While it lasts (maybe not very long), here’s the 2013 BCS National Championship Game played between Alabama and Notre Dame on January 7, 2013.
Just in time to brunt the efforts of the media and certain rival message boards’ attempts to dig up dirt on the 100+ players who continue to do everything by the rules.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend, y’all.
Do you know how hard it is to get to a national title game? Saban and Bama not only get there, but they keep coming back. And they keep winning. It is beyond impressive, it's historic.
"I don't think words like 'dynasty' are really words I'm much interested in," Saban said. "We're interested in 'accomplishment' and 'consistency' and 'performance.'"
Sorry, but this is bigger than Saban and his football dictionary. Dynasties are a rarity, and we're living in the middle of one now. Saban can try to pretend it doesn't exist, but that's like trying to ignore the Big Al in the room.
* * *
"We knew one team would break," Alabama defensive end Damion Square said, "and it wasn't going to be us."
It required only five plays for Alabama to find the end zone. Lacy was the sledgehammer, and it was 7-0 after the longest touchdown drive and the first first-quarter touchdown allowed by Notre Dame all season.
The curb-stomping didn't end. McCarron threw a touchdown pass, then set up a T.J. Yeldon score with 25- and 28-yard passes, then dumped a short toss to Lacy that the junior hauled into the end zone. It was a 28-0 lead, arrived at brutally, with special indifference to destiny and fortune.
"They did not dominate us," Nix said. "We just didn't play our ballgame, man. We didn't make tackles. Everything we did or had lined up should have worked."
In whatever context or interpretation, Alabama was destroying everything Notre Dame built over a brilliant season, stomping validation into a million little pieces.
"It felt like we were sinking in quicksand," guard Chris Watt said. "We couldn't get out of it."
* * *
“I don’t know. I really don’t,” said defensive end Stephon Tuitt. “I’m kind of shocked by it that we’re still missing tackles. They did a really good job of being elusive, their backs did. I give them props for that.”
Losing Lewis-Moore didn’t help Notre Dame’s defense, but when the fifth-year senior went down with a serious right knee injury in the third quarter the Irish were already down four touchdowns. Louis Nix played most of the second half with an apparent sprained ankle.
But even at full strength the Irish defense was no match for the Crimson Tide’s mauling offensive line. Alabama won time of possession in the first quarter by more than nine minutes, mounting three touchdown drives against Notre Dame’s one first down.
“We could call the plays that they were going to run,” said linebacker Danny Spond. “We knew what they were going to be doing. We didn’t tackle obviously. That showed itself. They just proved to be the better team today.”
* * *
But once again, the promise Nick Saban made on January 3, 2007 rang true. Alabama is the team you simply do not want to play. Saban’s version of Alabama is a wrecking ball that crushes your hopes and dreams, taking what was a pristine season of glory and smashing it to pieces before your very eyes.
Ask the LSU of 2011, capping a 13-0 season with a 21-0 shut-out at the hands of the Tide.
Ask Texas of 2009, doing the same in the Big 12, only to be slapped into submission.
Ask Georgia of 2012, whose paws were this close to reaching relevance again after 30+ years of irrelevance, only to be outdone in regulation.
And now ask Notre Dame of 2012, wandering for almost 25 years since their last taste of glory.
* * *
The Crimson Tide beat Notre Dame like they stole something. They beat Notre Dame like they were Florida Atlantic. They beat them like they were Florida Atlantic and they stole something.
They beat Notre Dame like they stole Bear Bryant’s houndstooth hat.
For those of a certain generation, this one couldn’t help but reverberate back through history. This was was magically delicious for older Alabama fans.
It won’t make up for 1966 when poll voters denied an unbeaten, untied Alabama team and instead awarded the national title to Notre Dame. Or 1977 when Alabama lost to Notre Dame at the polls ... again.
It won’t make up for that heartbreaking 1973 Sugar Bowl when Notre Dame ruined Alabama’s unbeaten season. Or Notre Dame wins over Bryant teams in 1974, 1976 and 1980.
* * *
Overmatched from the very start, Notre Dame's hopes of going from unranked to undisputed this season ended in a crimson-and-white display of precise football. The Irish were beaten by Alabama 42-14 in the title matchup on Monday night, the only loss in 13 games for a Notre Dame team that few thought would be a championship hopeful when the season began.
''I'm obviously disappointed, not necessarily all that we lost, but just we didn't represent our school, our team, our families the way that we could have,'' Te'o said. ''So in that aspect it's just disappointing. But at the same time I'm proud to be a part of this team. What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger.''
Cliche, sure.
But if anyone can live by those words, it's Te'o, particularly after what he endured over the course of his final college season.
* * *
“Everyone is freaking out about that,” Jones said. “We were trying to bleed the clock a little bit so we got up to the line of scrimmage and there wasn’t much time left on the clock, so we shifted. I had to read the play and recall it, and he got a little bit frustrated.
“He went to the nearest person, which happened to be me. It was no big deal. That’s just our relationship is. We’ve gotten in several group altercations like that in practice.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban said that’s how McCarron is, even to him.
