Alabama No. 1: Get Used to It
Dave Curtis - SportingNews.com
Jan 08, 2010
PASADENA, Calif. -- Alabama sits atop the college football world again, and fans best grow accustomed to calling the Crimson Tide No. 1.
Alabama's 37-21 victory over Texas in Thursday's BCS national championship game at Rose Bowl Stadium lands the Tide back in the top spot for the first time since 1992. And while some fans in Boise might disagree that Alabama is the undisputed No. 1 team -- and others in the Lone Star State would like to have seen the title bout fought with all-time Division I-A wins leader Colt McCoy -- few would deny the Tide appear ready for another long run of dominance.
"I hope guys can build off these plays and these games," senior cornerback Javier Arenas said. "And they can emerge again next year."
Thursday's emphatic victory establishes the Tide as the team to beat for next year's title as well. The return of starting quarterback Greg McElroy and Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram sets up another potential dynasty for Alabama to add to its elite tradition.
And this comes just two seasons after the Tide lost six games, including one to Louisiana-Monroe, in coach Nick Saban's first year.
"I never had a timetable for it," Saban told the national TV audience, referring to the title.
Thursday's victory gives Alabama at least a piece of eight national championships since 1961 and its first in the BCS era, which began in 1998. Saban, meanwhile, gets national title No. 2. His other ring was won in 2003 as LSU's head man. No other coach since the wire-service polls began in 1936 can match that feat.
For some, especially in Texas, the memory of McCoy separating his shoulder five snaps into the game and not returning will trump anything Alabama did. And although true freshman Garrett Gilbert looked overwhelmed through much of the first three quarters, the story this night was all Alabama.
The Tide's rushing attack thrived, racking up 205 yards on 51 carries against a Texas defense that allowed a nation's low 62.2 yards per game. Alabama's defensive domination helped build an 18-point lead and ended a Texas rally with a late fumble recovery at the Longhorns' 3-yard line
Even with an undefeated season, a Crimson Tide championship seems a bit surreal. Alabama wasn't an early-season favorite to win the SEC championship; forget a national title. Sporting News ranked Alabama No. 3 in the SEC West in its college football preview issue, behind Ole Miss and LSU.
The highlights included a season-opening, Georgia Dome victory over Virginia Tech, a 12-10 victory over Tennessee on Terrence Cody's last-second blocked field-goal attempt, and a fourth-quarter rally for a 26-21 victory at archrival Auburn. A 32-13 whipping of Florida in the SEC championship game sent the Tide to the title game.
Those Louisiana-Monroe memories are long gone now. The proof was there Thursday night, when Alabama lifted the crystal ball trophy, and Crimson became the Rose Bowl's dominant red. It's a scene we might well see in this game again next year.
This story appears in Jan. 8's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today.
Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com.
----
Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion
Copyright 2012 by SportingNews.com
