BCS Thoughts

Originally Published: Jan 9, 2010 10:15 AM CDT

What I saw Thursday night:  An Alabama team with a very good runningback and a dominant defensive line, a top-notch linebacker in Rolando McClain and a comfortable lead against a Texas team without its leader, almost let it get away.  I know it is Nick Saban’s m.o. to go conservative with a lead, but wouldn’t you like to have seen 1) whether the Tide could have flipped the switch back on if Texas had taken the lead WITHOUT Colt McCoy or 2) how McCoy would have fared if healthy the whole game?

The shovel pass call?  Easy for us to blast it now, and perhaps Mack is right, it’s the safest call he could have made in that situation while still trying to earn yards.

Safest call other than a sneak or a draw.  I doubt either of those would have resulted in an Alabama touchdown that effectively decided the game.

Looking forward, the Horns should feel pretty good about Gilbert at QB, especially with his second half.  The fact that we’re mentioning the Texas 2^nd stringer in BCS title game thoughts and not any of the notables tells you the “Year of the Quarterback” hype was just that, hype.