“That’s the kind of relationship I have with him,” Saban said. “AJ is a leader. He’s a competitor. He’s a fiery guy. I think he has a tremendous amount of respect for the competitors who play around him. But I also think that he lets his personality come out, and I think people respect that.
“And I don’t think he does it in a negative way, and I think there’s probably nobody in the world that respects Barrett Jones and what he’s accomplished any more than what AJ does.”
* * *
Yet Alabama's rise inevitably diminishes the conference's continuing domination. Although Slive rightly pointed out that Alabama was 5 yards from a loss to Georgia in the SEC championship game, the Tide didn't lose to the Bulldogs. And with the win Monday night over the Irish, the question the rest of college football asks about the SEC must now be asked within the league, as well:
When will it ever end?
"It can continue for however long we want it," said junior cornerback Dee Milliner, and what's scary is he might be right. As long as the Crimson Tide keeps pushing, it will keep winning.
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With Alabama’s 42-14 win over Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS Championship Game, history was made. If you are a Bama fan.sit back, relax and enjoy this. It comes once in a generation. No other program has won two BCS titles in a row. No other team has won three in four years.
Maybe that comes once in a lifetime.
No other team has been as impressive in doing what they’ve done. In the last three BCS Championship Games played by Alabama, the Tide has won by an average score of 33-11. That’s not just winning.
That’s domination.
Who saw it coming? Not me. I seriously believed that Alabama would struggle to run the football early on. I also believed that Notre Dame would, too. Boy, I was wrong on at least one point, huh?
Dynasty? Can we wait until it’s over, please? Nick Saban shows no signs of going anywhere and if you think this Tide team was good, wait until you see what they field next year. Good is good. Scary good is scary.
Fearsome is fearsome and next year’s team will be as fearsome as any college football team put on the planet. That’s not a brag, you guys. That’s the truth.
Enjoy this win, my fellow Tide fans. It’s truly one for the ages. But there are more to come.
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Unless your big meanies are knocking the other team’s big meanies off the line of scrimmage, you’re in for long night. The game of football is won or lost up front and the BCS Championship will be won by the team that controls the line.
Tonight’s epic clash between Alabama and Notre Dame could be one for the ages. The talking heads and internet pundits want to talk about who has the better quarterback and who has the best wide receivers. Those are important because you won’t win without a good signal caller and you can’t win by throwing to guys who can’t run routes, get open and catch the ball.
The passing game doesn’t work well when the quarterback is running for his life. Similarly, the running game isn’t going anywhere if there are no holes to run through.
Both Alabama and Notre Dame play with big, disciplined and physical football players up front. On both sides of the ball, the starting lineups match up well with their opponents’ starters. In the early going, both teams will have difficulty running the football and long developing pass plays probably won’t get first downs.
If you like high scoring shootouts in championship games, prepare to be bored to death. This is going to be a slobberknocker.
Notre Dame’s defensive front is unquestionably good. But Alabama’s offensive front is a veteran unit that has been playing together virtually intact for two straight seasons. There isn’t a better offensive line in college football today. In this matchup, you have to give the Tide an edge, however slight that edge might be.
Alabama’s defensive front is also unquestionably good, but this season has lacked a dominant pass rusher like Hightower and Upshaw. They have still managed to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks and have the best rushing defense in the country. Notre Dame counters with a beefy offensive line that is fundamentally sound and built much like Alabama’s. It’s not the road grading unit of Alabama, but they execute well and don’t miss many blocks. This matchup is a push for one reason—Alabama has the depth to vary the front seven alignment on any given snap.
That depth is important, because that’s what ultimately provides the edge for Alabama tonight. Nick Saban is in his sixth year at the helm of the Crimson Tide. This is Brian Kelly’s third year. Kelly is still working with players recruited by Charlie Weis. At 12-0 it’s not very hard to argue that he’s been successful in doing so. But Saban has his guys in every position on the two-deep roster.
Except for Calabrese at inside linebacker, all of Notre Dame’s front seven backups are underclassmen. Conversely, four of Bama’s twos on the front seven are upperclassmen and even the underclassmen are physically imposing beasts. Add the fact that the Tide has seen better offensive fronts in the SEC and not only do you have quality depth, it’s experienced depth.
Alabama is a team with very few weaknesses. Notre Dame is a team with few weaknesses too, but the one that stands out is on the depth chart. Bama’s depth translates to versatility on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame is a very good football team but just isn’t built to take advantage of any weakness Alabama shows.
As the game wears on, that depth difference will be made manifest. In the first and second quarters of the game, no one will enjoy tackling Riddick, Atkinson, Lacy or Yeldon. But by the start of the fourth quarter, Notre Dame will find Lacy and Yeldon a lot harder to bring down.
Look for a physical, close game in the first half. It should be a low scoring 10-7-ish halftime score. But by the end of the third quarter, look for the depth issue to really come forward and Alabama start to pull away, ending the game with a huge time of possession advantage in the last stanza. After all, the game of football is won or lost on the line of scrimmage and Alabama should control it.
Alabama 24
Notre Dame 13
Continuing our feature bringing you a pot full of stories from around the country on the upcoming BCS Championship Game. Yesterday was Notre Dame’s turn. Today, it’s Alabama’s. Dig in!
