The seeds of Alabama's national championship game appearance were planted right after last season."There was a time when we had a team meeting after the (2009) Sugar Bowl (a loss to Utah), right before we started the offseason program," said Alabama coach Nick Saban.
"We kind of showed a picture to the players of the SEC Championship, and we said there are some great teams and we would have some difficult times, and we had to work to beat the best team in our league. ... And everything you do, every time you go to work, every time we lift weights, every time you run, every time we practice, it's not to be as good as the guy you're playing against. It's to be as good as the guy you have to beat to be the champion.
"Our players bought into that."
So, it's no surprise to Alabama that it is headed to Pasadena to play in the national championship game after dispatching the defending national champion Florida Gators 32-13 in the SEC title game.
It's a powerhouse matchup: 13-0 Alabama vs. 13-0 Texas.
Everything -- well, most everything -- starts for both of these teams on defense.
Alabama ranks No. 2 and Texas No. 3 in total defense. The Longhorns are No. 1 and the Tide No. 2 in rushing defense. Alabama is No. 1 and Texas No. 8 in scoring defense ... and on it goes, right down the line, where statistically these are two of the best defenses in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment