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| A.J. McCarron might not get any credit if the Tide win, but he's been impressive so far this season |
It feels like an eternity since the Alabama Crimson Tide haven't sat atop the AP Poll. In actuality it's been since the final days of last season (I will not accept preseason polls...ever) since anyone else has rocked the #1 seed. Hard to argue 'Bama's top ranking, since well, they do have one of the most dominant defenses we've ever seen, a defense that has somehow improved since it's 21-0 thrashing of LSU in the National Championship Game last year. The defense is certainly the Tide's pulse and they will inevitably live and die by it, but there are other components that make this gives credibility to this team's top-dog status. But, I bet you'd never think that A.J. McCarron would be one of those major components.
Despite the SEC being college football's most dominant conference for years now, it hasn't exactly produced the greatest NFL products at the quarterback position. Guys like JaMarcus Russell, Greg McElroy, Tim Tebow and Ryan Mallett, all widely considered top-tier SEC QBs, have yet to establish any success at the NFL. Aside from Cam Newton (a freakish exception), the SEC hasn't produced a great QB since Eli Manning. But, not having a phenomenal a QB has never hurt the conference which prides itself on fast, athletic, swarming defensive players, athletic offensive lines and beastly running backs. McCarron has been plugged into that same category as the names I previously stated. But instead of forcing his way through a unbreakable trend, McCarron has assumed his managerial role without protest and actually has been widely successful doing so.
His stats are not going to wow you. There is no Heisman hype around him. He'll be lucky even to get drafted in the seventh round. But there is something that McCarron can accomplish and it's quite historic at that. If he can lead his Crimson Tide squad to a championship, by keeping his mistakes down and making the few plays he's called on to make, McCarron will be the first starting quarterback in the BCS era to win two BCS title games. He'll be the first in 15 BCS years. Guys like Peyton Manning, Matt Leinart and Tim Tebow couldn't even accomplish that and those three all have arguably far greater college careers than McCarron will. But that's the beauty in his play this year, a maturity, a composure, and even some play making ability that we didn't see from him last year. In 2011 he tossed 16 TDs and 5 INTs. With three regular season games and the SEC Championship still looming, McCarron already has 19 TDs, has a magical doughnut in his interceptions column and has a QB rating up 26.2 points from last year. That is 204 pass attempts against menancing SEC defenses without a single INT. You can complain all you want about how he hasn't had to do too much or hasn't had to make that many big throws, but 204 pass attempts without a pick is something special, I don't care if you play in the Sun Belt Conference.
But let's be real, A.J. McCarron's champagne celebration came last week against LSU when he executed a fantastic two-minute drill against a vaunted Tiger defense in a hostile Death Valley in what was considered the biggest game of the season for the Tide. He of course finished off the drive with a calm screen pass in which Yeldon turned into a scintillating touchdown. Nothing flashy, no bullet, Favre-esque throw into a tight window, no putting it over the top where only his wideout could get it. Just executing a simple screen pass and putting the dagger in the hearts of a heated rival. The drive took less than a minute to complete and he went 4/5 for 72 yards. If the 2012 Crimson Tide win the National Championship, this drive and A.J. McCarron will be remembered forever, especially since it came in the "menacing" Death Valley.
A title for Alabama will come with full credit going to the Alabama defense, that was stated before the season. But, McCarron has been surprisingly good this season and if he continues to play at this rate it's hard for me to see anyone beat this team. That is unless Oregon decides to score 75 points on Alabama, which is a "you never know" situation. The guy is clearly not gifted like Peyton Manning was in college, but the his ability to manage a game and not turn the ball over has been quietly impressive this year.
McCarron won't go down as a legend in college because of the defense behind him, but leading Alabama to two titles in the vaunted SEC is nothing to scoff at.
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