Saban: Bama Players Should 'Honor the Opportunity'
Alabama coach Nick Saban says he and his team "honor the opportunity" to play for a national title.
Alabama’s offensive line is on a roll
The nation's best college football team? That will be answered Monday night when No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Alabama face off in the BCS championship game at Sun Life Stadium. But no one is asking what team owns the country's best offensive line
Shelley, Foster ready if BCS comes down to them
If Monday’s game comes down to Shelley or Foster, they certainly have the experience for it. They’ve split Alabama’s place-kicking duties for three seasons. That covers 39 games, with them combining for 173 extra points and 57 field goals.
"Since that time I feel really good about how our players have responded," Saban says.
T.J. Yeldon is a young man of few words. As a freshman, the Alabama tailback has not been permitted to speak all season per coach Nick Saban's team rules, so his preference for remaining quiet was rather easy.
Need your car washed? Nick Saban would do the job right
Alabama coach talks about the influence of his late father, who owned and operated a service station in a small West Virginia town.
Alabama’s ‘Rudy’ appreciates his chance to wear crimson jersey
Notre Dame has “Rudy,” but Alabama has Levi Cook, a well-liked walk-on whose story isn’t nearly as well-known. If you don’t know about “Rudy,” we’ll give you the mini-recap: It’s a popular 1993 movie inspired by former Notre Dame walk-on Rudy Ruettiger. In the movie, Ruettiger’s teammates plead for the coach to put him in a game, and when he gets a chance for one play against Georgia Tech, he sacks the quarterback. The team carries him off the field.
Alabama's Landon Collins said mother has gotten over his choosing Tide over LSU: video
Landon Collins talks about his freshman season at Alabama prior to BCS championship game.
Tide's Sims embraces role of Irish QB in practice
"He's really the key this week," Alabama senior linebacker Nico Johnson said Saturday. "Their quarterback is very good, and Blake has given us a great look. He's given us good looks throughout the whole year, but he kind of elevated it and took it upon himself because he knows how important his role is. We're thankful for him."
Fourth period benefits UA offense, defense - Alabama
Fourth period isn't play period for the University of Alabama football team.
Alabama assistant coach Burton Burns enjoying another BCS championship ride
New Orleans native Burton Burns talks about his career as an Alabama assistant coach.
Tide quarterback’s second title trip enhanced by brother’s presence
At the end of his second season as starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide, AJ McCarron is no stranger to playing for the BCS National Championship. But there’s something different for him about this year’s experience. Last year, AJ’s younger brother Corey watched him lead the Tide to the national title. This year, Corey is AJ’s teammate.
One of the most popular features on this blog is the Morning Six Pack, where we bring you a fresh set of clickable and quotable stories on college football from media outlets and bloggers from around the country. The next couple of days will also bring you a Pot Luck of media hype stories on the historic BCS Championship Game between Alabama and Notre Dame Monday night.
Eat up!
Kelly skirts talk of NFL jobs, focuses on prepping Irish for Bama
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly addressed rumors regarding his departure to the NFL, leaving open the possibility there may have been contact with his agent.
An Early Primer on the BCS National Championship Game
With kick-off in the BCS National Championship Game a mere two days away, the official game preview will follow on Monday morning, but for the time being a quick primer on where we currently stand on several fronts.
Brian Kelly on the NFL: ‘It’s flattering if there is interest’
Like just about any coach, one would think Kelly would listen to an NFL organization (or, his agent, to whom he publicly deferred for such matters) if he received a call. Whether he’d answer the call, so to speak, is another matter entirely and one that is too early to tell one way or the other.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly made tremendous impact on 2011 visit to Huntsville
Kelly made contribution to tornado relief work and dazzled local Irish fans.
Video: Nix and Tuitt the keys for Irish?
Mark Schlabach and Matt Fortuna look at the Notre Dame defense and how Stephon Tuitt is the key to beating Alabama.
Breaking Down Notre Dame: Receivers and Tight Ends
With our examinations of the Notre Dame defensive line, linebackers, secondary, and offensive line now out of the way, we will move on today to take a look at the pass catchers in the Notre Dame offense. The Irish Tight Ends.
Stephon Tuitt has come a long way to have a chance at winning the BCS championship as a key member of Notre Dame's defense. The distance has made him appreciate the journey, Mark Schlabach writes.
Irish quarterback Golson ready for spotlight
Everett Golson has played on the big stage, but Monday he will play on the largest stage in all of college football.
BCS title game: Irish look for blueprint to beat Tide's secondary
It might not have been intended as a slight, but it was the first salvo fired in the war of words between second-ranked Alabama and top-ranked Notre Dame.
Notre Dame notebook: Fighting Irish working on red-zone issues
Notre Dame has had trouble scoring when it reaches the red zone this season, and improving in that area has been a point of emphasis as it prepares for Monday's BCS title game.
Four Irish runners have 2,286 yards
While Alabama uses tailbacks Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon as a 1-2 rushing punch, Notre Dame employs tailbacks Theo Riddick, Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III as well as quarterback Everett Golson.
BCS Championship Game will (probably) be won in the trenches
Texas A&M game was decided more by busted plays, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart says.
