BCS National Championship Game

SI Staff | Jan 8, 2010

BCS National Championship Game /

BCS National Championship Game

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide hold up the championship hardware after disposing of Texas in Pasadena to win Alabama's first national title since 1992.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram ran for 116 yards and scored twice.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Trent Richardson also scored twice and finished with 109 yards on 19 carries as the Tide finished the season undefeated.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

B.J. Scott and the Tide bought into coach Nick Saban's philosophy and won a national title in his third year at the helm.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Eryk Anders and Chavis Williams celebrate after the Alabama defense helped turn a slim three-point lead into a 16-point cushion in the fourth quarter.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Ingram celebrates his second touchdown, a one-yard run with two minutes remaining that gave Alabama a 10-point lead.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Eryk Anders set up the touchdown by strip sacking Texas backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Garrett Gilbert threw two fourth-quarter interceptions after fumbling on the hit by Anders.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Alabama knocked Texas quarterback Colt McCoy out of the game early in the first quarter when he suffered a right shoulder injury on a massive hit by Marcell Dareus.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

With Colt McCoy sidelined, the Longhorns turned to freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who had thrown only 26 passes all season.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Instead of running out the clock and going in with a 17-6 halftime deficit, Texas tried a shovel pass that Marcell Dareus swatted, intercepted and returned for a TD.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert tried to bring down Marcell Dareus.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

But the 280-pound defensive lineman was too strong for Gilbert.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

His 28-yard touchdown came with three seconds left before the half and gave Alabama a 24-6 advantage and more momentum.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Texas coach Mack Brown defended the call that led to Dareus' touchdown, saying the Longhorns were trying to get beyond the 50 so they could take one deep shot at scoring before the half.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Safety Blake Gideon intercepted a pass on a fake punt by Alabama in the first quarter. The turnover led to a Texas field goal.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Hunter Lawrence kicked an 18-yard and a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter to give Texas a 6-0 lead.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

With few receivers open, Greg McElroy had to hold on to the ball and ended up with minus 27 yards on the ground. He finished the night 6 of 11 for 58 yards and no touchdowns and no interceptions.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Julio Jones had one catch for 23 yards all night. Only one other Alabama receiver caught a pass: sophomore Marquis Maze, one reception for four yards. The Tide's four other receptions were by running backs.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Greg McElroy takes a tumble in the second half, but to his credit he didn't turn the ball over all night.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Brock Fitzhenry of Texas battles with Julio Jones and Brad Smelley on a kickoff that the Longhorns recovered after Alabama failed to field the ball.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Alabama's defense kept the Longhorns ball carriers bottled up for much of the night.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Richardson, a freshman from Pensacola, Fla., carried the ball a lot in the second half with Mark Ingram getting treated for cramps.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Ingram's 116-yard effort was his ninth 100-yard rushing output of the season.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Texas survived a scare when Gilbert appeared to hurt his arm while attempting a pass.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

The Tide helped coach Nick Saban become the first coach in the AP poll era (since 1936) to win national titles at two different schools. Saban led LSU to the BCS national title in 2003.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

With Richardson (3) coming back, as well as Ingram, Alabama should open next season ranked No. 1 again.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Tre Newton was the leading rusher for Texas, finishing with a paltry 39 yards on 14 carries.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Tre Newton's longest carry was for 16 yards.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

The Longhorns were pumped up early but came away with only a pair of field goals in two first-quarter trips into Alabama territory.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

McCoy joined his teammates on the sideline in the second half and cheered them on as they closed the gap on Alabama to 24-21 with 6:15 remaining.

Alabama 37, Texas 21

Tre Newton and Texas will always wonder what might have been if McCoy hadn't gone out with the injury.

Published Jan 8, 2010

SI STAFF