November 27, 2009

Tom Dienhart
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

Alabama now has its version of "The Drive," with Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy doing a fair impression of John Elway.

Trailing rival Auburn 21-20 midway through the fourth quarter Friday, Alabama took possession with the game and national championship dreams on the line. That's when McElroy went to work and etched his name into school lore.

McElroy engineered a 15-play, 79-yard march that took more than seven minutes and was capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass from McElroy to Roy Upchurch with 1:24 left. That gave Alabama a 26-21 lead. Auburn's last-gasp effort fell short, allowing the Tide to escape with its big dreams alive.

"We didn't play a great game," Alabama coach Nick Saban told reporters afterward. "It's a great win. I've never been prouder of them. I don't think you can say enough about the competitive character that this team showed."

The victory means Alabama will take a 12-0 record into next Saturday night's SEC title game in Atlanta against Florida. The Gators finish their regular season on Saturday at home against Florida State.

Alabama's success has been built running the football and playing good defense. But in this Iron Bowl, that defense looked shaky. And Heisman-contending running back Mark Ingram wasn't his usual punishing self.

Auburn's 21 points were the most Alabama has allowed since a season-opening 34-24 win over Virginia Tech. The Tide was outgained 332-291. Ingram ran 16 times for 30 yards and was on the sideline for most of Alabama's game-winning drive as trainers examined his hip. He entered leading the SEC in rushing with 1,399 yards (127.2 per game).

But his absence didn't matter as McElroy starred. He completed his last seven passes on the game-winning drive, for 62 yards. He finished 21 of 31 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns.

Wide receiver Julio Jones also played a key role on the drive, catching four passes for 33 yards. He finished with nine catches for 83 yards.

Perhaps the Iron Bowl was where McElroy turned the corner and became a big-time SEC quarterback.

"Sometimes when you don't play your best and win, guys have to be smart enough to learn from that," Saban said. "We didn't have a lot of emotion, we didn't have a lot of passion and I can't really understand that. I think it was from the short week.

"Only the strong survive, but the strong still get their (butt) whipped. That was my message to the team."

All Tony Pike could do was smile.

In his return from an injury to his non-throwing arm, the Cincinnati quarterback tossed a school-record six touchdown passes in a 49-36 victory over Illinois. It was a perfect sendoff on Senior Day for Pike, who completed 32 of 46 passes for 399 yards in his first start since Oct. 15 against South Florida.

"We just have so many playmakers," Pike told reporters, motioning toward his star wideout Mardy Gilyard. Gilyard caught seven passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran back a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.

With the victory, Cincinnati improved to a school-record 11-0 with one game left at Pitt next Saturday. Beat the Panthers, and the Bearcats are likely headed for the Orange Bowl for a second season in a row. And, if some crazy upsets happen that same weekend, Cincinnati could possibly find itself playing for the BCS title.

"I think Nebraska will beat Texas (in the Big 12 title game) and I think that we will beat Pitt," Bearcats coach Brian Kelly said. That's just the way I'm wired."

Kelly has every right to think big. He's the hottest coach in America who has transformed Cincinnati into an elite program in just three seasons. That's why his name is dropped often as a possible successor to Charlie Weis at Notre Dame.

Like Alabama on Friday, it was all about survival for Texas on Thanksgiving night.

The Longhorns - who play Nebraska in next Saturday's Big 12 championship game - won a shootout with Texas A&M 49-39. Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson enjoyed his best effort of the season, completing 26 of 33 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns. Johnson also ran 14 times for 96 yards.

"I can't say enough about Jerrod Johnson," Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman told reporters. "He's probably under the radar for what he has been able to do. He managed the game very well."

Time and again, Johnson found open receivers over the middle and on the sideline, while also taking shots downfield. And when nothing was there, Johnson was able to make something happen with his feet.

Does Nebraska have a quarterback who is capable of doing the same type of thing? No. Huskers starter Zac Lee lacks Johnson's athletic skills and arm strength. The key for the Huskers will be playing the same brand of rugged defense that has come to define their team all season.

Boise State: The Broncos moved to 11-0 with a 44-33 triumph over Nevada to sew up the WAC title. The Broncos face hapless New Mexico State next Saturday, then sit back and wait to see if they get a BCS at-large bid. Quarterback Kellen Moore threw for 261 yards and five touchdowns.

Central Michigan: The Chippewas looked dominant in beating Northern Illinois, and now have a MAC title game showdown with Ohio. Where would the Chippewas finish if they played in the Big Ten? Fourth? Fifth?

Colt McCoy: He made a heck of a case for the Heisman in throwing for 302 yards and four TDs and running for 176 yards and a score as the Longhorns outlasted A&M.

Ohio: The Bobcats' 35-17 victory over Temple earned the school its first MAC East title and a trip to the league championship game against Central Michigan. It was seventh victory in the past eight games for the Frank Solich-coached Bobcats.

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers survived a gritty tune-up for the Big 12 title game with a 28-20 win at Boulder. But are those 422 yards allowed a concern? And what about an offense that gained just 218 yards? Those numbers have to make Texas smile.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights lost to Big East patsy Syracuse last week. This week, Rutgers rebounded to whip Louisville 34-14.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers regained some national respect by beating No. 9 Pittsburgh 19-16 on a last-play field goal in this season's edition of the "Backyard Brawl." WVU improved to 8-3 with the victory and kept alive its hopes for a 10-win season. The Mountaineers play Rutgers next week and could get their 10th victory in a bowl.

Wyoming: The Cowboys edged Colorado State 17-16 to become bowl eligible. Because of the Mountain West's bowl tie-ins, the 6-6 Cowboys will be in a bowl in coach Dave Christensen's first season.

Colorado: The news that Dan Hawkins would return in 2010 inspired the Buffaloes, but just not enough with CU losing at home to Nebraska, 28-20. The Buffs finish 3-9 overall and 2-6 in league play. Hawkins is 10-22 in Big 12 play in four seasons and 16-33 overall with no winning records and just one bowl.

Eastern Michigan: By falling 28-21 to Akron, the Eagles finish the season 0-12 under rookie coach Ron English. The only other FBS team that remains winless is Western Kentucky, which has fired its coach.

Illinois: Bumbling, stumbling, fumbling - it was vintage Fighting Illini football during a 49-36 loss at unbeaten Cincinnati. The offense had its moments, but pass defense apparently was optional. The bright side: Only one game remains.

Louisville: Rutgers provided the final punctuation on the Steve Kragthorpe era with a 34-14 beatdown of the Cardinals.

Pittsburgh: The ninth-ranked Panthers' BCS at-large hopes came to an end with a 19-16 loss at West Virginia. The only good thing for the Panthers - who gave up 205 rushing yards - is that the game had no bearing on the Big East title race, Now, the Panthers know that if they want to play in a BCS bowl, they must upset unbeaten Cincinnati next Saturday in a de facto Big East championship game.

Texas A&M: Yes, it was a heroic effort against Texas, but the Aggies still lost. Even worse, the defense continues to fail. Is this program getting better?

Tom Dienhart is the national senior writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at dienhart@yahoo-inc.com.