There is only one similarity between the two teams—and that is that they both had won the title the previous year and were seeking history in repeating. Beyond that, there is simply nothing even remotely similar about the two teams or the two programs.
Outside the state of Alabama and a few observant media members, the consensus belief was that Alabama was no match for the mighty Hurricanes and that the Tide would be swept away in a sea of green and orange glory. Twenty years later, there are plenty of people who not only give the Fighting Irish a chance to beat Alabama, some people are picking them outright to win.
In the run-up to the 1993 Sugar Bowl, Miami players and media figures did a lot of talking. A lot of talking, and a lot of pretty disrespectful trash talk was thrown about. It could be heard in player interviews and it could be heard in the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Twenty years later, every one of the Alabama players speaking to the media in interviews have heaped praise and respect on their upcoming opponent. There is no trash talk and no bulletin board material being provided by the 2012 Crimson Tide.
The 1992 Miami team was a loosely coagulated, largely unregulated bunch of thugs. Although immensely talented, the team was unprepared and undisciplined and ran through a fairly easy Big East schedule, The 2012 Alabama team is all discipline and all business. It is one of the least penalized teams in the country and doesn’t have any thug factor whatsoever. Its schedule included the routinely brutal SEC murderers row. While the 2012 installment of the SEC West wasn’t the gauntlet it has been in years past, there is nothing “easy” about playing in this conference.
The 1992 Miami squad was still an upstart, historically speaking. Despite having won national titles beginning a decade beforehand, the Hurricane program was still nouvelle riche. They were brash, cocky and couldn’t act like they’d been there because they hadn’t for very long. The Crimson Tide isn’t nouvelle anything. This program has been winning conference and national titles since Calvin Coolidge was President and won its first title two years before Miami football was even a good idea.
If people want to talk about programs seeking to establish themselves among the historical dynasties in college football, then the Miami discussion needs to be had in the same breath as the ones about Nebraska, Oklahoma and the Alabama and Notre Dame programs that had similar runs of greatness. But the comparisons need to stop right there because aside from the strings of championship wins, there is nothing similar between 1992 Miami and 2012 Alabama. Nothing.
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Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee have some of the longest-standing uniform traditions in the Southeastern Conference. So it was no surprise to see that the new Nike uniforms to be worn by the Crimson Tide on Monday night won’t change much from their typical “away” attire.
To answer the question before it’s asked: Yes, there will be player names on the jerseys. “Alabama” is just a place holder.
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It may seem like an eternity. We are still about three and a half weeks away from a date with destiny and there are enough point-by-point, position-by-position analyses of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Notre Dame Fighting Irish to clog the intertubes.
And then, along comes this hype video from TJRich.
Those of you who aren’t Bama fans are simply going to be disgusted and won’t bother watching beyond a few seconds (if it all). There go those arrogant Bammers again.
Those of you who bleed Crimson are about to be treated to that spine-tingling sensation that can only be cured by running through a wall, or something.
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Both Alabama and Notre Dame ticket offices were overwhelmed with ticket requests, so if anyone not at the top of the donor lists want to see this historic matchup between traditional titans of college football, third party resellers are pretty much the only option left.
SeatCrunch.com has been a fantastic supporter of IBCR and our sister site, www.southernfriedsportsnet.com. They’ve donated $100 gift cards to worthy causes—including a fundraiser for a cancer patient and other great promotions.
There are no hidden fees at SeatCrunch. All prices you see at the link are up-front. There are absolutely no processing, handling or other fees. You pay the price shown and shipping ($14.00 Fed Ex two-day air). And of course, all tickets listed are backed by a 100% Guarantee.
IBCR reader and Twitter follower @elizsim1 used a $100 credit to buy tickets to the SEC Championship Game, where she saw the dramatic finish between Alabama and Georgia. Her experience couldn’t have been better.
If you’re planning to go to the game and you’ll be buying your tickets through a third party reseller, please give SeatCrunch a try. You’ll get what you pay for at a competitive price and you’ll support this blog and all we do here.
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Just because there were so few common opponents—a frequent outcome when pitting two teams from different conferences or geographies—doesn’t rule out an objective analysis of how those teams might fare against each other based on how they’ve done against other top opponents.
That’s what uafan4life has done over at Tidefans.com:
The Crimson Tide Offense comes in at #2 in the Total Scoring Offense Rating, trailing only Oregon. While Alabama is only 15th in the Country in Points Per Game and 37th in TD percentage, the Crimson Tide is 3rd in Plays per 10 points, 2nd in driving efficiency, and 1st in scoring differentials.
So, when you look at the raw stats and rankings for the Scoring Offenses and Defenses of Alabama and Notre Dame, there are four aspects to consider when weighing those numbers:
1) Alabama's Offense hasn't faced any Defenses better than Notre Dame's but has faced 4 Defenses in the same "zip code", i.e. within 25 spots, and has performed exceptionally well against those teams.
2) Notre Dame's Offense hasn't faced any Defenses better than Alabama's but has also faced 4 Defenses in the same "zip code", i.e. within 25 spots, and has performed exceptionally well against those teams.
