CoachHal.com

UA places four on AFCA team
By Chase Goodbread

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama football players Mark Ingram, Mike Johnson, Rolando McClain and Javier Arenas have been named to the 2009 American Football Coaches Association All-America team.

The 25-man squad included three other Southeastern Conference players - Tennessee safety Eric Berry, Florida cornerback Joe Haden and Georgia kicker Drew Butler.

Ingram has 1,429 yards on the season and is a candidate for several postseason awards, including the coveted Heisman Trophy. He is averaging 119.1 yards per game. Johnson, Alabama's left guard, earned SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors following UA's 31-3 win over Mississippi State, and was named to the initial watch list for the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman.

McClain leads UA in tackles with 96 and is a finalist for the Butkus Award. McClain was the SEC's Defensive Player of the Week twice this season after wins over Kentucky and Auburn.

Arenas has emerged as one of the nation's top defensive backs and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He has made 64 tackles on the season, and his 12 tackles for loss tie him for the team lead. Also a dangerous return man on special teams, Arenas is 37 yards short of the NCAA's record for career punt return yardage (Wes Welker, Texas Tech, 1.761 yards).

http://www.tidesports.com/article/20091203/NEWS/912039950/1011?Title=UA-places-four-on-AFCA-team

Fellow Tailgaters,

Technically, it’s the BCS championship game played at the Rose Bowl, but that’s not in the Alabama Fight Song. This is the game we have all looked toward since the heartbreaking 4th quarter at the Georgia Dome last December. On to the plan after some thoughts from the Ole' Tailgate Coach:

1. Interesting to see Chris Rushing talk about biggest heartbreakers, because Coach was discussing this with First Lady Sharon earlier this week. The most heartbreaking game Coach had ever attended was the 1995 Iron Bowl in Auburn, which included a post game visit to Toomer’s Corner. Guhh. But that was the worst until Tim Tebow and crew ripped Coach’s heart out in early December 2008. Very difficult loss. We had the lead in the 4th quarter with a national title game berth on the line. Tebow absolutely willed them to a victory, with help from some questionable play calling and mistakes (remember the fake field goal and the penalties?).

2. We shook hands with dozens of Gator fans last year and each side always said, ‘See you next year” or “This is how it should be”…Coach booked our hotel room for this weekend right after we returned.

3. To sum it up, UA and UF have a very unique relationship. We are true SEC rivals that do not root against each other week by week.

4. 30 years ago, there would be no SEC Championship Game this weekend. We would probably be playing in the Sugar Bowl against Florida on 1/1/2010, and Texas would be in the Cotton or Orange Bowl. Newt, please check Coach on that. We would probably have a split national title, and there would be no chance of TCU, Cincinnati, or Boise State even being considered. So they had some things right and some things wrong. Kind of like now.

5. If Coach Shula had won the recruiting battle for Tebow, how different would the SEC be right now?

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Nick Saban does revenge like The Godfather

By Kevin Scarbinsky -- The Birmingham News
December 02, 2009, 1:35PM

Fool Nick Saban once, shame on you.
Fool him twice ...

Fool.

Don't you know you can't fool him twice?

Not unless you're a legend, or a legend in the making.

Urban Meyer will try to become just the second coach to beat Saban in two straight meetings since Saban first came to the SEC.

The one and only so far: A former Bull Gator, Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier and Florida were superior to Saban and LSU in 2000 and 2001, Saban's first two years in the conference.

Otherwise, 13 different teams have beaten Saban one year and gotten the chance to do it again that year, like Tennessee in the 2001 SEC Championship, or the next.

Saban is 13-0 in those return matches, and so 13-1 overall since he came south.

The man does revenge like Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II.

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McElroy doesn't mind being 'other' QB
December, 2, 2009 Dec 2
12:33PM ET
By Chris Low

No matter how you slice it, Alabama's Greg McElroy is the “other” quarterback in Saturday's SEC championship game.

But, then, just about anybody paired against Florida's Tim Tebow is going to be the “other” quarterback.

On paper, Tebow vs. McElroy may look like a mismatch. And you're already hearing the invariable, “Who do you like best if the game comes down to the fourth quarter?”

