Highs and Lows: The Iron Bowl

Saturday brought the Crimson Tide and the Tigers of Auburn together for the 76^th time in history. The fiercest rivalry in all of college football did not disappoint Tide fans; it was by turns exciting, frustrating and historically significant. The final score was impressive, but the fourteen Auburn points are misleading, as the Alabama defense did not allow a single point.

It was a day with many storylines, but none bigger than the BCS implications this game had for the third time in as many years. Never in the history of college football has the national champion or the Heisman trophy winner come from the same state three years in a row, and it’s close to becoming a reality. With the win over Auburn, Alabama all but wrapped up a BCS title appearance and a likely rematch with conference foe LSU.

Two years ago, Mark Ingram was a Heisman front runner going into the Iron Bowl, and Auburn’s whole season became about keeping him from winning it. Despite those efforts, he would go on to be Alabama’s first Heisman winner. Yesterday a Heisman frontrunner again took the field, and Trent Richardson would not be denied. Richardson saved the best game of his career for the big stage of ESPN and propelled himself to the top of the Heisman race against Auburn. Alabama is a unanimous No. 2 in the AP poll today, and there is no reason to believe they won’t be there when BCS poll is released this evening. As good as it feels to beat the Tigers the way we did, the season isn’t over; there’s one more game to play. Regardless of our final opponent, there is still room for improvement, and there are still problems to be fixed before taking the field in what is hopefully the BCS title game.

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LOWS

A.J.    McCarron played a really good game and made some solid throws. I have him on the list because the mistakes he made were so easily avoidable. Prior to fumbling the ball, I’m sure there were thousands of people around the country screaming “throw it!” or “run it!” or something, don’t just stand there. McCarron did a good job but he still loses focus at times, throws behind the receivers and throws it late, giving the defender time to close the gap. These small things become huge in a game like the one looming against LSU.

Bobby Williams.  The Alabama special teams coach has not done a very good job this year, and the mistakes will eventually cost Alabama a win. Alabama is stacked from top to bottom with the very best players and prospects in the nation, and there is absolutely no excuse for the poor play on special teams. I refuse to believe it’s all on the players, because the same players have regular positions on the field and they do a great job on offense and defense, so why not special teams? These problems can and will cost Alabama some games if it isn’t addressed.

Charity Points.   The Tide defense shut Auburn down completely, yet they still had 14 points. I hate charity points and it’s even worse to give them up against Auburn. McCarron held the ball as if he had 20 minutes to make up his mind what to do while standing a few feet from his own end zone. Come on A.J., you can do better, I know you can. Giving up the first ever kickoff return for a touchdown in the history of the Iron Bowl just plain sucks. These “charity points” got Auburn on the scoreboard and prevented a shutout and even though they were dominated, it should’ve been worse.

HIGHS

Trent Richardson.  Trent was in a close race for the Heisman and Auburn has been successful stopping the run against Alabama recently. None of that seemed to matter as Trent ran for a career high 203 yards and added a touchdown catch. On the biggest stage, against the most hated rival, Richardson was magnificent and put his name in the forefront of the Heisman race. Auburn stacked the box with as many as nine players at times and Richardson ran right through them. When asked what the theme for him was in this game, he replied, “I just wasn’t gonna be denied.” He is not only the best player on Alabama’s team, he is the best player in the country and the best running back I have ever seen.

Defense.   Alabama’s defense was superb, physical and dominant, and it’s just amazing to watch those guys play. Auburn couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t throw the ball and were confused all day long. Milliner made the biggest play of his career with the pick six, and made a great effort to get into the end zone. Hightower and Upshaw continued their assault on offenses and both deserve to win the Butkus award. The defensive line was outstanding, and Jesse Williams should be one of the best in all of football next year. Auburn’s passing game was nonexistent, and Clint Moseley was running scared the entire game. This is without a doubt the best defense I have ever seen at the college level.

Brad Smelley.   Smelley was outstanding in the last regular season game he will ever play wearing Crimson, and had his best game with six catches for 86 yards and one touchdown. Smelley had several key third and fourth down conversions, keeping drives alive and is my co-offensive MVP along with Trent Richardson. He is one of the best players on the team and is sometimes overlooked, but anyone watching this game certainly knows how good he is now.

Vinnie.   With Will Lowery out with a knee injury and Mark Barron missing some of the game with an injured neck, Vinnie Sunseri stepped in and did a fantastic job. Not only is Vinnie a true freshman, he wasn’t even offered many scholarships and was rated a three-star player. For all the fans out there thinking we need the top-ranked prospects or bust, look no farther than Vinnie Sunseri to show that star rating used by scouting services is severely flawed.

Baby Bull.   Jalston “Baby Bull’ Fowler is the future of the Alabama running game, and it was great to see him get in the game and score. He has stepped in all year long to relieve Trent and has been as punishing a runner as I’ve ever seen in his efforts. He was outstanding in relief of Eddie Lacy and stepped up big when Lacy was hurting. For all the work he has put in this year and for all the defenders he has punished, it was good to see him get his number called and show Auburn that they’re still going to be in trouble if/when Trent leaves.

Highest High:   “Hey Auburn, We just beat the hell outta you!” rang out one more time down on the Plains and it was a sweet win. I can’t think of a better way to end the season than to beat the crap out of Auburn and wait for the excuses as to why it happened. They said Trent wasn’t going to win the Heisman against them, but he just might have done exactly that as he single-handedly outgained the entire Auburn offense. The Crimson Tide is now 11-1 on the year and awaits the final games next week to decide their fate. All signs point to Alabama’s second BCS title game appearance in three years, and a rematch with division rival LSU.

In a year of shocking upsets and controversial BCS standings, Alabama remains atop the college football world and it’s a sweet feeling. Next week LSU takes on Georgia in the SEC championship game and Alabama gets to watch and see who they need to begin preparations to play.

Offensive MVP: Trent Richardson, Brad Smelley

Defensive MVP: Milliner, Upshaw, Hightower