As we roll towards the end of the 2012-13 bowl season and into the BCS title game, we can look back over the bowl season with satisfaction. It began with a bang when Arizona scored two touchdowns in the final 46 seconds to win a game against Nevada, which turned out to be Chris Ault's, the innovator of the Pistol offense, final game coaching the Wolf Pack (he retired). We saw a battle between Cincinnati and Duke that included a Bearcats team that had half the number of assistants as a team would normally have during a game (because many of them followed Butch Jones to Tennessee just as the interim coach of this game, Steve Stripling would do after the game) and an amazing 79-yard punt by Duke freshman Will Monday. Minus Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech pulled off a win in a very ugly game against Minnesota that included a ridiculous 13 penalties for 135 yards charged against the Red Raiders. We saw a game played at Yankee Stadium in the snow that did not end up being the farewell Geno Smith had in mind -- and he finished his career 0-3 against Syracuse (whose coach, Doug Marrone just became the head coach for the Buffalo Bills). In a fantastic and fascinating game between my team's biggest rival, Michigan, and the Ol' Ball Coach-led Gamecocks, I saw something I've not seen in a game in my nearly 30 years of watching football. The Wolverines decided to go for it on 4th and 4 at their 37-yard line with not much more than 8 minutes left in the game and holding onto a 1-point lead. After Floyd Simmons ran for what looked like it was close to a first down, the referee spotted the ball, decided it was too close to call and asked for a stick measurement. Here's where it got bazaar: when the linesman pulled the chain tight and placed it on the ground, it appeared to be just short, but the referee called for a first down! Steve Spurrier went crazy, pointing at the ball, and when the cameras finally showed a perpendicular view from ground level, it was clear the ball was just short. The referees reviewed, and held up the call, but this part at least made sense because they couldn't review the first down call, only whether the ball was spotted correctly. All this craziness, however, was followed by one of the biggest hits, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries that I've seen in quite some time by The Beast AKA JaDaveon Clowney!! Let’s not forget Teddy Bridgewater and company pulling off the biggest upset in bowl history (in terms of point spread) against the Florida Gators. With that little recap out of the way, let’s get into my thoughts on this season’s BCS National Championship Game -- a game which I am nearly certain that will break viewership records:
1. This is the media's dream title game: Two of the more storied programs in college football are facing one another for a championship. These are two of most hated -- and most loved -- programs in the country, among the likes of the Yankees in Major League Baseball, the Lakers in the NBA, and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Each have a certain amount of people who watch them play with the sole hope of watching them lose -- to witness their failure. Each have a certain amount of people who watch them just to be a part of something big, not necessarily because they're really fans of football -- put instead of the hysteria that breaks out when that team wins. Is it a coincidence that each of these teams, with so much history, and so many legendary players and coaches, are among the most controversial when it comes to the amount of championships they've won? Of course not (check out a great article I recently read breaking down the controversial number of titles for each here), but there's nothing necessarily wrong with that controversy is there? I mean all it does is add fuel to the fires of passion for this great game. Both of these teams have some of the simplest, yet recognizable, uniforms in college football, and both have changed them a little bit for this game. Notre Dame will actually have the last names of players on the uniform for just the fourth time ever; Alabama have unveiled some slightly sleeker uniforms for Monday's game.
2. C Barrett Jones vs. NT Louis Nix: I would have considered this the most intriguing matchup within the matchup even if Barrett Jones was 100% healthy, but it is even more so given Jones' ankle injury. He was seen as late as Thursday wearing a boot to protect his ankle and though he has consistently said he'll play and that he'll be fine, one can't help but have some questions about effectiveness. Nix is 6'4" and 326 pounds and he'll most often line up directly across from Jones. Given Jones' perennial All-American status, one would be tempted to automatically give him the nod in this battle, but his ankle will be imperative to effectively impose consistent and correct leverage against Nix. Given that the Irish so often line up in a 3-4, the good news for Alabama is that on a certain amount of plays, specifically passing downs, they'll be able to throw a second body into Nix (such as All-American Chance Warmack). The bad news is, especially if Jones' ankle doesn't hold up, or affects his effectiveness, it could hurt the Tide particularly during running plays (because double teams will be more difficult due to linebackers attacking the gaps. One could look at Nix's stats (45 tackles, 2 sacks, and 5.5 tackles for loss) and dismiss him, but that would be a mistake. Nix's job doesn't necessarily correlate to the box score, instead, his job is to make it easier for other defenders to fill up the box score. It's been reported that players like McCarron and Warmack have said that backup center Ryan Kelly has done a good job taking first-team reps early on during this long layoff and they are confident in him should he need to see time in this game -- while I don't doubt them, the redshirt freshman who has played in some garbage time this season and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team would have a huge weight put on him (and that's not counting Nix's 326 pounds).
3. Brown, Black, or Bell? A couple of freshman wide receivers that haven't gotten a lot of publicity throughout the season (nor during this bowl season layoff) are Chris Brown of Notre Dame (insert Rihanna joke here) and Chris Black of Alabama. There's a reason why neither get their names mentioned often by the media or by the fans though. Brown has caught two passes all season and didn't catch his first one until the eighth game of the season. Black has caught no passes this season due to a shoulder injury in the preseason. Besides both kids being freshman, both being wide receivers, both having the same first name followed by a last name that can be found in a Crayola box, they both have the potential to play a big role in Monday night’s game because they aren't likely to be included in the opponents' defensive game plan due to their speed. Brown's signature moment of the season was a 50-yard reception against Oklahoma while Black's highlight is that Saban made him available (and possible removal of his redshirt) to play in the SEC Championship game but wasn't used. Brown's speed could catch a Tide secondary by surprise at some point in the game, perhaps even on a reverse or something. Black's play, I think, will depend on the availability of Kenny Bell. Bell practiced on Thursday and Friday with a noncontact black jersey on, but apparently impressed AJ McCarron enough for him to say he didn't need the black jersey. If Bell can't go, I can see Black stepping in some capacity to add a spark to the offense. If Bell can go, look for a big play out of him. No matter the circumstance, look for a couple of big plays from a couple of wide receivers whose last name starts with a "B".
