Update: Thanks to Twitter, this post caught the attention of Gatorade president Sarah Robb O’Hagan (@SarahRobbOh). She enjoyed our rundown of the funniest Gatorade baths ever, and she also sent me the wall mural from Gatorade’s headquarters with some of their favorite Gatorade baths of all-time. It’s very cool. You’ll see it at the end of the post.

The Gatorade bath is a tradition like few others in sports.

After most monumental wins in football – specifically Super Bowls, national championship games, especially important and/or meaningful bowl games, or season-ending victories over hated rivals – such a celebration can be expected. The tradition began with the New York Giants in the mid-1980s and continues into today with no signs of slowing down.

While the sentimental among us enjoy the Gatorade bath because it symbolizes the triumph of a team of men on the field of athletic battle and the ultimate moment of shared jubilation and respect between coach and player, I enjoy Gatorade baths for a far different reason.

Pictures and videos of them can be laugh-lout-loud hilarious.

So here is my personal ode to the Gatorade bath, with the 28 funniest Gatorade baths of all-time, presented in no particular order other than saving the best ones for last.

Bob Stoops

Image source: AP Photo/LM Otero via Boston.com

Urban Meyer

Image source: SBNation

Nick Saban

Zombie Ken Whisenhunt

Image source: Revenge of the Birds

Kirk Ferentz

Image credit: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky via Boston.com

Jim Tressel

Image credit: Photo by Harry How/Getty Images via The Part Time Jock

Image source: Eleven Warriors

Gary Patterson

Joe Gibbs

Image source: Here

Tony Dungy

Image source: Stock Lemon Blog

Bill Parcells

Image credit: Peter Read Miller/SI via Hot Clicks

Greg Schiano

Image source: Today’s ACC Headlines

Image credit: Dill/AP via NY Daily News

Steve Spurrier

Image source: Eric Campos via GoGamecocks.com

Dave Doeren

Image credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE via Chicago Tribune

Some Confused Ohio Bobcats

Mike McCarthy

Image source: Here

Cito Gaston

Image source: The National Post

Bill Curry

Image source: MTV.com

Rick Stockstill

Image credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images via Boston.com

Frank Beamer

Image credit: Phil Coale/AP via Statesman.com

Image source: Boston.com

Eric Mangini

Les Miles

Image source: Here

Image credit: A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images via MTV.com

Image source: SECTalk.com

And I saved the best image last…

Marty Schottenheimer…like a boss

But no Gatorade shower can or will ever be quite as funny as the one in this video, all things considered.

Guy Morriss

Update: Actually, I was mistaken. I’m not quite sure how I forgot about one of my favorite Gatorade bath pictures of all time, but I did. Thankfully, loyal Tweeters like @jimkanicki are here to remind me of the error of my ways. For goodness sakes, this pic is the background of Spencer Hall’s Twitter page!

Here is the great Howard Schnellenberger (the man who laid the foundation at The U, for those too young to remember) being doused by his team at Florida Atlantic.

Random thought: I suppose I should change the number in the title to 29 considering that there are technically now 29 images and videos with the addition of the Schellenberger picture, but since one of the pics is an elephant peeing on Les Miles, we won’t count that as a Gatorade bath.

Update: And here is the picture of the mural at Gatorade HQ sent to me by Sarah Robb O’Hagan:

There wasn’t much to get excited about during the game unless you cheer for Alabama, but Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban did get to share a tender moment with mentor Bill Belichick after the game.

The two are now reportedly out on Bourbon Street tossing beads.

Just kidding. They’re breaking down film.

As the NFL season digresses, there will be more firings to come and many teams will  look to the college game for potential head coaches.  It didn’t take long for the rumors to begin about the next possible head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs being from college, as Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz was mentioned as a candidate to replace Todd Haley.  Kirk Ferentz will not be the only name tossed out there but other coaches from the college game will be floated around for NFL coaching jobs as well.

Because a coach has a lot of success in college does not always mean it will translate at the next level. More often than not former college coaches do not achieve greatness – or even just goodness – in the NFL.

* – Nick Saban photo credit: via The Palm Beach Post

Every team that hires a college coach is trying to capture the success of Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer from the nineties.  These two coaches went from coaching college to the NFL and won Super Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys.  Barry Switzer would be the last college-to-NFL coach to win a Super Bowl in 1995 for the Cowboys, and before that his predecessor Jimmy Johnson did the same thing, winning two.

