1/14/12 2011 BCS National Championship
I wanted to take a few days before writing this blog, because I needed some time to collect my thoughts after Monday night’s national championship game. As you all know, for the second time in three years, the Alabama Crimson Tide is the champion of college football. I can’t tell you how odd it feels to say that. It seems like only yesterday I was hoping we could cling to that one point lead over East Carolina, or I was thrilled that we were able to squeak out that OT win over Ole Miss, or I was furious that we lost to Louisiana Tech for the second time. But we were a sleeping giant, and I thought that a coach with an IQ over 70 would make us relevant again. Once it was announced that Nick Saban was coming, suddenly it appeared that the sky was the limit, and five years into his tenure, we have added our thirteenth and fourteenth national championships. Absolutely amazing.
As for the game, first, I think I need to apologize to AJ McCarron. If you recall, after the last LSU game, I said that AJ was worse at playing QB than anyone else was at anything. Though that was clearly an exaggeration, I truly felt that he was terrible, and I didn’t think there was any way that we could win a championship with him at QB. His game against Mississippi State certainly didn’t do anything to change my mind, but he showed some signs against Auburn. Fortunately for us, he saved his best game for the last, because he actually looked like a good QB against LSU.
From the first play of our first possession, a play action swing pass to Smelley, it was apparent that we were going to be aggressive with our play calling. We actually had 25 passes in the first half; 34 for the game. Anybody that was afraid that our lame duck OC Jim McElwain would phone it in for his last game at the Capstone had nothing to worry about, but this was absolutely the best offensive game plan that he has ever put together. LSU was the nation’s second rated defense, but we consistently moved the ball, so much so that eight possessions ended with scoring chances (7 FG attempts and 1 TD). Against LSU on a stage like this; that’s phenomenal.
But in reality, how important was it that the offense played well? I mean, our defense was so ferocious that there were times that I felt like I needed to shield my eyes. I’ve heard our defense’s performance described as gruesome, hateful, lions closing in on a gazelle, and a boa constrictor. The thing is; I’m not sure any of those are severe enough. Those guys came out and completely and totally shut down the LSU Tigers, holding them to 92 yards for the entire game! I have seen a lot of superlative defensive performances in my lifetime, but this one might be the best. I’ll have to give it some thought, but nothing else is jumping out at me as being better.
I want to talk about a few specific moments in the game. In a game like this, it’s really hard to point to any one specific play and say that was the one that changed the game. However, I thought that the sequence right before halftime was really important. If you recall, we were ahead 6-0 (should have been a lot more), and LSU was forced to kick the ball back to us, where we received the ball at our own 24 with about 2 minutes left in the half. I actually wanted us to run the clock out and get in to halftime with the 6-0 lead, because I really didn’t want to punt the ball back to Mathieu, fearing a big play that could certainly change the complexion of the game. However, we came out very aggressive with our play calling, and even when it appeared that they had stopped us after that -2 yard catch by Smelley, we called a TO and kept attacking. We then completed a 20-yard pass to Norwood, and a few other passes including a heroic effort by Hanks, and we managed to kick a FG before halftime, upping our lead to 9-0. The difference between 6-0 and 9-0 must have seemed huge to the Tigers with the way our defense was playing!
As for our defense, Courtney Upshaw won the defensive MVP award, and it was certainly well-deserved. However, if I were giving the award, I think I would have given it to Nick Gentry. He completely destroyed the interior of the LSU offensive line consistently throughout the game, forcing LSU to continuously try the perimeter, where Jerrell Harris was waiting with open arms. And speaking of Jerrell Harris, welcome to the party, pal! He has had kind of a cursed career at the Capstone after arriving from Gadsden with tremendous accolades, but finally, in the last game of his last season on the biggest stage in college football, he played like an All American. Congratulations Jerrell; you just earned yourself a shot at a career in the NFL! I could make a solid argument for Jerrell as defensive MVP, but you know what, I could make just as good of an argument for Hightower, Kirkpatrick, Barron, etc. We looked like team full of All Americans; there wasn’t a weak spot on the field.
I could go on and on, talking about Kevin Norwood bursting onto the scene, or Marquis Maze’s incredible punt return and subsequent injury, CJ’s interception and his tragic injury, Hanks and Smelley having big games, Trent finally cracking the end zone even with the entire LSU defense focused on stopping him, Lacy’s spin moves, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll just close this blog by doing what I said I should do. AJ, I’m sorry. I was wrong. I admit that I didn’t think you would be able to move the ball through the air, making precision, well-time passes against the nation’s best (well, maybe second-best) secondary. But you did. You played very well, and showed signs of what may be a tremendous future in your next two years at Bama. I’m sure that the fact that Kevin Norwood will be with you for those two years makes you smile! I was equally impressed with how you handled yourself in the postgame. Really, a tremendous job all the way around buddy!
So that’s it for now. I’m going to write another blog in the near future where I discuss whether this defense was better than the 1992 defense. Not that it matters at all what I think, but I really enjoy thinking about it, so I’m going to do it. And of course, I’ll be back in early February to talk about yet another epic recruiting class. However, that’s for another time. For now (and forever), we’re the 2011 National Champions. Roll Tide!
Kenny
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