Fourth and Dumb

As most of us expected, Alabama proved to be too much for Texas last night, but surely everyone on earth is wondering if it would have been different if Colt McCoy had not gotten hurt on the fifth play of the game. The UT freshman QB Garrett Gilbert finally warmed up a bit in the late second half and got Texas to 24-21, and after the Longhorns’ D shut down a Bama drive, Gilbert and the offense got the ball inside their fifteen yard line with less than three minutes to go: just your standard national-championship-winning drive of 85+-yards staring a true frosh in the face.

Kirby Smart called a good LB blitz, Anders crushed the kid, and Bama won its first NC of the 21^st century.

Good for them. That’s why you hire Nick Satan—to win you a NC. Of course, with that guy one always has to wonder if/when he’s going to leave. Is it possible for him to stay in Tuscaloosa for 15 years or so until retirement? Certainly there’s not a better college job out there (equal jobs exist, but there’s no place where one can recruit and win any better). You have to think that Saban will want another shot at the NFL someday, but Bama fans can likely rest easy for a couple years anyway.

Of course, like all Gators, I’m already scoping the Tide out for next year. UF goes to Tuscaloosa on October 2 of next year, where they’ll presumably be playing the #1-ranked, defending national champions. Both teams will have lost significant performers, though it looks a little worse for the Gators due to the diminished shine in the absence of Timmy Tebow’s halo.

Gators lose: Tebow, WR Riley Cooper, OLs Pouncey twins (or at least Mike), TE Aaron Hernandez, S Joe Haden, MLB Brandon Spikes, OLB Ryan Stamper, DE Jermaine Cunningham, probably DE Carlos Dunlap.

Tide loses: RB Roy Upchurch, CBs Javier Arenas and Tyrone King, OLB Anders, DT Terence Cody, Kicker Tiffin, both punters, two OL starters, and almost certainly MLB and defensive captain Rolando McClain.

Again, the Gators’ losses seem worse because of Tebow’s moving on, but most observers are pretty confident in the ability of redshirt junior John Brantley to step in and throw it better than Tebow ever did. They lose the running at the QB position, but they get back Percy Harvin impersonator Andre Debose, who was hurt before the first game.

Bama gets another year of Greg McElroy and Mark Ingram, and we can expect to see a lot more of the home-run-threat running of Trent Richardson.

Alabama should be preseason #1, and I figure the Gators to be around 4-5. The game in Tuscaloosa actually may not end up mattering too much, as it very likely could be just round one between the Gators and the Tide in 2010. If nothing else, it’s pretty clear that those two teams have set themselves up as the twin peaks of the SEC, and the road to the national title will have to include stops in their home cities.

So there was this one big game this weekend, and it went the way a lot of us expected: Bama’s passing game looked pretty mediocre, save one giant play made by uber-talent Julio Jones, and Mark Ingram ground down the Tigers in the second half. And one other thing we expected: a crazy homer call for Alabama which seemed obviously wrong to every American not sworn to fealty to George Wallace or Bear Bryant.

So Bama wins 24-15 and stays on track for the BCS CG semi-final game against UF. Considering the seeming bad call against Florida that wasn’t overturned in the win over Arkansas, is there a clear conspiracy to get UF and Alabama into that game? Consider what this would entail: first, a clear desire on the part of the SEC to stage that match-up, as if an Alabama-Florida game somehow guarantees more money or exposure for the league than, say, having LSU or Georgia in the game; surreptitious communication of this plot to league officials along with directions on how to quietly execute calls; a hope that a call here or there could turn the game (certainly not always the case!); and then much hope that none of this gets out.

So, no, there’s no obvious conspiracy. As in almost any sport, officials tend to protect the home team, as well as the highly rated team. But a call here or there couldn’t protect Bama or Florida if they couldn’t win. Still, that shitty call screwed LSU, which sucks.

Bama still has some challenges ahead, with games at Miss State and Auburn (the former gave a good game to UF, so anything’s possible (though unlikely); the latter’s a rivalry game on the road), but they should get into the SEC game undefeated. Florida is at SC this weekend, which some of my Gator pals fear as a trap game, but frankly I can’t see it being close. The grind-it-out Gators will grind out another 14-17 point win, but it will likely be pretty dull, as many of their games have been.

So it will be UF and Bama undefeated. With their erratic offenses and stout defenses, anything can happen. And though we’re a ways away from needing my preview, let’s just consider one thing: both teams have top-five defenses and great run games, with mediocre but potentially explosive passing games. So what separates them? Well, in a big game, whom would you like leading your team: Greg McElroy or Tim Tebow?