powerful running game that Bama demonstrated on this TD drive.

Oh, and the fact that Colt McCoy was knocked out of the game on that initial drive of the game doesn't help much.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

I think Texas had a better chance than people gave them credit for. They faced the best defense around in Nebraska and overcame the obstacles. Of course they didn't have to play an inexperienced freshman quarterback. sigh. What might have been. McCoy worked so hard to get back to this point after the bitter disappointment with Tech last year, he gets to the national title game only to get knocked out in the first series of the game. You gotta feel terrible for the kid.

 

[Starbreaker]

I feel bad for Colt McCoy, but he doesn't need to further that injury. It's not been all the backup QB's fault either, he's thrown some good balls that just haven't been caught.

 

[Neroon]

Dorian, no kidding. He's one of those kids that impresses you from the word "hike". And this Gilbert I think will be a very good QB next year. His two biggest problems are a lack of experience and his receivers dropping several VERY catchable balls. Well, okay... that Bama pass rush has some influence.

The killer here is that but for two plays this is a tight game, winnable by either team. THe one Texas receiver (Williams?) dropped a TD pass. And Gilbert should NEVER have tried that shovel pass at the end of the first half. Reverse those two and with a very good performance by the Texas D (5 sacks tonight) we have a whole different game.

Or rather Texas is ahead because Gilbert just connected on a 44 yd TD pass!

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Thanks for not calling pass interference, ref sigh. I agree, the new Texas quarterback Gilbert, and that's what he is since Colt has played his last down as a Longhorn, is talented. The national championship isn't the ideal place to get your first real experience as a college quarterback.

Yeah, Colt is a good kid all around.

 

[Neroon]

The refs missed two interference calls there, which would have been a first down. I have to give credit to Texas for not quitting. They are still in this and fighting, and that's what you want to see.

Man, how sick is this? Ingram goes out because of leg cramps, and this Richardson - a freshman - comes in and is pretty impressive in his own right. He had that 40 yard TD run earlier. Wow.....

 

[Dorian Thompson]

That's surprising about Ingram not being able to get those leg cramps worked out. Yeah, that Richardson kid's got a good future.

 

[Neroon]

They tried fluids of all kinds, massages, etc and still the cramps won't go away. That's some serious dehydration.

And Gilbert is playing so calmly right now. Man, to have that ill-advised shovel pass back.....

 

[Dorian Thompson]

To have that throwaway touchdown Bama scored at the end of the first half back.....dear God, they stopped Bama on third down. Texas actually has a chance. Whatever happens, I am so proud of this team. Their defense is to be commended. Texas showed they have heart and then some. Makes you wonder what would have happened if only McCoy had stayed healthy.

 

[Neroon]

Even if that Texas WR had caught that very makeable TD catch...... man!

 

[Dorian Thompson]

DARNIT!!!!!!

 

[Neroon]

That was what I thought would be the biggest problem for Texas - how their OL would handle the Tide pass rush. That guy came in unblocked. I give Bama cred too, for manning up and doing what THEY had to do

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Sigh. Oh well. I'm sure McCoy and the seniors are heartbroken, but they sure didn't embarrass themselves like Oklahoma did. They needn't hang their heads. I'm proud of them. Congrats to Alabama, but the victory can't taste quite as sweet as it should, I would think. They'll enjoy it, of course, but the question of what if will linger maybe a little.

 

[Aragorn]

This game is going on past midnight and wasn't decided until close to midnight. How do you east coasters deal with all these for-primetime-TV-reasons late starts for a lot of sporting events?

 

[Neroon]

Yeah, everyone needs to hold their head high after this game. Well played for the most part, had an exciting ending. Here's hoping McCoy is okay to work out at the combines.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

That would suck if he had an AC joint sprain just like Bradford. They said he begged to come back in but the coaches vetoed it. Oh well. Here's to a bright future for Colt and congrats to Bama.

 

[Neroon]

That would suck if he had an AC joint sprain just like Bradford. They said he begged to come back in but the coaches vetoed it. Oh well. Here's to a bright future for Colt and congrats to Bama.

You just knew he'd be pleading to come back in, but his Dad and the coaches wisely said "no". Too much was at stake, and there's no guarantee he'd be able to do much anyhow. I wonder when we'll learn more about the injury itself.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Someone at another board was telling me that most of Tuscaloosa didn't have power tonight. Is that true?

 

[Starbreaker]

There were some power outages in western Alabama, not sure about Tuscaloosa though. Many people probably didn't have power because they live in shacks in the woods.

Yes, I live in Alabama so it's okay for me to say that.

 

[DaleC76]

Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide in winning the National Championship. The Tide defeated 5 teams that finished in the top 25 and 3 teams that finished in the top ten, including the #2 and #3 ranked teams in the final poll. I haven't looked it up, but that's got to put them in some elite company.

Props to Greg McElroy in playing with 2 broken ribs, and to the Alabama 1-2 rushing attack with Ingram and Richardson for carrying the offense when they had to.

Congratulations to Texas and Gilbert for not quitting, and also to the Alabama defense for stepping up at the end when they were needed.

Congratulations to the SEC for pumping out the last four National Champions, and to Alabama for being the only undefeated one of those teams.

In short, congratulations to everyone. It's been a great football season, but I'm glad it's over. As an Alabama fan, I've aged 10 years these last few month. Looking forward to a nice relaxing off-season of watching DVDs of games I don't have to worry about the outcome. Roll Tide!