The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Texas Longhorns 31-17 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to win the BCS national championship. Mark Ingram, the heisman winning RB for Bama did not dissapoint. His 22 carries for 116 rushing yards and 2 TDs along with Trent Richardson's 19 carries for 109 rushing yards proved to be Bama's offense in the game in which Bama QB McElroy was a non-issue completing only 6 passes for 58 yards.
The game began tentatively for Bama who turned the ball over twice in the opening minutes. The first was on a throw on a fake punt which was intercepted by Texas. The second came on a muffed kickoff. Texas came away with field goals instead of TDs on both turnovers and that was critical as it allowed Bama to continue with their game plan of running the ball with their RBs. Texas could have forced Bama to throw the ball if they had gone up by 2 scores early.
And they did not go up early because Texas QB Colt McCoy was knocked out of the game on their very first possession with a shoulder injury. He would not return.
Backup QB Garrett Gilbert had an up and down game in the trial-by-fire facing a stout Crimson Tide defense. He ended the half with a botched shovel pass that Bama intercepted and returned for a TD to go into the half up 24-6. In the second half, Gilbert gained his composure and started completing some passes and was helped in large part by Jordan Shipley, the Horns star WR. The 2 hooked up for 2 TDs as Bama continued to flounder on offense to reduce Bama's lead to 3 points at 24-21. On the ensuing Bama possession, the Horns defense again did a good job and forced them to punt.
So here was Texas, without their star QB with a chance to either tie it up or take the lead. But the Bama defense stepped up big and strip-sacked the freshman Texas QB and took over the ball deep into Texas territory. It was the beginning of the end.
The game was by no means an instant classic. At times it was downright boring as both teams often struggled to move the ball. Texas could not tackle the Bama RBs and Bama had problems blocking the Texas pass rushers. Guys who love to swear by statistics had to eat humble pie as several stats touted by analysts (Texas is 7-0-1 against Bama, Texas is 3-0 in the Rose Bowl under Mack Brown etc. etc.) were proven to be meaningless. With the win, Nick Saban joined an elite group of coaches that have won a national title with 2 different schools.