Since then, many top notch college coaches have tried to carry their success from college to the NFL and have failed.  One coach that sticks out among this group is Bobby Petrino, who left Louisville to coach the Atlanta Falcons and quit before the NFL season ended.  Petrino stepped down in his first season as head coach in Atlanta after only 13 games and returned to coaching college football at Arkansas the following year.

Since the nineties, none of the college-to-NFL coaches could ever crack the code to becoming elite at the next level and most were quickly removed from their duties.  Many of these coaches were great in college yet mediocre in the NFL.  Here is a list of some of the top college coaches that have gone to the NFL and their records:

• Bobby Petrino Louisville – Atlanta Falcons (2007) 3-10
• Nick Saban LSU – Miami Dolphins (2005-06) 15-17
• Dennis Erickson Miami – Seahawks (1995-98), 49ers (2003-04) 40-56
• Steve Spurrier Florida – Washington Redskins (2002-03) 2-20
• Butch Davis Miami – Cleveland Browns (2001-05) 24-35
• Mike Riley Oregon – State San Diego Chargers (1999-2001) 14-34

None of the coaches on this list had a winning record in the NFL. All were forced to go back to coaching college football.

Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban have not skipped a beat since coming back to the college game. Both immediately got back to their winning ways from before they left for the NFL.  Petrino’s Arkansas Razorbacks have been ranked in the top 10 all season long and Saban is taking Alabama to the national championship game.  The Ol’ Ball Coach (Steve Spurrier) has also gotten back to becoming one of the top coaches in college football as he has turned the South Carolina program around after his short NFL career.

Currently Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll are the two former college coaches now in the NFL and trying to change the trend set by their peers in the past.  It is hard to tell if Harbaugh and Carroll will be elite coaches in the NFL because they have not been there long enough since being removed from college football to properly judge them. Both do seem to be off to a good start as Carroll went to playoffs in his first year and Harbaugh will be heading there this season.

It has been two decades since the last the college coach made the jump to the NFL and won a Super Bowl.  Any NFL team that wants to hire a college coach to lead their franchise had better think twice because history is not on their side when it comes to success.

********

Nick Saban is not a nice person.

These two things are givens. There is no reasonable argument to make against either.

And just in case you weren’t convinced about the second one, all you need to do is read this post at Sports by Brooks to be convinced. Here is the gist, as Brooks recounts what Heath Evans told to Jorge Sedano on 790 The Ticket in Miami:

Jeno James, our best offensive lineman at the time, comes in and collapses after practice, uh, vomiting all kinds of stuff that would make a billygoat puke, eyes rolled in the back of his head. Myself, about four other lineman are trying to carry him from the locker room, to the training room. 

Obviously it’s a moment of panic, everyone, you know, we don’t know if this guy’s, you know, gonna die, I mean, the whole deal. But he’s so big and sweaty and heavy that we actually have to set him down in the hallway between the locker room and the training room.

Nick Saban literally just starts walking in, steps over Jeno James convulsing, doesn’t say a word, doesn’t try to help, goes upstairs, I don’t know what he does. But then obviously they get Jeno trauma-offed to the hospital.

Saban calls a team meeting about 10:30 that night, comes down and says, ‘You know, the captain of the ship can never show fear or indecision, we’ve always gotta have an answer, and so I had to go upstairs, that’s why I walked over Geno like that, I had to collect my thoughts and decide what’s best for our team.’

That’s Nick Saban for you: he’ll win tons of football games (college anyway) but step over convulsing players in the process.

And this got me thinking…

If he could come in from a 3-hour long practice in the scorching heat of south Florida and step right over a player who is convulsing and puking with his eyes rolled back in his head, what wouldn’t Nick Saban step over?

With just a little bit of Internet sleuthing, I was unable to uncover some other curious step-over decisions made by Saban.

Remember when Alabama wide receiver Tyrone Prothro fractured his tibia and fibula? Mike Shula was the coach then, but Saban was there to step right over Prothro (presumably to show leadership and collect his thoughts).

It seems that Saban has a history of stepping over football players who are suffering from terrible injuries.

