Alabama vs. LSU: Crimson Tide Define 'Team Effort' in Rout of Tigers

Football is a sport that really doesn't have an equivalent to a perfect game in baseball. Indeed, true perfection is something that just doesn't seem to exist in football. If it does, it's awfully elusive.

That's why all of us should count ourselves lucky. On Monday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide treated us all to one of the most perfect football games ever played. For their efforts against LSU, they won themselves a BCS National Championship, Alabama's second in the last three years.

If you're looking for a complete recap of the proceedings, I'll direct you to the recap that I wrote on Monday night shortly after the game ended. All you really need to know is that Alabama dominated from start to finish, and that the outcome of the game was never really in doubt.

But to truly appreciate just how dominant Alabama was, you really have to take a closer look at how all the key components of the team performed on Monday night.

Because I want to save the best for last, we'll start on the offensive side of the ball.

First of all, you have to give all the credit in the world to A.J. McCarron. He came into the game as something of a wild card, but he stepped up in a big way, pacing Alabama's offense as if he'd been doing it for years. Thanks to some great protection from his offensive line, McCarron stood tall in the pocket and led Alabama's offense up and down the field with relative ease.

By the end of the game, McCarron had completed 23 of his 34 passes for 234 yards. Nothing fancy, mind you, but the fact that he managed to be that efficient against the best secondary in the nation is pretty impressive.

It was also impressive how much McCarron spread the ball around. Seven different players caught passes for the Crimson Tide, with tight end Brad Smelley leading the way with seven for 39 yards.

Not surprisingly, Heisman finalist Trent Richardson pitched in on offense as well, carrying the ball 20 times for 96 yards and a touchdown. His 34-yard touchdown run through a demoralized LSU defense late in the fourth quarter sealed the deal.

As a unit, Alabama's offense gained 384 yards and held the ball for an astounding 35 minutes and 26 seconds. 

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jeremy Shelley. He missed two field goals and clanked an extra point off the upright, but his five field goals opened up a 15-0 lead that put the pressure on LSU's offense to keep up.

It was unable to do so. And for that, all the credit in the world goes to Alabama's defense. It destroyed LSU's offense, and it wasn't gentle in doing the deed.

Numbers do a pretty good job of telling the story. The Tigers gained a grand total of 92 yards, including 39 on 27 rushing attempts. That's an average of 1.4 yards per carry, of course. LSU's struggles running the football were a big reason the Tigers only gained five first downs all game.

In addition, LSU's offense crossed midfield once.

Once!

The one set of numbers that really don't tell the whole story belonged to Jordan Jefferson. He completed 11 of his 17 pass attempts for 53 yards and one pick. Pretty bad numbers, to be sure.

But those numbers don't quite do a good enough job of illustrating just how overmatched Jefferson was in this game. He never had a stable to pocket to throw from when he dropped back to pass, and the speed of Alabama's defense made running the option a living hell for him.

By the end of the game, Jefferson had a deer-in-the-headlights look going on, and I have to say I don't blame him. The poor dude simply didn't have any answers, and he certainly didn't have any confidence.

I'll admit that I almost felt bad for Jefferson. For that matter, I almost felt bad for LSU as a whole.

The key word here is "almost." Truth be told, I was a little too preoccupied staring out my window keeping my eyes open for Crimson Tide defenders. I knew they were out there somewhere.

If they were, it would have been Nick Saban's doing. It was evident early on that Saban wasn't about to let Les Miles get the better of him, and he never eased up. Saban gave Miles a coaching beatdown, thus putting to rest the train of thought that the Mad Hatter is the better of the two coaches.

We now know, quite definitively, that he is not. We also know that Alabama was the better team when it really mattered.

The Crimson Tide proved that point quite perfectly.