3) Alabama's Defense has faced 8 Offenses that are better than Notre Dame's and has performed very well against those teams.
4) Notre Dame's Defense has faced 0, yes Zero, Offenses better than Alabama's and only faced 1 Defense in the same "zip code" and, while they performed very well against that Offense, that Offense was missing their starting Quarterback.And, just for kicks, if you combine all of the Total Scoring Offense & Defense ratings and differentials and apply them to the Alabama - Notre Dame unit match-ups, the numbers add up to a predicted score of:
Don’t say you weren’t warned—this is hardcore analysis.
CORRECTION: I had forgotten about Michigan—the two teams’ only common opponent. Thanks to Grey for pointing it out in the comment section.
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Via the New York times, of course this could happen. Undefeated teams have been left out before.
At this point in the season, though, Palm said he could not recall a major undefeated team leapfrogging another major undefeated team. Not in the B.C.S. era, anyway.
He pointed to Auburn in 2004. That season, Southern California and Oklahoma finished 1-2 in the polls, same as they finished the regular season. The Trojans ultimately beat the Sooners to win a championship, much to the chagrin of Auburn, which also finished the year undefeated. That was the only time Palm could recall a season that ended with two major undefeated teams since the birth of the B.C.S.
“That sort of jumping doesn’t occur,” Palm said. “No matter how bad Auburn fans wanted it. Anyway, if this wasn’t Notre Dame, we wouldn’t even be discussing it. If this was Ohio State, or U.S.C., we wouldn’t be talking about it.”
My bet is that there won’t be four BCS automatic qualifiers without a blemish on the record. Alabama has its epic showdown Saturday night with LSU in Baton Rouge. Kansas State has dangerous games ahead vs. Oklahoma State, TCU and Baylor. Notre Dame still has USC, as does Oregon. Oregon is a good shot to have to face USC a second time in the Pac-12 championship game. The keys seem to be whether a one-deep but otherwise talented and well-coached Trojans team can stay healthy enough to win one of those games and whether Alabama can survive Death Valley.
The teams with the best defenses are the ones most likely to survive unscathed. Notre Dame has a real one. Alabama has the best one in the country. Kansas State and Oregon also field good defenses but please don’t kid yourself—neither one of these is even on the same level as Alabama, Florida or LSU.
With rare exception, the BCS selection system for the Championship Game has done a good job of picking the top two teams in the country, regardless of record. It will probably do so again. While I don’t see it likely that two teams get left in the cold, it could still happen.
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By: @LivingCrimson
To have a tradition like ours means that you always have to show class …
Tradition is that which allows us to prevail in ways that we could not otherwise.
F. David Matthews
Former University of Alabama President
11th United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
From the 2012 Alabama Football Media Guide, the University of Alabama’s first football team in 1892 included William B. Bankhead, future U.S. Speaker of the House, and Bibb Graves, future governor of Alabama. Initially known as the “Crimson White,” the team officially became the “Crimson Tide” in 1907. Led by Brown University alum Wallace Wade to its first national championship in the 1926 Rose Bowl, the dynasty quickly began to roll with two more national championships under Wade’s tenure. Following tradition, Coach Frank Thomas, a former quarterback for Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, brought home two more national championships. Numbered among the Tide greats that played for Thomas were Harry Gilmer, Don Hutson (a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame) and Paul “Bear” Bryant. Bear Bryant became Coach Bryant and went on to win another six national championships for the Tide, retiring as the winningest coach in college football history. A former Bryant player (Texas A&M) and defensive coach, Coach Gene Stallings led Alabama to its 12th national championship. Coach Nick Saban has brought home another two national championships in three years, and is the national-title-winningest head coach in the BCS era with three (two at Alabama, one at LSU).
The Crimson Tide team motto for 2012 is “Be Legendary” as it seeks to win a third national championship in four years, a would-be historical feat in the annals of college football history.
Tradition. Built by Bama.By: @LivingCrimson
Coach Saban, Nico Johnson, Barrett Jones, and Chance Warmack
Fortune Magazine, on newsstands September 24th, includes a brilliant look at Coach Saban’s success. Revealing many new details about “The Process,” included are eye-opening descriptions of Saban’s innovations and methodological approach to even the smallest of minutiae.
Following is a lighthearted look at highlights of the piece, because the real thing is as intense as the man himself.
◘ ◘ ◘
This article strikes me like the big reveal in Ninjago when we learn Zane, Ninja of Ice, is really a robot. Nick Saban IS. NOT. HUMAN. He’s probably a master of Spinjitzu, too.
Roll, Process, Roll.
By: @LivingCrimson
Prior to the Alabama vs. LSU beatdown re-match in New Orleans, we wrote that the Tide’s resident inked-up Aussie wanted a new tat.
After Bama won the BCS National Championship, we wrote about the entire Williams family proudly sharing in the celebration with their new title tattoos.
Finally, courtesy of BamaOnline, we now have a photo of Jesse’s own championship salute. We like that he left additional space on the other side of the A logo for 2013…
Jesse is the only signee from the 2011 Bama signing class to earn a starting spot in every game, particularly impressive that it was a starting position on the Tide’s history-making defense.
