Elena’s World: Congratulations, Crimson Tide

Wow.  Just wow.  That’s all I can say about that game.

When you think about what a national championship game should be and what it should have, this match-up was it.  Number one vs. number two.  Two and three of the three most winning college programs of all time.  Defensive master Nick Saban as the head coach of one team and his protégé Will Muschamp as the defensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting of the other.  Two Heisman candidates on the field, including this year’s winner in Mark Ingram and both this year and last year’s runner-up in Colt McCoy.  SEC vs. Big Twelve.  Drama, history, and a veritable clash of the titans in terms of the stature of these teams and their conferences. 

And it came down to the last three minutes on the field, and it was so full of ups and downs for both sides that everyone watching it—at least everyone with an emotional attachment to one of the teams—got taken for a roller coaster ride of sky-rattling highs and disemboweling lows.

Just so we’re clear, I’m a Texas girl.  I bleed burnt orange, and I am damn proud of that fact.  And this is me saying Congratulations, Alabama.  You won. You won an honest game, and you should be proud of yourselves. 

But you know what else?  Texas fans—we got nothing to be ashamed of.  That was one helluva game our team just played.  My heart breaks for Colt McCoy, getting knocked out of the game like that (especially on what appears to be such an innocuous play; if you go down in a game, you at least want it to be something dramatic rather than the proverbial whimper).  Our defense came out and made a big stop on Alabama’s opening drive.  Our offense was on fire, ready to take that momentum advantage and stomp their faces with it.  And then we lose our quarterback, and for the rest of the first half it’s nothing doing and one big mistake to close the half that made the game look out of reach. 

Only…it wasn’t. 

Somehow, our freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert—who, lest there be confusion about this, had been redshirted this season and not actually playing as our back-up quarterback all year—managed to keep his cool and put his Texas-5-star-recruit status to good use and bring us back to within 3 points of Alabama.  Three points.  When, given the string of three-and-outs and his interception just before halftime, the game had looked out of control.  Gives us something to look forward to next season; I mean, this kid cannot play a bigger game nor a tougher opponent ever in his life than a national championship against Alabama. 

Give Muschamp and the defense all the credit for holding Alabama to three yards of offense in the third quarter.  Three yards.  I know the final score (37-21) was deceptive, making it look more like a blowout than it was, but make no mistake:  that game was close. 

How?  How did that possibly happen?  It should have been a true blowout.  With our star quarterback out, with an offense that revolves around the quarterback (and this is EXACTLY why a strong running game is so important, jeez!  To hell with the finesse spread offense bullshit, give me an I-formation and a fullback any day), Texas could have folded and no one would really have blamed them.  But we didn’t, guys.  We didn’t.  Our team hung in there and refused to be kicked in the teeth, and we managed to take that game down to the end.  The way a national championship should come down.  I don’t think there should be any doubt, after seeing this game played out, that the right match-up was chosen. 

And, as much as I believe the outcome would have been different if Colt McCoy had not been injured, he was, and so there is also no doubt that Alabama is the true champions for this season of college football. 

Alabama won like champions, and Texas lost like champions.  Colt’s words after the game were poignant, eloquent, and graceful, and the Alabama president offering a Hook ’em sign while Texas was announced as defeated showed Alabama in an equally gracious light. 

So, yeah, this is what the national championship is all about.  A nail-biting end to a great season, and that’s all anyone can ask for.  Hook ’em.