Licking the Wounds: Alabama Players Who Showed Up To the Capital One Bowl
Michigan State University tied for first this season in the Big 10 in terms of wins vs. losses; Wisconsin and Ohio State also went 11-1.
The Alabama Crimson Tide got beaten up by the SEC this year, going 5-3 in conference. Despite these statistics, MSU was still considered the underdog to a mildly favored Alabama team. As we saw tonight, there was a good reason for this.
Though the Big 10 is arguably the second toughest conference, Alabama showed today why the SEC is a whole other story.
Alabama’s offensive line struggled to hold off SEC defensive linemen all year. Against MSU, McElroy had plenty of time to throw and Ingram and Richardson both picked up respectable yards they struggled to get in previous SEC games.
Alabama’s pass rush defense was largely forgettable all year. Not Against MSU. Between Courtney Upshaw, Josh Chapman, Marcell Dareus, and the rest of the front seven (backups included!) had no problem completely dominating an MSU front five that held off Big 10 defenses all year and getting to the quarterback.
The sheer amount of injuries that MSU sustained against rough yet legal hits is a testament to just how tough the SEC is. I was hoping for an exciting game, but I can honestly say this wasn’t a huge surprise.
Now, in no particular order, let’s look at the players that really showed up to play!
Greg McElroy, Player Of The Game
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Greg McElroy showed up to play. On a big stage he has never disappointed. Last year in the SEC Championship game he out-Tebow’d Tim Tebow, and things were no different in this year’s bowl game. As one of the most underrated quarterbacks in college football many opponents underestimate him.
Many have argued that most of his yards come from screen passes, which rely more on the receiver to pick up yards after the catch rather than the ability of the quarterback. Well, MSU essentially shut down the screen pass game, and McElroy didn't miss a beat.
He hit Julio Jones, one of the best receivers in the nation, several times but he also spread out his passes which included tight ends Preston Dial and Michael Williams.
He showed his staple ability of sustaining long drives, which is critical to keep the opponent's defense tired and your own defense fresh and hungry.
He continued his habit of passing accurately, and though he did have a few hiccups on the longer passes he did drop a long ball square into the hands of Marquis Maze for a touchdown. He might not have the cannon arm of Ryan Mallett, but he can get the job done just fine.
His star moment of the game wasn't even a pass. On a reverse sweep to Julio Jones, McElroy took position as a blocker and lead Jones down the sideline. He finished it off with a classic high body block right into the grill of the opponent. McElroy didn't knock him down, but it bought Jones just enough time to find the end zone.
Though it's gotten his noggin roughed up this season, McElroy is not content to sit still in the pocket after the ball has left his hands. He shows a kind of toughness that is very reminiscent of (love him or hate him) Brett Favre.
He capped off his season with a great game and earned player of the game, just like he did in the SEC Championship. Though he'll probably make more money as a businessman in the NFL, don't be surprised to see him do a stint as a player himself.
Julio Jones
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Julio Jones played like Julio Jones, what more can be said? Chris L. Rucker, the MSU cornerback covering Julio Jones, was pretty much the only one in the MSU secondary that had a chance at shutting down Julio Jones.
Apparently, he demanded his coach to let him cover Julio. However, he showed early on he was afraid of Julio Jones several times by blatantly grabbing his jersey, though only once was a penalty called.
He quickly realized he was outmanned and could not battle with Jones effectively. The nail in his coffin was the slight shin injury that really gimped his play for the game. Jones effectively both caught and ran the ball all day.
Once Jim McElwain put Jones in a slot receiver position it was game over. Julio Jones will be making some NFL quarterback very happy in the possible near future.
Courtney Upshaw and The Defensive Line
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The Crimson Tide defensive line played fantastically all day. With no SEC monstrous front five in their way, they were free to wreak havoc on the MSU quarterbacks. Yes, I said quarterbacks. All three of them. It’s never a good thing when a player gets hurt, but injuries on clean plays are unavoidable.
Marcell Dareus dominated with ease, something he struggled to do all season in the SEC. He was able to put constant pressure on the quarterback, getting two sacks to add onto the meager 3.5 he accrued during the regular season.
Courtney Upshaw spent the game playing as an extra defensive end, just as he did against Auburn. In the past two games he’s shown that he may just be better suited to play defensive end. He leads the team in sacks with five before the game.