“Williams arrived in January of 2011 from Western Arizona Community College, went through spring practice and grabbed a starting spot right away. He started all 13 games in the national championship season and had his three best games against Alabama’s three best opponents.
He had five tackles each in regular-season contests against Arkansas and LSU and then two tackles in the BCS National Championship Game rematch with the Bengal Tigers. His ability to clog the line is considered an important reason Alabama led the nation in rushing defense.” – Mark Edwards
This season, Jesse moves from defensive end to nose tackle. He has been named to the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik, Lombardi, Nagurski and Outland Trophy awards. He has also been named to the preseason All-SEC list and several preseason All-American lists. He is projected to go in the 1st-2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Oh, and you might have heard, he bench presses 600 POUNDS!!
It’s going to be fun watching him work towards Alabama’s 15th national championship.
Roll Tide!
All comments can be directed to @LivingCrimson on Twitter or Facebook.
By: @LivingCrimson
The official 2012 Alabama Media Guide covers are outstanding. But what about the discarded proposals the public never sees?
A former employee of Bryant-Denny Stadium (and a big fan of the song “Take the Money and Run”) was kind enough to send us the alternative Tide covers, which were summarily rejected by the University’s marketing department.
We’re not sure why these covers didn’t make the final cut. As reigning national champs and card-carrying members of the SEC Rivalry Cabal, we think they’re pretty spiffy.
Trent Richardson became the first Tide player to win the Doak Walker Award in a season highlighted by his inhuman evasion of the entire Ole Miss defense. Now Trent is preparing for his first NFL game, while two-sport Senquez Golson (who before last season turned down $1.4 million from the Boston Red Sox) readies for another season in purgatory as a Rebel Black Bear. **No ankles were permanently harmed in the making of this picture.**
Michael Dyer famously bragged before last year’s Iron Bowl: “This year we're not going to spot anybody 24. We're going to play Auburn football.” Alabama went to halftime with -- all together now -- 24 points, and went on to squash the everliving daylights out of Auburn with a final score of 42-14. Dyer is now an Arkansas State Red Wolf and may soon be transferring yet again. **One team reverted back to its tired old excuses in the making of this picture.**
In the rematch with LSU and with the National Championship on the line, the Alabama offense targeted CB “Honey Bragger” by throwing over his head and outplaying him physically. Tyrann Mathieu took to Twitter for his disappointed fans: “Can anyone bring up another game where you felt as if I was exposed beside the NC game! I didn't think so? That was one game, 4 catches 0TDs.” He left out the part about those catches making downs to set up field goals…and also being manhandled by Trent Richardson in the first Alabama vs. LSU game in Tuscaloosa. **One ego was crushed in the making of this picture.**
Alabama’s 14th national championship accompanied a 21-0 score in the Superdome on LSU’s home turf, the first ever shutout in BCS history. My LSU friend Carter “The Power” Bryant summed it up best:
“I could name more kinds of "Whoop-Ass" flavors the Crimson Tide opened up on January 9th than Bubba Blue could name kinds of shrimp in “Forrest Gump.” After the game, I saw the grounds crew of the Superdome having to scrub the chalk outlines of the LSU offensive line off the turf. Thank goodness the red confetti covered it quickly so it wouldn't be more evident.”
**One NFL career was thwarted in the making of this picture.**
I’d love to see your farked up Bama media covers. Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook. Roll Tide!
When the BCS commissioners flesh out the details of the still gestating four-team seeded playoff, the one group that should kept far away from the selection committee is the media.
The sports media folks already have venues for making their influence felt when it comes to ranking college football teams. Their print, broadcast and internet platforms give them a loud enough voice, but they also have this thing called the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
While there’s less conflict of interest in the AP Poll than there is in the USAToday Coaches Poll, there’s enough bias and outright incompetence to write books about.
For an extreme example, have a look at Craig James’ AP ballot.
Before anyone accuses me of unfairly using an anecdotal example as evidence of general media incompetence, consider this question: How trustworthy is a poll that would even consider giving Craig James a voice?
Thomas Watts at BamaHammer.com has an excellent post about the wisdom of having a selection committee choose the four teams who ultimately play for the national championship. He’s got a point—the human element of the BCS formula is responsible for matching Alabama against LSU in the 2012 BCS Championship Game. If the BCS got the matchup wrong, it wasn’t the computers’ fault.
It was the two polls. For all intents and purposes, what are polls if they aren’t just a big fat selection committee?
Do we really want to concentrate the human element into a smaller group and dramatically increase the chance that bias or incompetence screw it up?
The James example helps to illustrate the folly of including media on the selection panel. James wasn’t clever enough to conceal his level of asshattery. But there are many horribly biased members of the media who are clever enough and including even one or two of them on a panel of this importance is a risk we shouldn’t be willing to accept.
Don’t get me wrong. There are capable and at least superficially unbiased members of the media. Andy Staples would be a good one. Stewart Mandel is another. Tony Barnhart is trustworthy. Ivan Maisel is thoughtful and seems fair-minded. As much as I would like to see the analytical competence of Gary Danielson participating in the selection process, it wouldn’t be worth the risk of having someone like Skip Bayless or Jason Whitlock muck everything up.