Remember when Eric LeGrand of Rutgers was paralyzed? There was Saban, showing not one sign of fear nor indecision.

For the record, I felt a little bad including this one, considering the seriousness of LeGrand’s injury, but it does offer me the opportunity to link to this article about how the inspiring LeGrand is fighting every day to walk again. Every time I see LeGrand on TV, with his positive attitude despite these horrific circumstances, I gain more and more admiration for the kid. So yes, I feel bad including this image here; but if it gets one or a few of you to go read up more on this amazing young man, and if it further sensationalizes how big of a jackass Saban is, then I can live with myself.

Moving on now, how about Little Nick Saban jogging right over a helpless young girl who has crashed on her skateboard?

And then there was that time when Saban stepped over Turd Ferguson while walking alone in a field of Bermuda grass.

Of course, later that day, while still walking in the barren field of grass, Saban came upon an old man who had fallen. Did Saban stop to help the old man? Not a chance.

NO FEAR!

And in another example of Saban-style leaderhsip, the Nicktator also encountered infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky with the kid from Up.

Did Saban even consider stopping? Hell no.

He continued on, probably to collect his thoughts and decide what the appropriate course of action would be.

Nick Saban is the captain of the ship folks. Why would he stop?

Like that time the Titantic was sinking. Did Captain Saban stop to offer a helping hand? Nope, he just did what he’s always known he could do: walked on water and got the hell out of there.

And the thing with Saban is that not only will he not stop, you can barely even distract him.

Hell, there can be riots going on and an ironic meme-ready hookup happening right in front of him, but Saban will just step right over and walk on by.

Not even history can stop Nick Saban.

When everyone in the White House was sitting on pins and needles waiting for Osama bin Laden to be brought to justice, Saban leapt up, stepped over the President, and crunched Hilary Clinton’s laptop.

Why? He had to go upstairs. Or something.

Heck, Saban is such a megalomaniacal, football-focused “leader” that he couldn’t even be bothered to help Zack talk Jesse Spano out of taking more uppers.

She may have been “so excited” but Saban wasn’t about to show even the slightest hint of fear or indecision. What would Slater have thought?

Oh, and then there was that one time when Saban stepped over Drew Brees and his injured shoulder…

Oops.

I guess he didn’t take enough time to collect his thoughts on that one.

For the record, as someone who grew up cheering for the Miami Dolphins, and thus suffered through the insufferable Saban Era in Miami, this was a thoroughly satisfying post to write.

Go LSU.

**********

Let’s pretend that the BCS system was created in order to determine the best team in the country.

I know…it’s quite a leap…but try and follow me along on this extended hypothetical.

If the BCS is supposed to pit the two best teams in the nation against each other in the national championship game, then this year, it will have worked if LSU and Alabama end up meeting to decide the BCS National Championship.

Image credit: Icon SMI via Saturday Down South

Why The Alabama-LSU Rematch Should Happen

Of course, this raises the ire of fans around the country who care more about pageantry, tradition, and excitement than they do about crowning a true champion.  After all, “The Game of the Century” was quite boring.

“Alabama already had their chance.  Give it to someone else.”

“How could you have a national champion that didn’t even win their conference championship?”

RiMarcus Reilly* even wrote this “insightful” piece that was completely devoid of fact and logical thought…but at least he did explain to us that there could be more exciting games to watch than LSU/Alabama.

Look, I understand that Alabama/LSU 2.0 might be undesirable.  It may make for a more boring game than say, Oregon vs. Houston.  Those reasons given above may actually make sense in other years too.

But look at this year, 2011, and answer me this question: what college football team (besides LSU) do you HONESTLY think is better than Alabama?

Let’s just go over all the options one by one.

Unfortunately we must throw out any teams with more than one loss, so even though Wisconsin lost two incredibly tough games, and teams like Arkansas, Oregon, and Oklahoma are good, they HAVE to be left out of this conversation.

Boise State

Their schedule is so weak (67th in the nation), they had to run the table in order to get into the final game.  They couldn’t.  If Boise HAD run the table, I would have loved to put them in the national championship game.  They ran all over a very good Georgia team early on, and I think Kellen Moore is one of the best college QBs we have seen in a while.  Unfortunately, they lost to TCU.  They can’t seriously be considered as a better candidate than Alabama.