4. The Dreaded “C” Word … complacency. Complacency could be the biggest enemy of this Crimson Tide team. Take a minute to think about how the newspapers and television analysts have posed the question concerning this game since this matchup was determined over a month ago: What does Notre Dame have to do win this game? It's as if it's a foregone conclusion that the crystal ball is headed to Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban's legacy has been a constant topic of conversation as well because he will have won 3 titles in 4 years (and 4 in 10 years) and he will be one of just 4 coaches with 4 championships in major college football (Leahy [ND], McKay [USC], and Bryant [UA]). So for the last 37 days these kids have heard nothing but how it's a given that they're going to win. Additionally, the older players already have a title (several of them have two) and the younger players have walked into a program which has reached this game three of the last four years and may expect to get more cracks at it. Saban constantly talks about The Process which instills the discipline of focusing on only doing one's job but we have to remember these are kids who are under 23 years old, and he has two freshmen who play a big role in his offense (Cooper and Yeldon) -- the limelight may temporarily blind that focus. It should also be noted that the Tide upperclassmen called a Players Only meeting on Thursday to address a lack of focus (presumably in response to freshman linebackers Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson being sent home due to missing curfew). I know a lot has been made of the fact that the Tide have a chance to win three out of four on Monday night, but it should be noted that since the inception of the BCS, there hasn't been a repeat champion and the last time a team had a chance at it, the BCS title game was also being played in Miami. Florida State after winning the '99 title against a Michael Vick-led Virginia Tech team, faced off against Oklahoma and was held to a mere 2 points. One would think that if any current coach in college football can keep a squad from taking a game for granted, it's Saban, but it's not as if it hasn't happened before -- but in fairness, a national title wasn't on the line that day.
5. If I were coaching this game: If I were Brian Kelly, I'd have spent some the 15 practices establishing and running some kind of hurry-up offense. I'm not saying I'd run it the whole game (I doubt 15 practices would be enough to establish that kind of conditioning anyway), but I'd use it to loosen up the Tide's defense as it was proven to be effective against them both by Ole Miss and by Texas A&M. I'd obviously establish the run early also given they have four players with at least 300 yards rushing led by seniors Theo Riddick (880 yds, 5 TDs) and Cierre Wood (740 yds, 4 TDs) and including quarterback Everett Golson (305 yds, 5 TDs). I'd do so for two reasons: 1. Keep AJ McCarron and Amari Cooper off the field because Notre Dame's defensive weakness is the secondary. 2. Golson is at his strength in the play-action game which also opens up second-team All-American tight end Tyler Eifert (Irish's leading receiver) up the seam. Defensively, I'd acknowledge my weakness in the secondary and instead of having my corners try to run stride-for-stride with Cooper and company, I'd keep everyone in front of me and depend on my teams sure tackling. Playing zone coverage doesn't work because that's when Yeldon explodes for long gains especially when catching the ball out of the backfield (just ask LSU). Also, I'd let Te'o play his game and not try to make him the kind of linebacker that he's not. He's not a pass rusher like a Jarvis Jones (UGA), he's best when he can spy the passer in the passing game and read gaps in the running game. If I were Nick Saban, I'd have done at least one thing exactly as he did and that is to have Blake Sims simulate Golson in practice as he is a similar type athlete (although not the passer Golson is). The passing deficiency of Sims isn't an issue because they can practice against the pass using McCarron, and it's the athletic quarterbacks who have given the Tide some issue, particularly having an issue keeping contain when the QB is forced out of the pocket by the pass rush. Another thing I'd do is practice a pass play or two out of the wildcat formation Saban uses (regardless of who takes the snap) because so many times this season McCarron has been left wide open on these plays. I think there's a great opportunity to catch an overly-aggressive defense on these plays. I'd also make sure my defense knows that Brian Kelly has a tendency to get frustrated with Golson and put Tommy Rees in the game for a play or a series and if that happens in this game -- put 8 in the box, pressure Rees and there is a high possibility that he'll throw a pick. Also, I know Saban is a fan of running that soft screen to the left with Yeldon, I don't think I'd call that very often in the game because this had to have been noticed in 37 days of film study -- or run it with some kind of fake and throw it to a tight end on the right side of the formation? Defensively, I'd also be aware of little-used Chris Brown when he's on the field because of his speed. Additionally, I might use a nickel corner on Eifert with safety help over the top. I'll be giving up height either way (traditionally would cover him with a linebacker), but at least here I'm not also giving up speed and I can use the linebacker as a blitzer -- or a Golson spy.
My pick: I picked Alabama by 3 in the SEC Championship (they won by 4) and it was a great game. The Tide were a bad decision by Aaron Murray (who recently tweeted the will return in 2013) with 15 seconds left away from possibly losing that game. I'm giving the Tide 3 more points of breathing room against the Fighting Irish because Everett Golson can't exploit the Alabama secondary as well as Murray can. Alabama by 6.
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