"we are the only team that plays in a real BCS conference that went 12-0." Nick Saban, Alabama Head Coach
"There is not a player out of high school that Alabama would recruit... Alabama is too strong defensively, and physically, Utah has met an opponent that they might not could handle..." Barry Switzer
"An ESPN poll that seems to change hourly says 89 percent of the nation thinks the former No. 1 team in the country will handle the 12-0 Utes." ESPN.com
"The Vegas guys say 12-1 Alabama, a 10-point favorite, will cover that line and then some." ESPN.com
"Bama will man handle their offense and like all the other games, our offensive line will wear down their defense. "
Bama 31 utes 10." augrad4ua, comment post
"Alabama has outscored opponents 122-37 in the first quarter" FoxSports.com
The above is a mere snippet of what I was obsessed with listening too for the month of December. I couldn't help it, I wanted to hear Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio talk about the next Sugar Bowl failure of a matchup. I couldn't help but read every single comment that followed a "here comes another blowout" article on ESPN. I loved it, I relished in the glory of my team being SOOOOO overrated.
I loved every time I heard that "Utah is too Small," or "They play like Florida without the talent." I love that Graham Watson, a female sports writer on FoxSports.com got ripped by about 1000 comments when she predicted a Utah win. Even my wife would ask, "why do you want to watch this, it's just going to piss you off?" talking about watching ESPN pundits rip into Utah and praise the O-line that is going to be playing on Sundays next year. And I would think to myself, that is EXACTLY why I want to watch this.
And I was right.
For those who missed the hype, "Bama's" Offensive line (the ones who are supposed to stop our quys from getting to their quarterback, while simultaneously helping their running back run straight through us) out-weighed us by over 40lbs per man, and everyone of them made 1st team All-American honors (kinda like the all-stars of college). Overall, Alabama had more 1st Team All-American's than any other school in the NCAA. Alabama had only trailed for 17 minutes for the ENTIRE season including their loss to Florida, they led 763 of the 780 minutes of football they played this year. They were ranked #1 in the country (for most of the season) and came from what is believed to be the strongest conference in the country. They averaged 208 Yards of rushing (thanks to their O-Line) per game. They were big, they were physical, and so were all of their opponents.
Utah on the other hand, had one All-American, their kicker. They had an offense that was considered "stagnent." And even though they were the ONLY undefeated team in the NCAA this year, they weren't given a chance.
1st Quarter: There I was rocking back and forth as the Utes deferred the opening possession to the all powerful Crimson Tide. "Here we go" I thought to myself as I took a deep breath. And in their opening possession, something happened, something NO ONE saw coming, we sacked their quarterback. I was already trash-talking, but sarcastically, I couldn't help but scream everything I heard every ESPN analyst talk about leading up to this game, I couldn't help but scream "NO, we CAN'T do that, WE-ARE-TOO-SMALL!!!"
And then we got the ball (after Casteel let it bounce of his helmet on the kickoff and we miraculously got it back). 6 plays later, the utes were up, 7-0... 11 minutes later, the quarter ended, the Utes up, 21-0. For the first time this year, Alabama was starting the second quarter behind. For the first time this year, Alabama was starting the second quarter without having scored. For the first time this year, the Country thought Utah might have a shot here.
2nd Quarter: Alabama's defense woke up as the Utes were held scoreless. Their offense got together a bit too as they put together their first successful drive of the evening to put 3 points on the board. The Utah fans could feel the tension as it looked like the Alabama players were starting to realize they were in a football game, a football game where they were the Varsity Team, and their opponents were the JV.
Utah All-American Louis Sukoda booted one of his magnificent punts 55 yards to a beast of a man, only to watch the beast's giant legs leap through Louis failed tackle and put another 7 points on the board for Alabama. And not soon enough, the 1st half was over, Utes still up, 21-10. The comeback was mounting. But the Utes still had something, they had still held 'Bama's big offense from getting into the endzone. At least that was the case until...
3rd Quarter: Utes got the ball to start on their own 20, only to fumble it to 'Bama, on our own 20. Before we knew it, Alabama was within 4 points, and they could smell blood. The utes needed to to something, and they needed to do it now.
Utah Quarterback Brian Johnson, calm and collected as always, swiftly led the Utes the opposing teams 28 yard line where he hit David Reed for what looked to be a 9 yard grab as he was being tackled by the "way too big" defensive back as he caught the ball, but the "too small" Reed stayed on his feet, and booked it the other 19 yards to put Utah back up by 2 scores.
4th Quarter: Dominance, total Defensive Dominance. Sacks, an Interception, and 0 points scored... by Alabama. The Utes were content to hold onto the ball as much of the 15 minute quarter as they could muster, while adding 3 points to their score on a Sukoda kick. And when John Parker Wilson threw a pass to Robert Johnson with just 2:00 minutes remaining, everyone knew it was over.
They knew it was over because John Parker Wilson plays for Alabama, Robert Johnson plays for Utah. And Utah was up 31-17.
Sugary Sweet was this all too perfect moment. I gave a goofy smile to my "frightened by my over-exuberence" beautiful wife, wearing her newly purchased Sugar Bowl shirt, and gave a kiss to my darling little Newborn daughter, also in Utah fan garb.
I couldn't wait to here about how small we were again, I couldn't wait to read the comments NOW, I couldn't wait to turn on the radio.
The Utes won.
And then I exhaled.
2 comments:
This was a great read!
I didn't watch the game, but Tim kept running up the stairs shouting and telling me things. And he recorded it to watch again yesterday! Go utes!
Like I said, I don't think I've ever been more satisfied watching a game.
It was hands down the best 'in your face' I have ever spectated...
I want to watch it again, just to see all those smug faces turn (quickly) into confusion and then ultimately baffled defeat.
Oh, it was truly awesome.
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