Houston

The most intriguing team of the bunch.  12-0.  Undefeated.  Fantastic QB.  This is the only team I would actually consider putting into the championship game besides Alabama.  Unfortunately, their strength of schedule is worse than Boise State’s (75th in the nation).  Sorry Case Keenum, not only will you be overlooked for the Heisman, but you also won’t get the chance to show your stuff against a legit SEC defense.

Virginia Tech

They have fewer quality wins than Boise State.  The ACC was so incredibly weak this year that Clemson is playing in their championship game.  Their strength of schedule is barely better than Boise’s (63rd), and their only quality wins were…looking…whoops, I couldn’t even find one.  Unless you call Georgia Tech and Virginia quality wins, in which case you won’t understand most of this article.

Stanford

Stanford had a good season.  They went 11-1 and had some decent wins over Notre Dame and USC. All they had to do was beat a 2-loss Oregon team and they would be playing in the national championship — an Oregon team that got absolutely blown off the field by LSU and their speed in the first game of the year; an Oregon team with a banged up LaMichael James.

Stanford couldn’t follow through.

In fact, Stanford looked BAD.  Oregon was much faster at every single position.  The two teams didn’t even look like they belonged on the same field.  And we are supposed to believe that a team that got dominated by a team that got blown out by LSU should be playing in the national championship OVER Alabama?  Come on.

I love Andrew Luck.  I think he’s a great player.  But his team, top to bottom, is clearly not on the same level as some other teams in the country.

Oklahoma State

This is the team I feel the worst for.

I love to watch them play.  They have the second best scoring offense in the nation.  They have been great all year – except for one game.  And you know, they actually had an excuse to come out flat against Iowa State.  Their school was dealing with an unbelievably sad tragedy, and it’s not hard to empathize with their poor performance.

Unfortunately, they still lost – to a 6-5 Iowa State team.  The Cowboys controlled their own destiny.  All they had to do was beat a mediocre team on national television – and they couldn’t do it.

Let’s compare them to Alabama, a team that has crushed every team they played this year except for the #1 team in the country.

The Cowboys have a great offense – #2 in scoring…but Alabama’s is not that bad, they rank 17th.  Just because the Tide’s offense may not be exciting doesn’t mean it’s not effective.  Plus, if you put all 22 offensive players from both teams on the field, Trent Richardson would be the best player.

On the flip side, Alabama has one of the most dominant defenses of all time – and this can’t be argued.  Oklahoma State is a laughable 107th.  ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH!!!!  And this is a team that is supposed to beat LSU?

There is no logical way to argue that Oklahoma State deserves to play in the national championship more than Alabama.

Just compare the two schedules.  One team played THE SECOND HARDEST SCHEDULE in the nation, and it’s only loss was to the #1 team in the country.   The other team played a tough schedule as well (17th), but lost to a team that is barely bowl eligible.

Case closed.

Well it should be.

But most people would never allow facts to get in the way of their opinion.  They will still argue that Oklahoma State’s offense could put up points on LSU and it would at least be a better game.

Might the game be more exciting?  Sure.  But would Oklahoma State be certain to put up points?  Absolutely not.

In 2003, the high scoring Oklahoma Sooners from the Big 12 faced off against the LSU Tigers in the national championship game…and scored 14 points.

In 2009, the high scoring Oklahoma Sooners from the Big 12 faced off against the Florida Gators in the national championship game…and scored 14 points.

In 2010, the high scoring Texas Longhorns from the Big 12 faced off against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national championship game…and HEY!!!! They broke 20!!!

Should there be a playoff?  Of course.

Is Alabama/LSU 2.0 undesirable?  A little bit.

But if we are supposed to uphold the myth that the NCAA really wants the two best teams in the country to play against each other for the national championship, the ONLY two options come from the Deep South.

Image credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America via Zimbio

**********

* – For those who don’t get this “RiMarcus Reilly” reference, like our editor apparently, this is what Jason Whitlock calls Rick Reilly since ESPN spent all that money on him but he’s been a bust…just like JaMarcus Russell.

In short: Tom Walter, a head coach of the Wake Forest baseball team, donated a kidney to Kevin Jordan, a freshman outfielder. That kind of selflessness and sacrifice is exactly what coaches try to instill in their players and teams; Tom Walter actually led by incredible example. It’s a great story. (For more on it, click here.)

