BCS Championship: Tide 37, Horns 21

[PumpkinFunk]

Bama's up 24-6 at the half after knocking Colt McCoy out and scoring a garbage time defensive touchdown off of a tipped shovel pass.

We play this Bama team next year in football in the 3rd week of the season, albeit a Bama team with a lot of current starters graduating/going to the draft (Julio Jones and Mark Ingram both are still here). Anyone else a bit terrified for next year's football game?

[Newton_14]

Bama's up 24-6 at the half after knocking Colt McCoy out and scoring a garbage time defensive touchdown off of a tipped shovel pass.

We play this Bama team next year in football in the 3rd week of the season, albeit a Bama team with a lot of current starters graduating/going to the draft (Julio Jones and Mark Ingram both are still here). Anyone else a bit terrified for next year's football game?

The rout is on with McCoy gone but this game has produced the 2 dumbest plays of the year by far. One by each team.

Dumb Play #1: On the opening drive, Bama goes backwards and faced 4 and 23 from their own 20. So they decide to FAKE THE PUNT and throw a pass. (Honorable Mention Dumb Play to the stunned Texas player who intercepted the pass on the 40 rather than just knocking it down)

Dumb Play #2: Texas, down 17-6 with the ball and 15 seconds left in the 2nd quarter decide to call timeout rather than run out the clock and go in at the half down 11. Oh no, they stop the clock, try to run a shovel pass by the true freshman QB and it gets intercepted and ran back for a touchdown. Unreal!

And these are 2 of the better coaches in the game today...

[coachbob]

No!
I'm excited. How often can you say that we play the national champs at home. It's good for recruiting, it's good for the fans, and it's good for ticket sales. Not to mention it will most likely be on TV. And of course the dream upset
Go Duke!

[CDu]

No!
I'm excited. How often can you say that we play the national champs at home. It's good for recruiting, it's good for the fans, and it's good for ticket sales. Not to mention it will most likely be on TV. And of course the dream upset
Go Duke!

Well, it's only great if we play'em tough. There's only so much benefit to potential recruits seeing us get run off the field by Bama.

I don't have high hopes for an upset, because I think Saban is building a juggernaut at Bama like he did at LSU.

[SupaDave]

Was that a streaker?

[PDDuke85]

Give 'Bama credit for remaining focused on the task at hand and not overlooking Texas in anticipation of playing in the Rose Bowl East.

[CDu]

Was that a streaker?

Someone definitely ran on the field. Couldn't tell if he was naked or not. That's the most I've heard the announcers make reference to such an event in a while, though.

[Newton_14]

Was that a streaker?

Indeed. Downed at the 5 by a touchdown saving toenail tackle by one of the 4 cops...

[DevilHorns]

No!
I'm excited. How often can you say that we play the national champs at home. It's good for recruiting, it's good for the fans, and it's good for ticket sales. Not to mention it will most likely be on TV. And of course the dream upset
Go Duke!

Hate to be a party pooper, but I can see it now, Good ole' wally wade being 2/3s full of crimson. lets be honest, we know it will happen.

And I agree with the comment above about this BCS game. That McCoy play was dumb from the get go, he should have optioned it off. But obviously McCoy is a target for this bama D.... why even run that play? and I feel gilbert hasnt been as bad as his stats make him out to be. that shovel couldve been scooped by the RB, and his WRs have missed at least 4 decently thrown passes... 1 of which was for a would be TD.

[mapei]

Bama is going to stall ball too early.

[juise]

Bama is going to stall ball too early.

And they don't have anyone who can create off the dribble. This is a disaster.

[moonpie23]

another texas TD and it's gonna get interesting...

[SupaDave]

Indeed. Downed at the 5 by a touchdown saving toenail tackle by one of the 4 cops...

http://an.tacoda.net/an/tpp.html

[moonpie23]

ooooooooo k....

pucker time for bama....

[dukelifer]

Unbelievable game. The quarterback has gone from deer in the headlights to All American in 3 hours.

Ouch- blindsided! Could be ballgame.

[juise]

That was a brutal Gatorade shower. I guess the adrenaline took over and they lost their shower finesse.

[DevilHorns]

That was a brutal Gatorade shower. I guess the adrenaline took over and they lost their shower finesse.

See how Saban reacted? Sheez I forgot how much I hate him (I'm a dolphins fan, and a lifelong UF fan from Florida).

In my eyes this game would've been Texas' if they had their star QB, but in the end, can't say this game is "tainted."

Post-game interview, just got to say, Colt McCoy is a class act. Its hard not to feel for him.

[Greg_Newton]

Hard not to feel for Colt McCoy in that post-game interview. Tough break for him.

Edit: Hopkins, you beat me to it! Sometimes it's hard to empathize with star athletes, but he really seems like a likable guy.

[-bdbd]

After the Frosh TX QB gets blasted with about 2 minutes left and coughs up the ball to Bama around the 3 yard line....does Bama take their 10-point lead and go classy and take a knee and run out the clock? (or just kick a field goal even?) Nah! "We're having too much fun." So they run three hard running plays, with the first-string of course, to score that critical extra TD that put them up by 16 points with maybe 40 seconds to go... I went from being indifferent to being really angry at Saban and Bama. At least the football gods made them miss the PAT afterwards, as their penance!

Here's hoping for the Duke upset in Wallace Wade next year! Hey, stranger things have happened! And I disagree with the poster saying WW will be all Crimson Red next Fall -- that is one game we should have little trouble selling to Blue-clad fans first! (Though obviously Bama does travel well.)

Let's just beat 'em. So that's a loooong ride back to Alabama...

[Dukeface88]

After the Frosh TX QB gets blasted with about 2 minutes left and coughs up the ball to Bama around the 3 yard line....does Bama take their 10-point lead and go classy and take a knee and run out the clock? (or just kick a field goal even?) Nah! "We're having too much fun." So they run three hard running plays, with the first-string of course, to score that critical extra TD that put them up by 16 points with maybe 40 seconds to go... I went from being indifferent to being really angry at Saban and Bama. At least the football gods made them miss the PAT afterwards, as their penance!

Here's hoping for the Duke upset in Wallace Wade next year! Hey, stranger things have happened! And I disagree with the poster saying WW will be all Crimson Red next Fall -- that is one game we should have little trouble selling to Blue-clad fans first! (Though obviously Bama does travel well.)

Let's just beat 'em. So that's a loooong ride back to Alabama...

TMQ? And yeah, that was a jerkish call. It might be different if it was called to avoid sending a specific player out without having scored in the title game (thinking of Walter Peyton's lack of a superbowl touchdown here), but the only point of that was stat padding for Saban.

I was also disappointed to see McCoy leave; real tough to end a his college career like that. Hopefully the injury won't hurt his draft status too much. There's a silver lining for Texas fans though; after this, nothing is gonna rattle that frosh QB.

See how Saban reacted? Sheez I forgot how much I hate him (I'm a dolphins fan, and a lifelong UF fan from Florida).

In my eyes this game would've been Texas' if they had their star QB, but in the end, can't say this game is "tainted."

Post-game interview, just got to say, Colt McCoy is a class act. Its hard not to feel for him.

Go Gators! Hopefully both my teams get W's against Bama next season.