Here’s your preview for the SEC’s 4^th attempt at winning the Mythical National Title in a row.  Incidentally, can you recall who won the last Mythical National Title that wasn’t in the SEC?  I’ll give you a hint - they’re involved in this one.  Yes, the last four MNCG winners are Florida, LSU, Florida and Texas.  I imagine the vast majority of people are rooting for Texas to stop the current SEC run.

No pressure Longhorns.  No pressure.

#2 Texas (13-0, 9-0 Big 12) vs. #1 Alabama (13-0, 9-0 SEC)

8 PM ET January 7th, 2010

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Matchup History

Normally I’d talk about the history of the bowl game, but I’m fairly certain the vast majority of Buckeye fans are quite knowledgeable about the Rose Bowl’s storied history – even if this isn’t, technically, the Rose Bowl Game.  I could talk about the current MNCG system, but Mali already did a wonderful job of that.  That leaves me one thing to talk about, the previous times these teams have matched up.

Texas and Bama have played more often than you might have originally imagined.  I was suspecting that they may have even never seen each other on the field, but it turns out that was not correct.  They have, in fact, encountered each other on eight different occasions.  What do you think the standing record in those games is?

Here’s today’s big surprise, Texas has never lost to Alabama.  Not ever.  The closest Bama has managed is a tie.  So what were the results from those games?

·         1902 (First Season of Football for both teams)

o   Texas (Independent) (6-3-1): 10

o   Alabama (Independent) (4-4): 0

·         1915

o   Texas (SWC) (6-3-0): 20

o   Alabama (Ind.) (6-2): 0

·         1922

o   Texas (SWC) (7-2): 19

o   Alabama (Southern) (6-3-1): 10

·         1947 (Sugar Bowl)

o   Texas (SWC) (10-1): 27

o   Alabama (SEC) (8-3): 7

·         1960 (Bluebonnet Bowl)

o   Texas (SWC) (7-3-1): 3

o   Alabama (SEC) (8-1-2): 3

·         1964 (Orange Bowl)

o   Texas (SWC) (10-1): 21

o   Alabama (SEC) (10-1): 17

·         1972 (Cotton Bowl)

o   Texas (SWC) (10-1): 17

o   Alabama (SEC) (10-2): 13

·         1981 (Cotton Bowl)

o   Texas (SWC) (10-1-1): 14

o   Alabama (SEC) (9-2-1): 12

Texas has outscored Alabama 131 – 62 over the course of their battles.  Considering the most recent game was played in early January of 1982, it holds no weight in this year’s matchup, but it does give historical emphasis to the fact that Alabama is 0-7-1 against Texas, including 0-5 in Bowl games.  Remind your favorite Alabama fan of this next time they start to tell you about OSU’s 0-9 record against the SEC.  I wouldn’t be surprised if every team has an 0-fer black mark of some sort on their resume – you just have to find it!

Texas Longhorns

Texas is quite familiar with the position they find themselves in on Thursday night.  On January 4^th, 2006, the Longhorns found themselves in the unenviable position of having to deal with the USC Trojans lead by a pair of Heisman Trophy winners: 2004 winner Matt Leinart and 2005 winner Reggie Bush.  Texas was considered a major underdog going into the game; USC’s victory was assured, and the continuation of the Trojan dynasty would be unabated.  Unfortunately, just like the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, the underdog had different ideas.  In one of the single best bowl games in history, Texas defeated USC 41-38 and claimed their 4^th Mythical National Title.

The image of the Longhorns that most casual college football fans have is the near disaster they faced in the Big 12 championship game.  Nebraska successfully shut down the Texas offense using Ndamukong Suh to totally shatter the hopes and dreams of quarterback Colt McCoy.  The defensive strategy Nebraska employed almost worked, until Texas was able to get a good return and move the ball to the Nebraska 29 with only a couple of plays.  McCoy’s last attempt was to see if they could gain some more yardage which he decided instead to throw away.  That play lead to a large controversy, as it was uncertain if the ball landed out of bounds before the clock expired (and, in fact, whether or not the refs even had the right to review that fact).  Texas successfully knocked in the field goal and won the game.

Other Texas games of interest from this season include a 16-13 win in the Red River -Shootout- Rivalry (god forbid we use the word "shoot") over then #20 Oklahoma.  This is the same Oklahoma team that went 8-5 on the season, including an impressive win over Stanford in the Sun Bowl.  Texas also laid a 41-14 beatdown on then #14 Oklahoma State.  Another bowl game to recall is the battle that the Cowboys’ found themselves in against Ole’ Miss that did not end up going the Cowboys’ way in the last minutes of the game.  Tied 7-7 with just minutes left Oklahoma State gave up 14 points to Ole’ Miss to end the game in a whimper.

Texas is lead by two time Heisman Trophy candidate and 2008 Walter Camp Award winner Colt McCoy at Quarterback.  Colt is a 4 year starter for the Longhorns – Buckeye fans may remember him from 2006.  Of course, you may also recall him from 2009.  He has been a very solid player for Texas, easily one of their all time best at quarterback.  For the season he’s thrown 330/468 for 3512 yards 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.  He’s also got 348 yards on 128 carries for 3 touchdowns as the Longhorn’s leading rusher (in carries).  Those are pretty good stats to hang your hat on.  Colt has a 45-7 record at Texas and holds the vast majority of passing records for Texas.  He also holds the NCAA record for Highest Single Season completion percentage (77.6% in 2008), Highest Career completion percentage (70.9%), Most wins by a starting quarterback (44), and is tied for the most passing touchdowns by a freshman (29).