It almost certainly will come down to the fourth quarter, and nobody has forgotten what Tebow did in those final 15 minutes a year ago against the Crimson Tide.

But if you put McElroy's passing numbers up against Tebow's passing numbers this season in SEC games, they're very comparable.

In fact, McElroy's touchdown-to-interception ratio is better, and he also passed for more yards. McElroy threw 11 touchdown passes and just three interceptions against SEC defenses, while passing for 1,484 yards.

Tebow threw just seven touchdown passes this season against SEC defenses and was intercepted four times. He had 1,305 passing yards.

Granted, a huge part of Tebow's game is running the football, a dimension that McElroy doesn't possess.

And this is also familiar territory for Tebow. He led the Gators to fourth-quarter wins in both the SEC championship game and BCS National Championship Game a year ago.

But McElroy also comes off arguably the most important drive of his career last week against Auburn.

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Good article from a good guy...Coach

SEC Rewind: Upchurch’s big moment
by Chris Rushing
chrisrushing@collegesportsmatchups.com

I’ve done my best to hide my bias all season, and for those of you who don’t know me, I hope you still have no idea where I went to school and obtained my journalism degree.

However, after last weekend, I have racked my brains trying to figure out how I could write an accurate recap while hiding my affections. The truth is, I have failed in coming up with a way. Friday afternoon, I left Jordan-Hare Stadium as devastated as I have ever been after a football game.

Sure, there was Ben Obomanu’s drop against Ole Miss in 2003, eliminating the Tigers from the Southeastern Conference Western Division race. Just last year, LSU went in and commandeered the lead with just over a minute left on the clock and escaped with the first victory for the road team this decade in one of the SEC’s most budding rivalries.

However, when Roy Upchurch hauled in Greg McElroy’s toss and scampered into the end zone, my heart sank deeper than either of those two evenings. Don’t get me wrong, I know that Alabama is the better team and the better team wins the Iron Bowl 9.9 times out of 10. It’s great that Upchurch can etch his name in Bama lore despite his injury-plagued career after signing with Mike Shula out of high school.

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Finebaum: Nick Saban has waited all year for another shot at Florida
By Paul Finebaum
December 01, 2009, 6:01AM

For Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the last 52 weeks have been bookended by championship battles with Florida for the SEC Championship.Doesn't it seem like Alabama just left the Georgia Dome following a crushing loss to Florida? Could it have really been 52 weeks ago?

There was the Sugar Bowl, a return trip to Atlanta for Virginia Tech and close calls against Tennessee, LSU and Auburn. However, Florida has always been on Alabama's mind.

And now on to Atlanta again. The two biggest marquee names in the league. The two best coaches. And perhaps, the most significant game in the history of the Southeastern Conference.

College football has had some precious moments in its indelible history. However, Alabama can't afford to get caught up in the Super Bowl-like mania this week and lose sight of the opportunity presented.

Fans can point to the future and talk about the stockpile of talent being assembled by Nick Saban. However, many said the same of Southern Cal and Oklahoma last year. You never know when injuries will wipe out your chances or a bizarre bounce of the ball will lead to a stunning upset.

I hate to wax poetic here. But in many respects, this is Alabama's moment. Last year, it appeared the train pulled into Atlanta a little early and the Tide didn't have enough to finish. However, this year, it's pulling into the station right on time.

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Well finally it is here!!

Maxwell Finalists - Mark Ingram - Tim Tebow
Bednarik Finalists - Terrence Cody - Brandon Spikes
Lou Groza Finalist - Leigh Tiffin
Ray Guy Finalist - Chas Henry
Davey O'Brien Finalist - Tim Tebow
Jim Thorpe Finalist - Joe Haden
Butkus Finalist - Rolando McClain - Brandon Spikes
Lombardi Finalist - Terrence Cody
John Mackey Finalist - Aaron Hernandez
Bronko Nagurski Finalist - Terrence Cody
Heisman Finalist - Mark Ingram - Tim Tebow

I think we have the right players in this game.

Coach Nick Saban - 2003 & 2008 Coach of the Year; 2003 National Champion
Coach Urban Meyer - 2004 Coach of the Year; 2006 & 2008 National Champion

I think we have the right coaches in this game.

