BCS CG Grades

Make no mistake about it: we are living in a golden age of Alabama football.

What Nick Saban has accomplished is clearly equal to the legacies of Wallace Wade and Frank Thomas. Wade put southern football on the national map and won the grudging respect of elite opinion. Saban has almost single-handedly redrawn the college football map so that the rest of the country is looking at the Southeastern Conference and longing to be good enough to be competitive. Thomas built upon the foundation laid by Wade and helped launch the careers of great players and coaches. Saban's coaching tree is loaded with fruit just as the NFL is stocked with future Hall Of Famers born of The Process.

Coach Stallings' achievement with the 1992 championship will always be treasured in the hearts of Tide fans because he rescued the program from the death spiral of the Bill Curry era. He will always be one of the greatest coaches of the modern era, but with the advantage of time, it is clear that his tenure was merely an oasis in a desert whose barren landscape stretches between 1983 and 2007.

Purists-which means most Tide fans born before 1960-are loath to compare any member of the coaching fraternity favorably to Paul Bryant. But, the time has come to admit the truth: Saban is the Paul Bryant of his era.

Before his life's work in complete it may well be that Saban has as many national titles as Bryant. After all, he is two-thirds along the way and his closest rival can claim only half as many. Saban might even match Bryant's total at Alabama, which would give him an unequaled seven titles on his resume. For Saban, however, the result is not what matters; it is the pursuit. The work. The Process.

Speaking with the ESPN Game Day anchors last night, he was asked the customary question about how long he would allow himself to enjoy the victory over Notre Dame. "What's tomorrow-Tuesday?" Saban replied. "We will get back to work on Wednesday. We are behind in recruiting and have a lot to do."

No wonder Urban Meyer, who was guesting on the Game Day set, looked like he was ready to check back into the sanitarium. My Son And Heir questioned whether Meyer's doctors knew that he was in the same building with Saban. After predicting an Irish win in the pre game, Meyer was unstinting in his criticism of Notre Dame's play and by halftime had written them off entirely.

Does anyone seriously think that Meyer was watching that game wishing that Ohio State was not banned from post-season play? I suppose that if the Buckeyes weren't suffering sanctions last night's match up might have featured the Nuts and the Irish. Meyer would have been perfectly happy with that arrangement, but it was obvious that he was not relishing a game anytime soon against Alabama.

In stark contrast to Meyer, stood ND's Brian Kelly. Trailing 28-0 at the half, he handled the on-field reporter's question with wit and refreshing candor. What will it take for your team to turn things around in the second half? "I really don't know. Maybe Alabama won't come back."

He was also very gracious in the post-game interviews, praising his seniors for what the team accomplished during the season, and giving all the credit to Alabama for a well deserved victory. His graceful comments set the tone for how his players handled questions. They were obviously disappointed but made no excuses. Each one acknowledged Alabama as the better team.

Just how much better? Way much better!

Alabama did nothing last night that it has not done all year: run the ball, throw off play-action, mix in the occasional deep ball, stop the run, pressure the quarterback, play tight coverage. But, last night, Alabama did all of that with better execution, especially the offense, which may have played its best game of the year.

Consider this: the Tide scored touchdowns on its first three offensive possessions which came on drives of 82, 61 and 80 yards. It scored on its first offensive possession of the second half on a drive of 97 yards. Each of its 6 drives in excess of 40 yards [82, 61, 80, 71, 97, 86] produced a touchdown. By the end of the first quarter, Alabama had 200 yards of total offense. For the game, Eddie Lacy (140) and TJ Yeldon (108) each rushed for more yards than the Irish defense allowed the average opponent in 12 regular season games. The Alabama offense scored more touchdowns from the red-zone than the Irish had allowed all season.

In New Orleans, the defense was the star of the night, while the offense did its part to control the clock and score when opportunities presented. This year, it was the defense that played the supporting role. Coach Saban remarked several times over the last few days about how this year's team exceeded expectations. That is particularly true of the defense. Do you think that Everett Golson would have been able to throw for 270 yards if Courtney Upshaw, Dont'a Hightower and Dre Kirkpatrick were still on the Alabama roster? I don't. And I also don't think that A&M would have won in Tuscaloosa, or that Johnny Manziel would have won at the New York Athletic Club if the players from the 2011 defense who still had collegiate eligibility remaining had passed on the NFL draft last April.

The 2013 defense may not have a lot of star power, but it has a .50 Cal-load of stopping power. The pundit class was predicting that Golson would do to Alabama what Manziel did in the first half of the A&M game. It did not turn out that way. Golson ran the ball ___ times for a net loss of 7 yards. The entire Irish offense only ran the ball 19 times for a net gain of only 34 yards.

Golson had more success through the air, completing 21 of 36 attempts for 270 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice and intercepted once-a stellar play by Ha Ha Clinton-Dix who came out of nowhere to snatch a ball tipped by Dee Milliner snuffing out the Irish' first real scoring threat.
The Irish only converted 2 of 8 possession downs and managed to hold that ball for only 21:47 compared to Alabama's possession time of 38:13. In the first quarter, Alabama held the ball a staggering 12:08, while Notre Dame's offense was on the field for 2:52. This prompted one wag to comment that the Irish defense should sue their offense for non-support.