If you’re going to have panel members who aren’t former coaches, athletic directors or conference commissioners, you’re better served by having bloggers on it. There are more of them to choose from, they’re at least as knowledgeable as your nationally syndicated morning talk show host and unlike said host, their bias is as clear as the colors of their blog background. Rather than concealing their bias they embrace it without letting it get in the way of delivering the truth.
Better still, go find six avid college football fans from around the country. Joe Sixpack consumes college football all day Saturday, from the opening credits of Game Day to the midnight wrap up on Sportscenter. They’re the real experts. They’re better equipped to pick the best four teams than the guy who turns a cute phrase in a thrice-weekly column and the guy who bloviates for hours on end during his radio broadcast. For far too many of those knuckleheads, picking the best four consists of “eenie, meenie, minie moe, they stay home and they shall go” then stroking each other on Twitter about their thoughtful and difficult selections.
We should recognize that empanelling a selection committee will introduce bias to the process and that there will be controversy over who gets those coveted last two spots in the four-team playoff. Let’s not feed the inferno of outrage by including people who already have sufficient venues of influence. The risk of some clown getting in there and screwing it all up is too great.
UPDATE: Just moments after this post went up, CBS’ Dennis Dodd posted his recommendation for a 50-person selection committee. The overwhelming majority? Media members.
The most glaring omission? Andy Staples. The nuttiest inclusion? Mike Bianchi or Glenn Guilbeau in a tie.
I rest my case.
UPDATE II: Bruce Feldman reads IBCR. Or, great minds think alike.
With one press release, Mike Slive shows why he is the Jedi Master of The Deal and Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delany is just another politician.
The deal with the Big 12 does four things:
Delany and PAC-12 Commissioner Larry Scott have both expressed strong desire to maintain their relationship with the Rose Bowl, which itself had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the BCS rotation. Their goal is to have at least one of the semifinal games in the new playoff played in Pasadena (assuming that the Big 10 and PAC-12 can both get teams in the four team field).
Hypothetically, a scenario is possible wherein the Big 10, PAC-12 and ACC all get final four berths along with Notre Dame at large. While that hasn’t happened yet, it’s certainly within the realm of possibilities. This is especially true if teams not named Notre Dame must be conference champs and the teams are selected by a human committee in some smoky backroom in Indianapolis. The folks who’ve watched six straight SEC teams win the BCS Championship were drooling over this; praying for it to happen, even.
Until Friday afternoon.
In the doomsday scenario above, a highly ranked SEC team will play a highly ranked Big 12 team on New Year’s Day, in prime time. Maybe the winning team won’t hoist a crystal ball, but it might host the AP Trophy while the two conferences rake in the cash.
Your move, Jim Delany.
After reading the elegant post at BamaHammer.com urging the Southeastern Conference to resist Jim Delany’s attempt to manipulate the college football postseason, I decided to grant myself permission to reprint the following, which appeared in this space on February 29, 2012.
College football fans should not be subjected to this nonsense. We don’t want the highest ranked conference champions to square off in a four team playoff. We want the four best teams to play for the championship, and nothing short of that is an improvement over the system in place now.
NOTHING.
![[image%255B3%255D.png]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4pkLXCGWC6mrHbHsUuqGMc4bZH6UCfmDl9x_Nk64p0q4srArCBiSfH83U9VWJ4T1eXDSml1LqsQIUTXoMvniYOlmqpzRZDmyAHWrtFea2388U7GaSNOsSZznq8aW5RSwlmC3QpqPypA/s1600/image%25255B3%25255D.png)
No, Stewart Mandel. You are not on an island full of Alabama fans. You are squarely in the neighborhood of common sense and good reason. The requirement that all of the participants in a four-team FBS playoff be conference champions—which shall henceforth be referred to derogatorily as the “Kramer Rule”—is a bad idea.
It’s bad on many different levels, too.
To start with, such a requirement is an arbitrary standard because all conferences are not the same size or have equal levels of competition. The Big East Champion is not the same as the Southeastern Conference Champion, who is not the same as the Big 12 Champion. Rewarding a 9-3 Big East Champion while excluding an 11-1 SEC West runner-up is arbitrary.
The current BCS faces imminent antitrust litigation from Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who will challenge the BCS under the Sherman Antitrust Act for arbitrarily limiting competition. Do you really want to make Shurtleff’s case easier by adding even more arbitrariness to the selection process?
Of course not.
Secondly, what to do about Notre Dame? The school holds a chair at the same table as the conference commissioners of the SEC, PAC-12, ACC, Big 12 and Big East. Imposing a conference champions only rule arbitrarily excludes Notre Dame because as an independent, they cannot be a conference champion.
So with a wink and a nod, do you make an exception for the Fighting Irish? Should the four teams in the playoff be conference champions plus Notre Dame if they otherwise meet BCS Bowl eligibility standards? That gives college football’s perennial media darling an advantage not afforded to any other school in any other conference (including mid-majors in the WAC, Mountain West and Conference USA).
I guarantee you that if Notre Dame is 9-3 or 10-2, the old school media will bang the drum loudly and make sure that they’re ranked highly enough to get in the playoff.
