Freshman Almost Prevails

How many of us thought at some point that this one was over? I did, and if you were like me you watched anyway. Through draw play after draw play, even after the back breaking, rifle it 5 feet to your running back's face with 3 seconds left in case he can escape the 5 linemen surrounding him and run for a 70 yard touchdown play, we stuck with it. There was just a feeling that this rookie, Garret Gilbert, a freshman who saw mostly garbage time througout the season, would come alive and make a game of it.

He did finally, albeit late in the 3rd quarter down 24-6. Two quick touchdowns to Jordan Shipley including a sweet 55 yard in stride strike across the middle made it 24-21 after a 2 point conversion with 6 minutes to go. "YES!" millions of people shouted while saying "honey, not now this is the National Championship!" But not me of course, I do have the ability to cozy up and watch a game of this magnitude, I have to.

The Texas defense, led by LB Roddrick Muckelroy, then held the Crimson Tide to a 3 and out. May I add that the Texas defense is what kept Texas in the game the second half. So there it was, the stage was set, just over 3 minutes remaining, 2 timeouts, and 94 yards seperating the 6'4 Garret Gilbert from the most unlikely success story in college football history. First play, penalty, 10 yards first down. Second play, blind side blitz, the left tackle must have been looking for his contact lense because he completely ignored Eryk Anders, who gave Gilbert the hardest hit if his career, a fumble, and ultimately the game.

As Alabama ran up the score in the final two minutes, it was easy to wonder what if Colt McCoy would have stayed in. What if Garret Gilbert didn't throw two crucial interceptions, including the tag against his RB...what if Nebraska would have made a better kick with no penalties in the Big 12 championship. But that, is why college football is college football.