For Alabama, a Moment to Enjoy

Alabama can now catch its breath, sort of.

Tide players head into exams week, while head coach Nick Saban and staff are out in full force this week on the recruiting trail. Running back Mark Ingram on Monday was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, while defensive coordinator Kirby Smart on Tuesday won the Broyles Award, given annually to the country's top assistant.

Soon enough, top-ranked Alabama will turn its attention to second-ranked Texas -- and BCS Championship hysteria will begin. The Tide (13-0), tabbed an early four-point favorite, is searching for its first national title since 1992, while the Longhorns (13-0) will be vying for their second in five seasons.

"I've never been prouder of a team in terms of just everyone playing great," Saban said as he took a moment to reflect on his team's 32-13 victory over Florida in the SEC Championship game Saturday in the Georgia Dome.

That's understatement, to say the least.

Excluding the end of the first half, when Alabama ran out the final 1:18, the Tide scored on six of its first seven possessions. Alabama finished with 251 rushing yards, the most allowed by Florida during the Urban Meyer era, and finished with 490 total yards.

The Tide converted 11-of-15 third-down opportunities for 73.3 percent, a vast improvement over its season average of 37.7 to that point. Alabama took over the game in the third quarter, when it scored a touchdown and set up another with a 17-play drive that lasted 8:47 and carried over into the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Greg McElroy threw for 239 yards and a touchdown against the nation's top-ranked defense, while the Tide's defense blanked Tim Tebow and the Gators in the second half.

"When we pushed the pocket with five guys we did a good job with pressure, whether we got sacks or not," Saban said. "The goal was to make Tim throw the ball from the pocket, not let him run and try to cover people."

Now the question is: How will the Tide attempt to defend Texas quarterback Colt McCoy?

Or, better yet, will Texas' offense be able to move the ball against Alabama's defense?

McCoy, also a finalist for the Heisman, finished the season by throwing three picks in the Horns' closer-than-expected Big 12 championship game win over Nebraska, but finished the season with 3,512 passing yards and 27 touchdown passes.

"Texas probably has as good as an offense as we've played all year," Saban said.

"I know they have a great defense, [defensive coordinator] Will Muschamp does a fantastic job and Mack [Brown] does a great job with the overall program. This is going to be a challenging game for us."

The Tide won't practice for two weeks. Both teams must arrive in California by Jan. 2 for the Jan. 7 game at the Rose Bowl. Alabama students and faculty received good news on Tuesday, when it was announced by the school that it canceled classes from Jan. 6-8 (students, however, will have to make up for the lost class time).

Alabama's 31 bowl wins lead the nation, but the Tide has never beaten Texas (0-7-1).

While the Tide has been made an early favorite, Saban said he will do his best to insulate his players from "the clutter" in regard to the media coverage and forecasts that are involved in title games.

"At the same time, you can't drink the Kool-Aid by listening to what everybody says is going to happen in a game when nobody really knows what's going to happen in the game," Saban said.

"And you've got to stay focused on what you need to do to prepare and play your best football and you're just being set up when you listen to some of these talking heads out there that make these predictions about what's going to happen, and why they pick who is going to win based on a lot of probably misinformation."

Of course, there are plenty of story lines.

Two former Saban assistants are on the Texas staff.

Will Muschamp, the head coach-in-waiting, was his defensive coordinator at LSU and with him for a year on the Miami Dolphins. Running backs coach Major Applewhite was Alabama's offensive coordinator in 2007.

The two teams have not met since the Cotton Bowl following the 1981 season. The Longhorns rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns and won 14-12.

"The University of Alabama and the University of Texas live in a fishbowl of high standards, and the expectation is to win every week," Texas coach Mack Brown said.

"When these two teams match up, there's tremendous history."