The Right Team Won (It All)

The SEC title game was the real championship. The BCS championship was a 3+hour coronation. But the same formula won both games.

In an era with spread offenses and dual-threat quarterbacks, Nick Saban's team doesn't do wrinkles or tricks. They set you up with a power running game, which puts a smart QB in position to find NFL-caliber receivers downfield. And the offensive line does their job brilliantly as well.

Let's examine Alabama's four 1st Half drives to go up 28-0 at intermission:

1. 5 plays, 82 yards (Lacy 3 runs for 31 yards, 20 yard TD)

2. 10 plays, 61 yards (alternated 5 runs and 5 passes)

3. 8 plays, 80 yards (5 Yeldon runs, McCarron: 3-3, 63 yards)

4. 9 plays, 71 yards (5 runs, Lacy catch-and-run-and-spin for TD)

The game was effectively over at that point. AJ McCarron's numbers were gaudy at the end of the night: 20-28, 264 yards, 4 TD. And you have to give him his due. He's got two championships now, and is much more than a game manager. He's a weapon.

But there's no question the MVP of the game was Eddie Lacy. As he ran over, through, and around Notre Dame's vaunted defense, he sucked their will as well as all of their attention, which opened up everything else.

And here's a tip when Lacy goes pro and skips his senior season: take him on your fantasy team. He is obviously a guy who can carry the load and catch it out of the backfield. But also, he doesn't have the wear-and-tear that an every down back (think Marcus Lattimore) has endured. He hasn't needed to.

Lacy's career high for carries came in both the SEC and BCS championship games: 20.

Again it bears repeating, in an era when coaches a re-inventing the wheel each year in college football, Nick Saban sticks to the system. Repeating indeed.

Sports And Weather, Together

Much has been made over the years of sports teams and their connotations toward various ethnicities, primarily Native Americans.

But what about weather? Something so destructive and remorseless is often hailed and cheered on in college and professional athletics.

The Miami Hurricanes come to mind. As a college sports producer/writer, I find myself frequently looking to make a play on words with team nicknames.

"Hurricane Warning" was the theme song for the 'Canes when they upset Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl.

Ironically, "Rock You Like A Hurricane" was a huge hit released by Scorpions in the same year.


But Miami isn't alone, there are plenty of team nicknames and logos that exploit cruel and soulless meteorological fury. Sometimes they achieve massive successes.

The Oklahoma City Thunder reached the NBA finals this year. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004. And who could forget the 2010 WNBA champion Seattle Storm?

The Alabama Crimson Tide is also tied to the weather, though a little more complicated, especially for simple indoor types like myself.

There's also the Iowa State Cyclones in college sports, and the San Jose Earthquakes in soccer. Each are associated with destruction and despair. Far more devastation than the North Dakota Fighting Sioux could ever cause.

Oh, It's On

College Football. Where passions begin at such a young age, and lines are drawn in the sand.

In this case, it's the McElroys against the McCoys. Son sports the colors of his mom's alma mater while I choose the colors of my adopted one. Or at least one of them - you can include Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Clemson, and even Auburn (yes I said it!) as great places where I've logged enough work and play hours to put towards an honorary degree.

But we'll put the family battle aside. My wife will be at work, and my son will be asleep. This is about validation for both the 2008 and 2009 Longhorns.

Last year's team was denied the opportunity to represent the Big 12 South in the conference title game despite a win over Oklahoma and a loss on the last play to Texas Tech. It's the only blemish in 2 years against Colt McCoy's 25-1 record as a starter.

McCoy lost out on the Heisman this year to Alabama's Mark Ingram, mostly because he was made to look very mediocre against a Nebraska defense that validated itself by shutting out one of the Pac-10's top offenses in a 33-0 rout of Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.

Alabama's real difference-maker won't be Ingram in this game, but rather QB Greg McElroy. The kid form Southlake Carroll threw only 4 INTs and was sacked only 13 times in 13 games in his first year as a starter.

And Alabama has (sigh) the best coach in college football, there's really no doubt about it. But that's kind of the point. Nick Saban, known in some TV production circles as "The Nicktator" has coached B+ talent onto an A+ season. Texas has the A+ talent. McElroy couldn't go to Texas because he wouldn't play there.

But coaching is overrated, right? Just a few years ago, Mack Brown couldn't win the big one. Now he's looking at a twin for the Texas trophy case.

Texas 30, Alabama 20. As they say in Texas, "Sorry son."