Friday, January 13, 2012

BCS National Championship

Almost a week removed from one of the most hyped games in recent memory, I think its time to reflect on the game that took place on Monday night. Alabama dominated the Tigers from start to finish, on their way to the worst rated national championship game in the BCS era. Over a month ago, I had a hard time deciding who I wanted to face LSU in the title game. I wasn't exactly in favor of a rematch, but I had a hard time coming up with another worthy opponent for the mighty Tigers. As it turns out, the Tigers weren't so mighty.

Alabama made LSU's offense look like a team that just opened fall camp-- they looked out of sync, mistake-prone, and quite frankly they played not to lose, instead of playing to win. While I questioned the play calling most of the game, it had to be difficult to be Greg Studrawa (LSU's offensive coordinator) when the line seemingly couldn't pick up on any of the Tide's blitz packages or develop a running game. The Tigers mustered a measly 39 yards on the ground on 27 carries, good for 1.4 yards per attempt. I'm of the belief that the run game would have been benefited by taking a few shots down the field through the passing game. I can't remember a single pass longer than 20 yards besides the slight overthrow of Jarvis Landry late in the game.

Jordan Jefferson looked uncomfortable all game, and never got into a rhythm. In terms of the passing game, they did not utilize his strengths at all. If the gameplan was to drop back and try to beat the Tide from the pocket, LSU should have given Jarrett Lee a shot in the second half to try to change their fortune-- it's not like Lee was an unproven commodity.

Nevertheless, it's time to give credit where credit is due: the Alabama Crimson Tide were the better team Monday night, and they deserved the crown of national champs. Their defense was downright dominate and flooded with NFL prospects. The Crimson Tide's offensive staff also opened up the playbook compared to the first matchup with LSU, allowing AJ McCarron to throw the ball on 16 of 18 first down plays in the first half. They established the run game and they completed a lot of high percentage passes. The team was well disciplined and deserved to win the title this season.

You'll get my thoughts on the BCS/playoff system in the near future, and look for a post regarding Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes over the weekend!

2 comments:

  1. I thought the Alabama gameplan was amazing with throwing so much on first down, but I still have a hard time thinking they are better than LSU. The Tigers D played their hearts out and i just think with them being on the field so much they got worn out. I would have loved to see Ok State play one of the two teams just to see how their high octane offense would have done and actually I would have liked to see Baylor's offense play one of the best defenses in the nation. Alabama is good and I don't want to take anything away from their great team.

    I will be looking forward to Michigan opening the year against Alabama though at Cowboy's stadium...Go Blue

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  2. Agreed on the Bama gameplan, completely threw off everything LSU was trying to do. The Tigers defense was definitely worn out by game's end, but that was because the LSU offense could not move the ball on the absolutely dominate defense of the Tide. While I love watching Baylor play this season, they have no business being in a BCS game, especially not the NCG. I have listened to the Oklahoma State argument, but it was difficult for me to justify a team that lost to Iowa State to be playing in the title game.

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