Good luck selling that, Mr. Kramer.
Third, the fans won’t stand for it as soon as they realize what would have happened in 2011 had there been a conference champions only, four-team playoff. It would have pitted No. 3 Oklahoma State against No. 5 Oregon and No. 1 LSU vs. No. 10 Oregon. No Stanford, no Alabama, no Arkansas. Fans clamored for the two best teams to be paired against each other for the championship two decades ago. They weren’t asking for the two best conference champions.
By extension, fans won’t care to see the four highest ranked conference champions in a four-team playoff. If they demanded that the two highest ranked teams be paired in 1992, they’ll holler just as loudly for the four highest ranked teams in 2012.
Fourth, money talks. When the conference commissioners start cutting nuts and putting details of a new postseason plan together, CBS and ESPN will counsel their partners about installing a plan that puts good inventory on the schedule, not some high-brow notion of inclusiveness and “fairness.” The public and the media might think it’s “more fair” to include a 10th ranked conference champion in a playoff, but that doesn’t mean college football fans will buy tickets or watch the game.
Which playoff game would you rather watch: Alabama vs Oklahoma State, or LSU vs. Oregon in a rematch? If you’re a TV executive, you already know the answer to that question and you’re already showing the commissioners how much damage could be done by pursuing such folly.
Fifth, there is a big difference between “winning the case” and “not getting sued,” which takes us back to Shurtleff’s pending lawsuit against the BCS. The BCS is vulnerable on antitrust grounds, but that doesn’t mean Shurtleff will win (or lose) his case. Deciding to reduce the arbitrary nature of BCS selection by instituting a four-team playoff reduces that vulnerability. It’s a lot easier to argue having four teams with access to the championship is an improvement over only two. Why give Shurtleff his bullets back by substituting one arbitrary standard for another?
If you institute a four-team playoff and you make sure that the four highest ranked teams are chosen regardless of conference affiliation or conference championship status, you’ve probably eliminated the entire basis for Shurtleff’s complaint. Not getting sued is the right course of action. That’s doubly true if the only requirement for gaining access is winning enough to be ranked in the top four.
Even Notre Dame and Utah should be happy with that.
Various reports have the conference big wigs putting a specific proposal before the FBS presidents in June. The playoff zealots and BCS anarchists are beside themselves with glee—they’ve already counted all of the chickens.
Assuming that the conference chiefs can agree on a workable and sensible model, and assuming that the presidents endorse and adopt the plan, the danger lies in what becomes of the playoff in the not-so-distant future.
Scarbinsky describes the Football Championship Division’s latest proposal:
It'll include, not four teams, but 24 teams.
It'll extend an automatic bid to every conference that wants one, and the rest of the spots in the field will be at-large bids extended by a selection committee.
The committee will seed the top eight teams, give them first-round byes and award them home games in the second round.
This, as Krazy3 explains, represents a desire for inclusion rather than excellence.
This country was built on the ideal of equal opportunity. Everyone has a chance to succeed and the best of the best are handsomely rewarded. There are nice parting gifts for those who fall a bit shy of the mark. But not everyone can enjoy the fruits of others’ labor. There is no dishonor in losing to a superior opponent and you are not entitled to stand on the same dais with him and bask in his glory.
Some have fewer opportunities and have to work harder to earn their success. Others have better opportunities and have a shorter path to glory. That’s life. It’s not fair, but the only people who still believe life should be fair are kindergartners and leftists.
We ought not be entering the territory where equal rewards are handed out like trophies at kindergarten basketball camps. Feel-good leftists like Buzz Bissinger can’t comprehend why competition should allow the emergence of a single winner. In their narrow little minds, if sport can’t be for the greater good of all participants, then it should simply be banned.
Krazy points out that the No. 4 team has rarely been worthy of a shot at the national championship, and it hasn’t happened yet in the history of the BCS. The BCS bowls that don’t host the championship game sometimes make boneheaded decisions on who they invite to their games, but the BCS has succeeded in its original goal of putting the two best teams on the same field to play for the national championship.
The BCS doesn’t work perfectly but it does work. No system conceived by the human mind is perfect and the BCS hasn’t been without controversy. Does anyone think that a four team bracket won’t escape controversy? If Jim Delany has his way, will the model be an improvement? “Hell no.”
The BCS has had the incidental effect of placing college football in the forefront of public attention. College football is arguably the nation’s second favorite sport, trailing only the NFL in national following and popularity. But the game of college football is nothing like the game played on Sundays. Accordingly, its post season shouldn’t be patterned after the NFL playoffs. There is no Super Bowl in college football and duplication will lead to destruction.
Mark my words.
It should be noted that I disagree on one point with Krazy. I believe a four team playoff is the right idea because while history hasn’t produced a winner from the No. 4 spot yet, the conference realignments and scheduling schemes being concocted over the next two years may well do so. It’s prudent to plan for a legitimate slate of four contenders and a scenario where all three games are pick’ems.
There will never be a legitimate slate of six contenders. Or eight, or any other number greater than four. Once you step on that slope, you’re on your way down to handing out trophies at the end of the season and simply rewarding people for showing up.