He’s had a pretty good career.  Yes, I am the captain of understatement.  Incidentally, if you’re interested, if Terrelle Pryor sticks around for his senior season and the Buckeyes go undefeated 2 years straight, TP can achieve 47 wins in his career.  That’s a pretty tall order, though, so don’t get your hopes up.

Texas does not favor the running game much, outside of Colt McCoy, but they do have some success on the ground.  Tre’ Newton gets the most carries with 102 for 513 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season.  The more impressive runner, however, is Cody Johnson who has 12 touchdowns and 333 yards on 84 carries.  Texas will utilize both of these players in game, though they will likely be limited by Alabama’s great defensive line as neither back picked up many yards against Nebraska (Newton: 19 for 36 yards, Johnson 1 for 2 yards).

The Longhorn passing game revolves around one man – Jordan Shipley.  Shipley, who is Colt McCoy’s roommate, has been the beneficiary of 106 receptions for a ridiculous 1363 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.  Shipley is an incredibly skilled receiver and is a projected 2^nd round draft pick as the #4 receiver in the draft.  However, no matter how skilled he is, Texas needs others to step up and make plays.  7 other players have made at least a catch per game, but James Kirkendoll who has the 2^nd highest receptions only has a mere 48.  He does have 461 yards and 6 touchdowns for his effort, though, so he makes the most of what he gets.

As for the defense, I understand that stat’s are sometimes worthless when viewed in a vacuum.  I provide OSU’s stats and ranks for comparative value so that Buckeyes’ fans have a point of reference.  Texas’s running defense is quite prolific, allowing only 2.0 yards per carry (#3 in Division 1, OSU is #15 at 2.9).  Their passing defense isn’t quite as spectacular allowing 9.9 yards per completion and a 55.58% completion percentage (#28 in Division 1, OSU is #19 at 54.20%).  The defense allows 15.15 points per game on average against the #40 toughest schedule (by Phil Steele, Ohio State had the 39^th toughest schedule and allowed 11.69 points per game).

Alabama Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide are not unfamiliar with playing in BCS games, though this is their first time in the MNCG.  However, the Tide are 0-2 in BCS games, losing to Michigan in the 1999 Orange Bowl (35-34) and losing to Utah last year in the Sugar Bowl (31-17).  Despite never playing for the BCS MNC, Alabama is quite familiar playing for the national championship, having claimed no less than 12 National Titles.  Don’t question the legitimacy of those claims.  No, seriously, don’t do it – the ghost of Bear Bryant will eat you.

Alabama got to the National Championship by taking out then #1 Florida in a game that ended in the sweetest way possible.  Yes, Tim Tebow cried like a 2-year old at church.  Of course, it shouldn’t be too surprising given that it was just about the worst loss Florida sustained during Saint Tebow’s career.  This game is the single reason that the vast majority of pundits’ believe that Alabama will beat Texas.  That’s not a terribly surprising conclusion if you believe Florida deserved to be anywhere near the #1 spot.  Of course if you don’t believe it Saint Tebow will strike you down, so clearly Alabama is the greatest team in the world.

Alabama is lead by 2009 Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram at Runningback.  Ingram has 1542 yards and 15 touchdowns on 249 carries.  None of his stats lead the nation (in fact his best stat, total yards, is #7 among runningbacks), but he was still considered the best player in College Football.  Ingram is a very dominant runner, and powers between the tackles better than most everyone in the nation (Stanford’s Gerhart is the absolute best), and has fantastic burst once he gets into space.  He’s also one of Alabama’s top receivers, with 30 receptions for 322 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Given his diverse ability, it will be important for Texas to take Ingram away and force Alabama to attack through the air.

Of course, if they succeed then they play right into the hands of quarterback Greg McElroy (what is it with Quarterback’s being named "Mc-something"?)  McElroy has 2450 yards, 17 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions with a 61.1% completion percentage on 314 attempts.  He’s a prolific passer and is extremely dangerous both inside and outside the pocket.  McElroy isn’t McCoy, but he does have 110 yards and a touchdown on 47 carries, so he can make things happen with his feet if necessary.

McElroy has a couple of favorite targets, Mark Ingram being one of them.  Bama’s top receiver is somewhat of a household name, surprising given his stats – Julio Jones.  Jones has 573 yards and 4 touchdowns on 42 receptions.  He doesn’t have the best yards per reception average given that defenses usually key on him, but he does make things happen including a 73 yard touchdown catch against then #15 LSU.  Lucky for Texas, however, is that current reports seem to have Julio Jones sitting out with an injury to his right knee.  Alabama will therefore have to look to Marquis Maze and his 519 yards and 2 touchdowns on 30 catches to make up for Jones’ production.  McElroy also regularly hits 5 other receivers, but the loss of Jones could be a big problem for the Tide’s passing attack.

Alabama’s running defense is quite good, allowing a mere 2.8 yards per carry (#11 in Division 1).  They also allow only 47.41% passing completion (#3 in Division 1), though they do allow a 12.5 yard per completion average.  You won’t catch it much, but when you do, you’ll get good yardage for it.  Alabama as a team played the 68^th ranked strength of schedule and allowed teams to score an average of 11 points per game.  Usually your opponents don’t score many points when you play total patsies...what a surprise!

Who Are We Picking?

Jeff at the BBC: Texas

Mali: Alabama

Jim: Texas

Eric: Texas

Uh oh.  Mali picked Alabama.  Is this going to be another game that he makes the rest of us look stupid like he has the rest of the bowl season, or will this be the one time he's wrong?

This looks on paper like it will be a very good National Championship matchup, though the media and SEC fans would have you think that Texas has no chance.  Given the way most National Championships have gone (see: 2003 Fiesta Bowl, 2006 Rose Bowl, 2007 Fiesta Bowl) Alabama could be walking into trouble.  I guess we'll have to wait and see on Thursday night!