Thursday 18 December 2014 12:50, UK
Are Alabama the best team in college football? Sky Sports blogger Alex Ferguson was in Atlanta as the Crimson Tide rolled through Missouri in the SEC Championship Game.
After a not-so-quiet Saturday night, yours truly took some time to chill out, gather his thoughts, and watch 101 differing opinions on who might make the four-team College Football Playoff.
Having seen Oregon and soon-to-be NFL top five round pick Marcus Mariota coldly assassinate Arizona on Friday, we already had one of our places. With Alabama seemingly going to thunder over Missouri in Atlanta, we were left with TCU, Baylor, Florida State and Ohio State as to who might make it into the last two spots.
On our way into Atlanta, we could feel the big-game buzz. Fans in crimson and white outnumbered the yellow and black-clad Missouri fans maybe two to one, but the Missouri fans seemed more determined to imbibe more of the numerous beverages than Atlanta had to offer.
Speaking of black and yellow-clad Missouri fans, four fans dressed in black suits with yellow pinstripes, yellow bowler hats and black and yellow shiny shoes stole the show. A glass of champagne would have capped off their look, not the cans of beer that they were drinking.
Having said that, Alabama’s answer was a group of 20 student fans, with the guys dressed in black suits, white shirts and crimson and white ties and the women dressed in crimson suits, all of them with holding coloured pom-poms. One of them had a name badge, which initially made me believe they were Mormons. They weren’t. They were students.
Both sets of fans talked about hope. Alabama fans hoped that their secondary would not make the same mistakes against the long throw as it had all season, while Missouri fans hoped their team would keep it close. The neutrals we met (and there weren’t many) were just hoping for a close game.
The Alabama fans outnumbered Missouri fans 80:20 in the stadium, or maybe even 90:10.
We knew Missouri were in trouble when their QB Maty Mauk bounced his first pass to a wide receiver 10 yards away. We knew Missouri were in even bigger trouble when one of their best defensive players, Shane Ray, was thrown out of the game in the first half for targeting Alabama QB Blake Sims with a late, nasty, helmet-led hit.
We knew Missouri were in even more trouble when we could work out what the offensive playbook was. First down? Run the ball against a hugely solid Alabama front, and get almost no yards. Second down? Run screen pass, which gets occasional luck. Third down? Throw the ball to wide receiver, who – especially in first half – will drop it. Fourth down? Punt. And repeat.
Alabama, on the other hand, mixed it up. Using a mobile QB in Sims, Amari Cooper and DeAndrew White’s superior talents at wide receiver, two future NFL running backs in TJ Yeldon and Derrick Henry (although we don’t think Yeldon will be an Eddie Lacy-like success at pro level), and a monstrous offensive line, the Alabama machine seemed to drive down the field almost when it wanted.
Although in the second half Missouri started to get things moving a bit by scoring 10 straight points, Alabama’s reply was thunderous. Behind them, the crowd – pom-poms and all – were going absolutely crazy.
The only Missouri player that seemed to be standing up against the relentlessness of the Tide was wide receiver Jimmie Hunt, who made two or three circus-like catches. And although Nick Saban’s secondary was admittedly still amiss, Mauk’s inability to lead the defence into the end-zone time after time ensured there was only one winner.
When Lane Kiffin was acknowledged for his offence by Saban in the celebration, he touched his cap and carried on. Maybe getting fired midway through the season at an airport does teach you humility, after all.
Then, as we wandered down to the field for the last five minutes of the game (our mistake was to stand on a team side so visibility wasn’t that great) a chant started to ripple around the stadium. “Hey Mizzou! Hey Mizzou! We just beat the hell outta you! Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer Give ‘Em Hell Alabama!”
We walk onto the field and immediately go to speak to Alabama offensive co-ordinator Lane Kiffin, who was one of Saban’s more controversial hires in the off-season of 2014. He politely refused some questions, citing the fact that “assistants weren’t allowed to talk to the media”. But still, there was something chilled and happy in his expression, as though he didn’t have to scream and leap around to know that he had won.
When Kiffin was acknowledged for his offence by Saban in the celebration, he touched his cap and carried on. Maybe getting fired midway through the season at an airport (as he did at the University of Southern California in 2013) does teach you humility, after all.
There’s something eerie about being on the field at a stadium after the game’s finished. The ticker tape’s still on the field. Other people are still chatting or celebrating. The fans have all gone to continue the party. The players have departed stage left, either hitting up the locker room or the press box to answer a barrage of questions from the media cordon. But the battle’s over. And that’s always a little sad.
The scene was left to the backroom cheer staff – the cheerleaders, baton twirlers and band members and members of the crowd to have their own celebrations. Apparently, the difference between an Alabama baton twirler and a cheerleader is that the tiny balls of gymnastic fun are cheerleaders, and twirlers wear sparkles, apparently.
Band members lie in the middle of the SEC logo, doing snow angels in ticker tape. All that’s missing is celebratory proposal. And maybe that’ll happen in Jerry Jones’s stadium in Dallas, if Alabama end up there.
For the record, we find out on Sunday that Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State have made the College Football Playoff, and Baylor and TCU didn’t.