Predictably, the haters were on radio Tuesday morning braying about how Oregon should have been playing instead and how Ohio State vs. Notre Dame would have been a better game. The SEC Network's Dave Baker had a comprehensive answer: "Just shut up."

Fans who care about the game know what they witnessed Monday night: a team playing at the hight of its potential, achieving something that is as difficult as it is elusive and making a statement about the nature and quality of its program.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ AJ completed 20 of 28 pass attempts for 264 yard and 4 touchdowns. He became the first Alabama quarterback since Jeff Rutledge to throw a TD pass in a national championship game.

Amari Cooper caught 6 passes for 105 yards and 2 TDs. Early in the game, Cooper must have attracted attention from the ND defense because AJ went instead to Marvin Shinn [2 for 14], Kevin Norwood [3 for 66] and Michael Williams [3 for 17, TD]. As the game progressed, and Notre Dame brought safety help in a futile effort to stop the run, Cooper and Christion Jones [2 for 40] found themselves uncovered and running free in the Irish secondary. The play-action pass worked to perfection. Alabama unleashed the play-action is every conceivable situation; on first down, to convert third and medium, and near the goal line-Michael Williams was the only person in the end zone as AJ faked the give to Lacy and tossed an easy throw and catch to the Pride Of Reform, over the heads of the ND secondary who were charging to the line of scrimmage.

Lacy scored with :31 to play in the first half on an 11 yard check-down pass. He broke an arm-tackle and spun away from another would-be defender to make the score 27-0. Jeremy Shelley's PAT was good and Alabama went into the intermission with the 28 point advantage that would prove to be the margin of victory.

Defense: A+ Judging from his post-game comments, Nico Johnson would disagree with this grade. The senior linebacker, and member of the Leadership Council told ESPN that if the defense had played to its standard, then ND would not have scored and the Tide's string of consecutive quarters of BCS Championship play without allowing points would have extended to 8. As it was, ND was able to put together two long drives [86, 75] that resulted in touchdowns.

CJ Mosley led all defenders with 8 tackles [1 for loss]. Clinton-Dix recorded 7 tackles and an interception. Robert Lester is credited with 6. Dieon Belue had 4 tackles, all solo. Landon Collins, Trey DePriest and Dee Milliner each recorded 3 tackles. Golson was sacked twice and hurried twice.

Special Teams

Punting: A+ Cody Mandel punted only 4 times for an averages of 49 yards per kick. Two of his punts were for greater than 50 yards and were downed inside the ND 20. Punt returning was a big of a challenge. Chrisition Jones fumbled the first punt of the night but an interference penalty nullified the ND recovery. I am sure that the coaching staff made a note for Dieon Belue who appeared to do more to cause Jones' fumble than the ND gunner.

Kicking: A+ Cade Foster averaged 46 net yards per kick off and 4 of his seven kicks resulted in touchbacks. The return game did not produce any highlight reel moments, but with the way the offense was playing, field position was never a factor.

Place Kicking: A+ Jeremy Shelly was perfect on his 6 PAT attempts which gives him one more successful place kick than he had in last year's BCS CG. I wonder if he intends to lobby for a corresponding number change going into the 2013 season.

Coaching: A+ Alabama was penalized 4 times for 40 yards and Ben Howell did not get any touches in the game. Apart from that, what can you say about the job done by Nick Saban and his staff?

The Twitter-verse was active last night. Some of my favorites:

Cecil Hurt: Barrett Jones just delivered the hardest hit that AJ McCarron has taken all night.

Marc Torrence: Touchdown Notre Dame. Nick Saban's seat just got a little warm.

Cecil Hurt: Tonights actual BCS attendance 80,120. Not sure if that figure includes the 22 missing Notre Dame starters or not.

Marc Torrence: [at the half] Alabama has broken more crystal BCS trophies than ND has points.

The Commissioner: [with the score 35-0] One more touchdown and they are going to have to give Alabama the ring from 1966.

Adam Jakobi: Django is less bloody.

Travis Reier: Some ND media are calling for Reese. Reese is calling for a cab.

Chase Goodbread: [at the half] Well you don't have to pay $1,500 for a ticket now.

The participation report lists 57 players who saw action in the BCS CG. The names of Anderson and Lee are not on that list. Although they were sent home from Miami for disciplinary reasons and made no contribution to Monday night's game, it is possible that they are making a significant contribution to the success of the 2013 and 2014 Crimson Tide. To quote Coach Saban: The Process never stops. Teams that feel entitled do not succeed. The example set by the coaches and senior leaders in how they dealt with whatever infraction Anderson and Lee committed, may well produce results this winter in the weight room, this spring in practice, or this coming fall in the next season.

Fans often feel entitled by success just like players. For Alabama fans who are enjoying this golden age, it is helpful to remember what it was like to wander in that desert between Bryant and Saban. Defeat and adversity are bitter herbs, but they can condition the pallet so that the taste of success is even more sweet. It is fine to enjoy this success, but we should always remember that all glory is fleeting.

Be like Coach Saban. On Wednesday get back to work....

The Commissioner