During the game, however, he put the hurt on the quarterbacks all night and made numerous tackles on the MSU running backs for losses.
There’s even more good news…he’ll back next year!
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The Crimson Tide's Secondary
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The secondary had a few hiccups just like they did all year. Demarcus Milliner had a couple of his own. Overall, however, they didn’t have to play well.
With all the bad passes coming from the pressure on the quarterback the Alabama secondary merely had to sit back and enjoy the ride. Robert Lester and Will Lowery, however, weren’t content to just throw their arms up and yell.
Will Lowery didn’t accrue a mountain of stats, but as my favorite player on the team I watched him closely. On almost every play, if he wasn’t making the tackle or interception himself, he was very close to the point of contact or the floating ball.
That’s what makes a great defensive player. You can’t always make the play, but if you’re close, you’ll make it often enough. As I predicted in an earlier article, Robert Lester moved out of free safety to replace Mark Barron at strong safety, and Will Lowery played at free safety.
There aren't a whole lot of photos of Lowery out there, but this shot of him about to nab Cam Newton perfectly displays his ability to just "be there." This walk-on real-life Rudy just might be able to wrest the starting position at free safety next year.
Where’s Robert Lester, you ask? Wait and see.
Mark Ingram and The Running Backs
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Mark Ingram played in a way that we haven’t seen in a year. He played like Mark Ingram.
All year, he struggled behind a floundering offensive line, barely accruing half the yards he gained last year, while Trent Richardson cut even.
Tonight, Mark Ingram showed the elusiveness and angry bull running style that is so reminiscent of Emmit Smith.
After Ingram and Richardson bulldozed Michigan State, the two backups Demetrius Goode and Eddie Lacy showed their prowess.
Eddie Lacy in particular had one spectacular run where he slid right in between a huge hole made by the offensive line for an easy straight line run for a touchdown.
This was the running game Alabama fans expected in every game all year. Though things didn’t work out as planned, they weren’t disappointed with the last showing of the year.
William Vlachos and The Offensive Line
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Once again, William Vlachos delivered another game without a bad snap. When I say bad snap, I don’t mean one that turns into a fumble. I mean one that throws the quarterback off by even a tiny amount. Vlachos has always been a very consistent snapper.
The overall offensive line, however, I can’t say much about. They played a perfect game. McElroy had forever and a day to throw, the running backs had seams the size of the Colorado River to run through, and the MSU defensive line was absolutely exhausted.
The Alabama offensive line struggling all year and now dominating the MSU front 7 is just another example of SEC superiority.
Robert Lester, Man Of The Hour
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Robert Lester turned into a beast tonight. All year he’s shown he’s a great player, but he blew up the opposition tonight. He accrued an interception, which wasn’t really a surprise considering it’s his eighth on the year.
He also would have had a forced fumble when he went face-to-face on a high tackle against a tight end opponent that outweighed him by around 20 lbs except the play was overturned as an incomplete pass.
All night Robert Lester made the big hits that wore out opponents and he did so in a legal manner. There were no dirty helmet-to-helmet hits, no late hits, and no low knee-breakers. He played a clean game and looked a whole lot like a rugby player out there with his wrap-around tackles.
As I stated in an earlier article, Robert Lester played with Julio Jones in high school. Again, maybe playing against Julio in practice made Lester better. After tonight’s showing, however, I could make a very strong argument that Robert Lester made Julio into the player he is today.
McElroy may have gotten player of the game, but in my book Robert Lester holds that crown.
Conclusion: Big 10 Goes Home Licking Wounds Inflicted By The SEC Monster
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By scoring seven times as many touchdowns as Michigan State in a 49-7 win, the Alabama Crimson Tide made a statement. Multiple statements, in fact.
Not only did they come out and say “we play ‘til the whistle” they also made a statement for the entire SEC: “We are the superior conference. Anyone that walks in our shoes for a season will come out beat up and tired but still on their feet.”
Big fans of the SEC can say they were not surprised by the outcome. Michigan State came out swinging and fought until they were bled dry, but it just was not enough. Not against the Alabama backups and certainly not against their starters.
Alabama was tempered in the brutal SEC, and tonight it showed.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