What caught my eye about the post at The Chronicle was the first comment on the story. Take a look:

Screenshot source: The Chronicle

What makes this comment – Does this violate NCAA requirements regarding gifts to student athletes? – so great is that I have no idea if the commenter was being irreverent and snarky or dead serious. Either way, it’s a perfectly appropriate comment to make. Such is the ambiguity the NCAA has wrought with its over-complicated and contradictory rule book and methods and enforcement.

I have to assume that such an act – donating an organ to a player – is not against NCAA rules. How could it be, right? It’s not something that happens often and the human interest benefits are so profound that the NCAA could not possibly penalize someone for doing so…right?

I am sitting right now thinking about this, and I don’t know for certain. I really don’t. I assume it’s not against any rule, I hope it’s not against rule, but I would put nothing past the NCAA when it comes to absurdity. There really is a part of me that thinks it very well could violate some arcane, obscure NCAA rule, and I bet you’re now starting to question it yourself. (Are you?)

Because here’s the thing: as I ruminate on this, all I keep thinking about is that somewhere Nick Saban, after reading the story of Tom Walter and Kevin Jordan, is trying to find out if Jadeveon Clowney has a relative in need of a kidney. Gene Chizik probably is too. If it meant signing the #1 player in the country, don’t you think Saban, Chizik, and other coaches of their win-at-all-costs ilk would donate a kidney?

Okay, maybe not…but maybe.

Admit that you at least considered it as a possibility. And if that’s the case, wouldn’t the NCAA have to step in and make some kind of rule so the unscrupulous Sabans and Chiziks and Caliparis of the world don’t start donating organs – or finding donors – as yet another way of luring recruits?

And would it even be so bad if they did? Who cares what their motives are…if they donate a kidney, isn’t ultimately a wonderfully good thing to do? So what if it’s part of a grander plan to lure a recruit a campus?

Update: I decided to take a poll on this to see just how ridiculous you think the notion is:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

It’s ridiculous, this discussion is. All of it. Totally ridiculous. I feel ridiculous even typing what I just typed. And yet…I can’t help but feel that maybe it’s only a touch ridiculous, and that we really are not that far away from something like this in the current environment of college sports. Then I think that’s what is truly ridiculous, before demanding to myself that I stop thinking about all this ridiculousness right now.

And I got all of this from from one reader comment that asked a perfectly logical (or snarky) question in response to a beautiful, inspiring story. Am I the only one?

**********

* – Nick Saban photo credit: KEVIN C. COX / GETTY IMAGES via Seattle Times

If I went to school in Tuscaloosa, I’d also probably be making shirts that say “Wow, I thought my second national championship ring was gonna get in the way on that one” with hang making a Hook ‘em sign.

Why? Because both are lines from a terrific new college football ad from ESPN featuring Alabama coach Nick Saban, Texas coach Mack Brown, and Chris Fowler. No, this isn’t “Follow me! Follow me to freedom!” funny, but it definitely made me chuckle.

I think it’s Mack Brown’s intensity. He really wants to win Hungry Hungry Hippos.

My favorite screenshot is below. Chris Fowler’s face is priceless.

The only thing that could have made this commercial better would be Lou Holtz bopping in excitedly with a game of Sorry. But I digress…

Honestly, while these ESPN commercials may seem silly and/or cheesy, they are a great example of why Nick Saban and Mack Brown are so successful. And I mean it.

They get it.

Brown probably enjoyed it, because he actually seems like a human being with warm blood and feelings, but something tells me the cold-blooded Saban hated every minute of being on the set; but he knows that having his face out there, and showing a lighter side, will help with recruiting. Mission accomplished.

Saban and Brown will once again be ubiquitous on ESPN, not only in the polls and during Top 25 highlight packages, but also during commercials. And that means that their school’s brand will also be ubiquitous.

Want to know why these guys pull down the jack they do? Watch the commercial above. It’s not quite so silly when you consider the millions of dollars of free advertising UT and Alabama are getting.

Now, to close, everyone say it with me: HUNGRY HIPPOS BABY…IT’S ON!

And his latest column, about the deplorable practice of college football coaches over-signing, nails it.

An excerpt and then a link:

LSU football coach Les Miles is a bad guy — literally, a subspecies of human being — but make no mistake about this: I’m not calling him a cheater. Miles is a bad guy, but he’s a bad guy with the official approval of the NCAA.

