ALABAMA, A DYNASTY? DON'T THINK SO
During the broadcasts of the bowl games on ESPN, I kept hearing an ad about how some people thought that Alabama was still the best team in the country. I thought "hasn't that already been decided when Auburn beat Alabama. They are not the best team in the country." It seems that since the SEC is considered the best college football conference in the country that Auburn, who played in the BCS National title game, was NOT the better of the two teams. Or maybe it's just early taunting of Auburn for the next contest in November.
Or maybe it's because Nick Saban is the coach and he is known for developing top talent into what has been referred to as a "dynasty" at Alabama. Winning three titles in four years could be evidence that a dynasty may be looming there in Tuscaloosca. But in order to build a dynasty, a team must possess ALL the necessary skills and characteristics. Obvious among these are the physical and mental preparation needed to win on a consistent, convincing basis. One of the intangibles in this mental preparation is being able to let go of a disappointing loss at the end of the regular season to win their bowl game.
The 2008 Crimson Tide pretty much rolled over their competition in the regular season. They came close to losing to LSU, but won in overtime 27-21. They went to the SEC championship game undefeated to play the Florida Gators team with just one loss. Alabama was up 20-17 going into the fourth quarter. The Florida defense literally snuffed out Alabama in that quarter, holding them to only 6 yards total offense, while scoring two TD's on drives of 65 and 67 yards to win 31-20. A big disappointment for them to be sure.
While Florida went on to play Oklahoma for the national title, Alabama went to what they considered to be a "lesser bowl", the Sugar Bowl, even though this bowl was a part of the BCS Bowl Championship Series. They had played in it 13 times previously, winning 8.
They were put up against a Utah team that had gone undefeated in the Mountain West conference, but was not considered one of the two best teams to play for the national title based on strength of schedule. It was a perfect setup for Alabama to end on a winning note. It was in the South practically in their backyard. They were being favored by 10 points; they had played in this bowl many times before. With Utah coming east to play them, they were a shoo-in to win. Right?
Well, something happened to Alabama between December 6, 2008 and January 2, 2009. Utah scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter of the game, holding Alabama to just 33 yards. Aside from a 73-yard punt return for a TD in the second quarter, they only had 126 yards of total offense by halftime, trailing 21-10.
Great teams always come back from deficits. Alabama was no different. While the Crimson Tide kicked off opening the 2nd half, fortune seemed to be with them. On Utah's first play from scrimmage, their quarterback Brian Johnson fumbled and Alabama recovered on the Utah 35 yard line. Seven plays later they hit paydirt with a Wilson-to-Coffee TD pass making it 21-17. Alabama seemingly had seized the momentum here and the Alabama faithful became almost certain that with that momentum, the Tide would certainly start to roll.
How would Utah react?
The kickoff took the Utes to their own 29. Brian Johnson completed four passes in that drive culminating with a 28-yard TD pass. Utah told Alabama that even though they were playing as a road team and came from the Mountain West Conference, they were not afraid of the "big and bad" Tide from the power SEC. In fact, Alabama had only 6 toal yards in the fourth quarter, going 3-and-out twice with a lost fumble, losing 31-17.
I could go on with more stats, but the results are sufficient. Needless to say, Utah did not just beat Alabama, they embarrassed them in front of what, for all intents and purposes, was their home crowd. For a team averging 184 yards on the ground, and producing only 31 rushing yards on 33 attempts, they were not prepared mentally for a Utah team that had something to prove.
I will not recount the events of 2014 Sugar Bowl. They are available online. The only stat that stands out is Alabama's 5 turnovers. Alabama had 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter to get a tying score. First play from scrimmage, they fumble. Oklahoma picked it up and ran into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown. As it turned out, all of Alabama's turnovers led to touchdowns for the Sooners.
Many times during the Alabama-Oklahoma Sugar Bowl, the radio announcers stated that Alabama was not playing their best because of their loss to Auburn and a national title berth. Great teams given the label "dynasty" do not let one loss, as disappointing as it is, affect them to the point of letting another team come into their neighborhood and push them around the way Utah and Oklahoma did. The greatness of any team is reflected in the pride they take out of playing great football, and respecting their fans' support throughout the years. In these two games, the Crimson Tide did neither and, therefore, do not deserve the label of "dynasty".
Friday: The myth of "strength of schedule".
No comments:
Post a Comment