Earlier in the week I commented that if Ingram didn’t win the Heisman, I’d be pissed…very pissed. Perhaps it was the lingering high after watching his dominating performance in the SEC CG or maybe it was just the Alabama homer in me....but I really wanted him to win.

After taking a step back and looking at a few things, I have in fact changed my mind. It’s not that I don’t want him to win the supposedly "Most prestigious individual award in all of sports" (according to Mike ‘n Mike) but there are reasons why I feel he shouldn’t win..

1. It’s the freakin Heisman.

From Ingram himself:

Q: You could win the Heisman Trophy next week. Has that sunk in?
MI: It would mean a lot to Alabama; the coaches, the players, the fans, the state. I’d be happy to do that for them. You dream of that stuff when you’re little. I saw Reggie Bush win it; I saw Ricky Williams win it. The fact that it might be reality is a little overwhelming.

Now, I’m neither a Heisman hater nor a Heisman lover. This is actually the first time since ’99 that I even cared. So, this isn’t about me feeling the award is crap, or that the winner is "overrated". The Heisman voters don’t always get it right. In fact, they probably get it wrong most of the time. Picking the "Most Outstanding Player" in all of College Football is a task that’s virtually impossible to do.

There are so many factors that go into what makes a player "outstanding" i.e. what conference he plays in, what kind of offensive/ defensive scheme he plays in, what his role is, what type of competition he faces week in and week out etc. This year is about 1000 time harder than most. Why? Well, you have  2 QB’s, a DT, and 2 RB’s all up for one prize. All have different styles and play in different schemes. Choosing the best out of this group, and expecting to get it right, is impossible.

So I guess what I’m saying is this…. A lot of "outstanding" players got left out of this year’s "race". It’s an honor Ingram has been invited, but there are bigger trophies out there…especially one in Pasadena.

2. I’m not sure he is the "Most Outstanding Player" in D-1.

Ingram is 12th on the NCAA individual rushing charts. There are 4 freshmen ahead of him and one QB. So that leaves 6 other RB’s that had better overall statistics than Ingram. Does that mean he isn’t one hell of a player? Um NO... Does that mean I’d trade him for any other RB in the country? That would be a HELL NO! It just means that he might not be the best RB in the country…So if he’s not the best RB in the country, how could he win the Heisman?

3. He’s only had five 100 yard rushing games in '09.

I was watching "The Herd" this morning (i know i know) and Colin threw this stat out and I was like…Huh, that can’t be true? …So I went over to the Rolltide.com stats page and damn sure if he wasn’t right. Maybe cause it was the 248 yard game against USC, the big run against MSU, the great game against Va Tech or the damn near perfect game against UF…I don’t know, but I thought he had more than 5. Now he came close against N. Texas (91) and Tennessee (99). Looking back, Auburn stopped (hurt) him, UT contained him, he missed a start due to sickness (FIU), and was pulled early in a few blowouts. If Saban was a stat whore, Ingram would probably have ungodly numbers. But Saban isn’t and Ingram doesn’t. Which goes to show the "team" atmosphere we preach so much about around here is legit.

So, he only "dominated" (in terms of stats) 5 out of the 13 games he’s played in this season. That stat blows my mind.

 4. The distraction from preparing for the real prize.

This one is the biggest for me. Yes I know, he’s already part of the festivities. So there is no way to avoid that distraction. But if he doesn’t win, he won’t be bothered by the media before the game nearly as much as the winner. Also, it gives Colt just one more thing to worry about.

Also, It’s a well known fact that lately, when the Heisman winner plays in the NC game, he doesn’t perform all that well. So I’d rather see Ingram lose the Heisman and ‘Bama win the National Championship any day of the week…and twice on Sunday.

Look, if he wins, then well done sir! It will be the first for the Tide and will only help in building towards the future. BUT...with everything on the line, it might just be best if he doesn't....

**EDIT**

Its been brought to my attention that my stats are wrong. Thats what i get for trusting Colin Cowherd. I guarrantee you it will never happen again. Ingram did in fact have 8 100 yard games. I knew that stat was wrong when i heard it. Not sure why rolltide.com has that wrong...but they do...i apologize for giving out misinformation.

This Auburn  Alabama Team Is Special

find original here:

The look on Alabama running back Mark Ingram face said it all as the clock hit zero in Atlanta Saturday night. He left everything he had on the field turf in North Georgia. As has been the case on so many occasions this year, giving everything was more than enough. This senior class now knows the joy of beating Florida.

Alabama turned in its best effort so far this season in Saturday's 32-13 thumping of rival Florida. It was by far Alabama's best game, and you marvel in their effort. Urban Myer will likely have one more loss, maybe more if he gets the same shitty effort from his star-studded roster.

The 60 minute session in Atlanta was a case study of how to play defense. Kirby Smart's defense showed amazing "assignment football", and like so many other Saturdays it was sustainable. All of the fears about the Gator offense never was a threat. Even with Tebows super human god like ability, Alabama exposed the UF offense for what it is - a patchwork unit with many guys who have no business playing deep into November.