So I guess I’m calling the NCAA a bad guy as well. But that fits, seeing how the NCAA won’t let college prospects eat a cheeseburger under certain conditions — but will let Isiah Thomas be on the New York Knicks’ payroll as a consultant while also coaching the Florida International basketball team. The NCAA is made up of a lot of people, men and women, who are smart and kind and classy — but as a whole, the NCAA is full of crap.

Bad guys utilize over-signing, and it has to stop — (Gregg Doyel, CBS Sports)

There is no organization in sports more full of a crap than the NCAA, and I can’t help but think that the whole thing is a growing house of cards that one day is going to implode and fall when the phony foundation of “amateurism” upon which the NCAA is built gets pulled out from under it.

Until then, I’ll settle for columns that describe Nick Saban as “two evolutionary stages below a lizard.”

College Football:

• Video: Colt McCoy injured during BCS National Championship Game — (SEC Football Blogger)
• Nick Saban did not like his Gatorade shower last night — (Zoner Sports)
• Texas Longhorns steal a play from The Waterboy — (Guyism)

NFL:

• A gynecologist’s take on Eagles v Cowboys — (The Global Sports Fraternity)
• Corporate Magician Brian Jeff Analyzes Chiefs Hiring Charlie Weis — (Style Points Blog)
• The Broncos’ Need for Change — (Predominantly Orange)
• Just Sin Baby: JaMarcus Does Las Vegas — (Just Blog Baby)

NBA:

• Why Chris Bosh should choose the Bulls — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• Movie Time with Ronnie Turiaf — (That NBA Lottery Pick)
• The card game Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenden were playing sounds like a lethal way to lose money — (Steady Burn)

Golf:

• A Tiger Woods movie in the works? — (Detroit 4 Lyfe)

Misc:

• Stop the TicketMaster Merger Monopoly — (Intentional Foul)
• Great Moments in Unlicensed Pittsburgh Sports Merchandize: City of Champyinz — (PSAMP)
• 10 Not-so-crazy predictions for the next decade in sports — (Randall Simon’s Sausages)
• How to Choose a Domain Name & Choosing a Blog Name — (How-to-Blog.tv)

Although Boise State can reasonably hold its undefeated record up as evidence that it deserves to be in the championship conversation, all that really matters is what happens on the field tonight between two old-school college football powerhouses: Alabama and Texas.

The Alabama Crimson Tide boast Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and a man at the helm, Nick Saban, who is on his way to building one of the most impressive college football coaching resumes ever.

The underdog Texas Longhorns feature college football’s all-time winningest quarterback in Colt McCoy, as well as the knowledge that their own very program recently authored a BCS championship game upset against a heavily favored opponent.

Yep…regardless of who you’re rooting for, or if you even have a specific rooting interest at all, if you like college football even one iota, this is going to be a good one.

Here are the particulars for tonight’s BCS National Championship Game (presented by Citi!):

BCS National Championship Game: Alabama v Texas

• BCS Championship Game Alabama-Texas TV: ABC
• BCS Championship Game Alabama-Texas Kickoff Time: 8:30 PM ET
• BCS Championship Game Alabama-Texas Announcers: Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit
• BCS Championship Game Alabama-Texas Location: Pasadena, CA
• BCS Championship Game Alabama-Texas Spread: Alabama -4
• BCS Championship Game Alabama-Texas Over-Under: 46
• Official Website: BCS Championship Game

The initial point spread for the Alabama-Texas game was Alabama -5. Seeing as how it is now -4, that tells you that a lot of bettors have been putting their money on the Longhorns. If you watched the two teams play in their respective conference championship games – Alabama spanked Florida while Texas almost blew a close lead to Nebraska – you might wonder how anyone in their right mind could be betting on Texas.

I think there are a couple of objective reasons why Texas could very well defeat the odds and win this game, or at the very least keep it very close.

First, you can’t discount the importance of experience at the QB position. As mentioned above, no QB in college football history has more winning experience than Colt McCoy. Even though the Longhorns’ offense has struggled at times this year, McCoy’s experience is important.

