BCS National Championship: Why Alabama will repeat in 2012
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
My wife said to me last evening on the tennis court that it is beginning to feel a bit like fall outside. We live in the south and being early August the mercury is still hitting the 90′s and I thought she had lost her mind. Or worse, I thought maybe she had heat stroke.
But it got me thinking about the greatest time of the year: Fall and the College football season.
There truly is nothing like college football. The NFL fans will say that their sport is superior, but you just can’t find the passion in Pro football that there is in College Football.
So what will this season hold? What upsets will take place? What controversy will show it’s ugly head? And most important: Who will win the BCS National Championship this year?
Alabama will win the BCS National Championship in 2012
I know that the pundits are not picking Bama. I get that they lost a ton on defense. You can’t lose players like Dont’a Hightower, Mark Barron, and Courtney Upshaw and be as good or better the next year.
They will point to 2010, the last time that Alabama was defending a title and lost key players on defense. Alabama lost 3 games that year, including a heartbreaking loss at home to Auburn who went on to win the BCS National Championship.
The national writers and broadcasters will also point out that no modern team has won back to back BCS National Championship and that the odds are strictly against Alabama to be the first.
All of these are fair points.
So what do I know that is any different?
BCS National Championship 5 Reasons Alabama repeats in 2012:
1. Offensive Line:
Coaches all over the country are envious of the group Nick Saban will put on the field this season. The heart and soul of this group is senior and Outland Trophy winner Barrett Jones. Jones moves over to center from left tackle and will make all the calls and adjustments. He is as smart as he is talented. Chance Warmack at left guard is probably the best lineman, folks outside of Tuscaloosa, have never heard of. The rest of the line is big and nasty. DJ Fluker, Anthony Steen, and Cyrus Koundjio are all big, experienced and can move the opposition. This line will be Alabama’s best and is larger than most, if not all, NFL teams.
If they stay healthy, Bama should have no problem moving the chains this fall.
2. More experience on defense than you think
As mentioned above Alabama lost some incredible production on the defensive side of the football. Upshaw, Hightower, Barron and under appreciated Josh Chapman, just to name a few are gone. I think most, so called experts, are focusing more on what the Crimon Tide has lost and not what they have returning. Jesse Williams will lock down the nose guard position that Chapman vacates. This could actually be an upgrade for the Tide. Chapman was a workman like player, (and played injured in 2011) while Williams brings explosiveness.
Alabama also returns 3 linebackers that have all seen considerable time on the field. They will have to be very active if Alabama is to repeat the BCS National Championship. None of them have the complete package that a Hightower has, but used together they will bring plenty of production at the position. Trey Depriest, Nico Johnson and CJ Mosley will cement the second line of defense for Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.
The secondary was the big question mark in 2010 for Alabama. You could make the argument that the 2012 Alabama team is equally green. I would argue differently. Robert Lester has seen a ton of football from the safety position. He will be called on to provide more leadership this season. He has seen plenty of SEC football and can help direct the secondary.
Dee Milliner is one returning starter at corner and junior college transfer Deion Belue hopes to win the position at the other. Belue has seen a lot of football and is very talented but will have to adjust to SEC calibre football.
Vinnie Sunseri is a star in the making and a fan favorite. He is smart and plays above his talent level. He will have a role this fall at the safety position.
This defense should be plenty strong enough to win the BCS National Championship.
3. Nick Saban
Saban is building a machine in Tuscaloosa. Never in the modern BCS National Championship era has there been a coach of this magnitude. He is the best coach in all of college football and he has shown no signs of slowing down.
It is amazing to watch the way Saban masters every aspect of his job. There is no better recruiter, motivator, or game manager than Nick Saban.
The fact he is at Alabama and surrounding himself with 5 star talent year after year has to be nerve racking if you are the coach of a rival.
One more thing about Saban. He seems at home in Tuscaloosa and his nomadic ways seem to have died. The rich tradition of Alabama merged with his work ethic and his game plan implementation is something to behold.
4. AJ McCarron
The difference between winning big in a league like the SEC and just being average can be largely attributed to the QB position. Ask LSU about how important a QB can be in bringing home the crystal trophy.
McCarron had a break out season last year. He has shown that he can win at the highest level and he is only getting better. With the great offensive line that he will have in front of him, and the young talent at receiver McCarron should be able to air it out more this season. And if Alabama wants to win another BCS National Championship, they will need a great season from AJ McCarron.
Alabama will always be a grind it out run style offense, but McCarron has Saban’s trust. Why else would Saban implement the game plan that he did in last year’s BCS National Championship game if he did not trust his quarterback? Alabama completely caught LSU off guard by throwing on first down a majority of the game.
5. Young offensive talent
Eddie Lacy will be the returning veteren and the first option at tailback, but look out for T. J. Yeldon. Yeldon is a true freshman and burst onto the scene during spring practice raising a lot of eyebrows.
The buzz out of Tuscaloosa are true freshmen Eddie Williams and Amari Cooper. Williams is a 5 star talent that will get a look at receiver this fall. He is tall and athletic and should be a match up nightmare for DB’s on Saturday. Cooper is incredibly poised and may be the best route runner of the bunch.
Christian Jones is another play maker that will be utilized in offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeir’s offense. Jones did a remarkable job filling in for an injured Marquis Maze in the title game last January. He should only be better this season as a sophomore.
All this young talent will compliment experience at QB and offensive line to make the Bama offense a more balanced unit, than the run heavy offense a season ago with Trent Richardson
Examining the schedule – For the second year in a row, it will come down to the match up with LSU. I know it is at night, in Baton Rouge with Tiger fans wanting Crimson blood, but I will go with the more experienced quarterback and the veteran offensive line in this circumstance.
Will the team be hungry and stay focused? Can they stay healthy? Will the football bounce in their favor?
No one knows the answers to these questions.
But if I was a betting man I would not bet against this team and Nick Saban.
Bama will hoist the crystal in Miami winning their third BCS National Championship in 4 years
And the dynasty will continue………..
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