Saturday's win was unforgettable. In an obvious way that summed up  the process. Last season's loss brought anger. This year it was never going to happen. Saban started the season with a determined and focused team waiting for its shot at Tebow and the gators. In 3 short years, Saban has brought the SEC crown back to where it belongs and he is taking the tide back to the promise land. Most were outraged over his hire (especially our rivals) - count Auburn among them. Today I marvel. Saban was obviously the right hire and he's my coach.

This team will go down as one my favorites. They'll be remembered for greatness and will leave a mark in the record books. In all my many years of following Alabama football, many teams have cared and tried as hard as this one. These players have endured 12 months of waiting, thoughts of two late seasons losses and they put that all to rest Saturday night. It would have been easy to just walk through our rivals as if they simply weren't there and went to the house. In fact, they did.

The ones who stayed will leave a legacy. This senior class walked out of the Georgia Dome with heads high and Tebows man hood in hand, but they will be remembered for much more. They've put Alabama football back on the on top. There are enough storylines from these players to make a 100 Lifetime movies.

I'll say it again, is there a better story in all of football than that of quarterback Greg McElroy? A year ago he was a back up. Most fans knew little about him and have now grown to love him. Smart money said he would do what he's always done, win.. Now, with our regular season over, you hate to see the senior leave.

How special was the 1st down catch by Julio Jones in the 3rd quarter? He's become the heralded player fans thought he would be, and it's hard not to love him. He may be huge on skills, but his heart more than makes it bigger. His selfless actions to start the season when he was hurt, set the stage for this team. 

Now we turn our attention to the big one, the Citi National Championship. There's no kidding ourselves. This is a great Texas team we are facing. If you didn't have a dog in the hunt, you would give the Longhorns no chance but we know better. This is one good Texas football team, especially on offense. On paper, we are better at virtually every position on defense.

With that said, don't look past Texas. They will have two things going in its favor - They played in Pasadena recently and are feeling disrespected. That may or may not be enough in 32 days. Regardless, this team has brought a lot of joy to fans over the past three months. Alabama football is dominate again. There's fear in the air.

I can't wait till January 7th..

Roll Tide! :)

This is going to take some extreme effort for some of you but just bare with me. It is an off week…

 It’s a terrible thing to even think about but someone asked me today “If the University of Alabama didn’t exist, and there was never a Crimson Tide or Bear Bryant, what team would I pull for?”  At first I was like “Dude, even thinking such a thing is blasphemy” and then I chose to punch the guy square in the nuts… just because . Ok, I didn’t actually punch him in the nuts but trust me, I wanted to. After I returned to my desk I started thinking. Damn…Who would I root for?

The thought perplexed me. I mean honestly, I had never even allowed myself to think on such things. So to find the answer, I started by quickly making a list of the top 10 teams that in no uncertain terms would I ever cheer for…EVER!

    List made in order of level of hate…

1.       Tennessee

2.       Auburn

3.       Notre Dame

4.       All Pac- 10 teams

5.       FSU

6.       Michigan

7.       Florida

8.       Ohio State

9.       Miami

10.   All Mid Majors (cause the annoy the shit out of me)

Now that I had those out of the way, I made a list of teams that I could possibly root for and not feel like I needed to take 20 showers afterwards. Now I must say this, I’m not adding teams that have no chance to be competitive in football…aka…the Troys, UABs J, ULMs,  Vandys, Auburns, Baylors,  etc..If I’m gonna be a fan of a team, I at least want them to win a game here and there. I also eliminated teams due to their school colors. AKA North Carolina (baby blue PUKE), Okie State…well any team with ugly orange in it..you know…the orange you can’t sit wit…

    List in no particular order…

1.       Ole Miss

2.       Texas

3.       Va Tech

4.       Miss State

5.       LSU

6.       Kentucky

7.       Penn State

8.       Ga Tech

9.       Oklahoma

10.   UGA

Taking a quick look at the list a few names jump into my top 5.

1.       UGA

2.       Ga Tech

3.       LSU

4.       Texas

5.       Kentucky

I have really no qualms with any of these 5 teams. Yeah I know, Ga Tech use to be in the SEC and one of our biggest rivals but that was way my time. I like the tradition they have and I like their current style of play. Texas is again another team that we had somewhat a friendly rivalry with but that was eons ago. I just like the fact that they dominate the State of Texas in every way. Same goes for LSU. Sure, they are a rival but I could see myself as a fan. (Only if they get rid of the hat) UK is a choice due to my Dad already being a huge fan and I remember watching 100’s of b-ball games with him as a child. The only problem with UK is they suck at football, so they are out.

UGA is also a fine choice and really the only logical one at that. They hate Auburn, UF and UT just as much as we do. They might not have “12 National Championships” but they have a great history. They are in a great area for weather and have a pretty damn cool mascot. I’m not a big fan of the red but it’s not that far from crimson. Also, Athens is a great college town full of good music and food.

All in all, if you made me choose…I’d have to go with the Bulldogs..