Secondly, we’ve seen all too often how BCS favorites often do not live up to the hype in the big game, especially when the Heisman Trophy winner happens to be on their sideline. A prime example is USC and Reggie Bush in 2005, when they were defeated by Texas and Vince Young. A lot of people have been bringing that game up over the last few weeks and it’s a valid comparison in some ways, though certainly not all.

There are all kinds of stats that could be crunched, matchups that could be analyzed, and objective reasons to choose one team or the other in this game. Ultimately though, a lot of those things usually end up not mattering in college football championship games, especially when there has been such a long layoff for both teams between their last game and when they take the field tonight.

My pick to win tonight is Alabama, and I say so for one primary reason: the run the football better than Texas.

Something that we often see in bowl games is teams struggling a bit with the rhythm of their passing game. The long layoff cited above is a primary reason why this can happen. Considering how shaky Colt McCoy looked against Nebraska, and how long it’s been since he’s dropped back at game speed, I’m concerned that the Texas offense could end up being hamstrung unless they can run the ball better than they’ve showed.

Alabama, on the other hand, relies on their running game. I know all about the Heisman jinx in BCS games, but the ‘Bama running game is more than Mark Ingram. Even if he struggles, I think they have a better shot to move the ball on the ground than Texas does, which is why I feel safer picking the Crimson Tide to win.

As for the spread, I’ll go with Texas there. I have too much respect for Colt McCoy and Mack Brown to think they won’t be able to keep it close. I think we’re in for an epic matchup tonight, one that will be decided by a field goal, and ultimately I think that extra tally ends up on the side of Alabama.

BCS National Championship Game Alabama-Texas spread pick: Texas +4

BCS National Championship Game Alabama-Texas prediction: Alabama 24 | Texas 21

What do you think?

**********

* – Nick Saban photo credit: Derick Hingle/Icon SM via SI.com

(Damnit, if I don’t stop laughing I won’t be able to type this.)

So I was doing my daily perusal of Deadspin.com this morning, and came across the video that is embedded below. The video is about 4 and a half minutes of proud rambling from an Alabama fan in the wake of their 29-9 victory over Tennessee last weekend. My favorite part in the whole thing starts at the 2:47 mark and ends with the glorious line, “But ya’all got ya’all’s ass handed to ye.”

I’m not even really sure what to else to say about this video, except…enjoy:

(FYI…if you’re at work or get offended by profanity, there are a few expletives in the video.  It’s not egregious, but now you’ve been warned.)

A couple more quick hit reactions to this video:

–(Update: According to our first comment the Alabama fan in the above video will be interviewed on the radio later today. Someone please go to the link in the first comment, listen, and post a report. If ye have time, that is.)

–Here is the transcript of my favorite section of this video, which obviously features that best and brightest that the Alabama fan base has to offer. I tried to transcribe in the full spirit of the local patois. (And Mr. Alabama fan, if you read this, “patois” is not something you toast and eat for breakfast on your way to the mill.)

Nick Saban, by God, I don’t know if he, he prolly never watch this but I’m gonna drink this ‘un for you. I love it how ‘ol Tennessee’s uh fans wanna get rid uh Phil Fulmer, though they crying, hell let’s get rid of Phil. Let’s get rid of Phil. Oh, that’s all, that’s all I hear. It ‘aint Phil you gotta worry about, it’s ya damn players ya gotta worry about. Now Phil’s just, just part of the equation – he’s part of the pie.

F*ck it, get rid of Phil. Hell, boycott his ass or something, all I can tell ye.

But, you know I done all this bragging but I will give ya’all credit Tennessee. Ya’all had a hell of a defense. Ya’all wouldn’t lettin’ Alabama run ye over. I give you that, I will. I’m a, I’m a, I’m a damn gentleman. But ya’all got ya’all’s ass handed to ye.

–What does it say for Phil Fulmer’s future as the Tennessee head coach that the strongest and most vociferous support he is getting is from a drunk Alabama fan who looks like he can’t decided whether he is going as Rollie Fingers or Tom Selleck for Halloween?

–You know, I really shouldn’t be so hard on the Alabama fan. He is, after all, “a gentleman.”

Anyway, please feel free to watch the video in amazement as many times as you like. Then leave comments. I say we start a contest to come up with the best name for the Alabama fan. My vote is for Earl Lee Stanton. What’s yours?

[tags]alabama fan, youtube, sec[/tags]