Alabama 12-0 Florida 12-0

I think we have the right teams in this game.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - listed capacity 88,548 - every game sold out
Bryant-Denny Stadium - listed capacity 92,012 - every game sold out

I think we have the right fans in this game.

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Coach Hal is always a subject of discussion when there are big time job openings. Recent events have led to him being a rumored candidate at two schools.

We spoke with Coach this morning.

"Coach believes that being mentioned for other jobs is a compliment to our tailgate program. The problem is that Coach is not interested in any other jobs. This is an unnecessary distraction after a great season, a perfect Iron Bowl, and especially as we look ahead to the Florida game."

Coach Hal, why not consider it?

"Well first, Coach is a tailgate coach and not a football coach. Second, the team and staff we have put together here are top notch. And third and most importantly, the security for my family means so much".

When Coach Hal was pressed about the fact that he is not compensated for his job, and actually pays to be tailgate coach, he responded quickly:

"Look, Coach knew what he was getting into when he took this job. This is a premier tailgate job. It is one where we simply reload, we never rebuild. Coach is focused on Atlanta and hopefully Pasadena."

When asked about how long he would stay at the helm, he said "Coach plans to stay as long as you will have me..."

Developing...

By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, November 30, 2009

It is the most anticipated game of the season, the showdown college football fans and prognosticators predicted long before Florida and Alabama actually clinched their respective SEC divisions. No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama will clash for the second consecutive year in Saturday's SEC Championship Game, with a trip to the BCS national title game on the line. The winner goes to Pasadena, Calif. The loser to the Sugar Bowl. It's that simple. "It's probably the biggest week we've ever had here," said coach Urban Meyer, now in his fifth season with the Gators. The Gators and Crimson Tide have met six times before in the SEC Championship Game, with Florida winning four. In fact, every time Alabama has played in the title game, it has been against the Gators. A look at past Florida-Alabama meetings in the SEC title game:

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Fellow tailgaters,

What a day. Great friends, a perfect tailgate location which included another run-in with Coach Pat Dye, and terrific seats which allowed back and forth banter with Big Al, Aubie, media members, the refs, Terry Saban, etc.

What else? Yup, the game was pretty good too. On to commentary for the 2009 Iron Bowl:

1. We enter the BCS semifinal at 12-0. Whew…let’s just get that comment out of the way and let it soak in. Two years in a row. Smell the roses this weeks folks, this is fun.

2. The day after the Iron Bowl is so much more fun when you are on the winning side. Not even close.

3. Auburn’s crowd knew we were driving to win. Coach has been to 20+ games at Auburn and has never seen a crowd so sure of a loss on a drive like that. The score by Upchurch was right in front of us, and it was great to be there for that after 3 straight losses down there.

4. At Jordan Hare Stadium, row 2 is actually the 1st row, so we sat in the most entertaining spot in the stadium. Everyone sitting there were seniors at the University of Alabama…except the old guys at the club, Coach and Bobby. We had a blast, and here are some of our various run-ins:

a. Coach told the head referee as he came on the field that “we need a call Ref, come on brother.” He just smiled and had to be wondering why that guy (Coach) in his mid-thirties was still in college.

b. Big Al gave us fist pumps several times during the game. Then the peak moment of the day occurred during the winning drive: Coach called the pachyderm over, pointed at my forehead, and Coach Hal and Big Al proceeded to perform a big time head butt. One of Coach’s favorite moments as an Alabama fan.

c. Aubie also taunted Coach and Bobby with a huge container where he was making “Elephant Stew”. He offered some to us, and then took a bite himself, which put him into convulsions on the field. He is a very funny opposing mascot, and we had quite a good back and forth.

d. We were down there with Finebaum, Cecil Hurt, Dennis Dodd, Dunaway, Dubberly, etc.

e. We high fived Drew Davis after the game, but all in all the team did not really celebrate very much after the game. Also, Coach noticed that a few seniors came back out for a picture, and GMc and Julio were with them. Why is that? Our best guess is that those guys know they will not play on the Plains again. Julio knows he is gone after next season and wanted to savor the memory. Little tidbit from Coach for you to keep in your back pocket.

f. Lastly, Mrs. Terry Saban came by, waved, and wiped her brow to show relief. Coach loves the houndstooth Terry.

5. How about more on the game Coach?

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