Alabama victory has redeeming value for McElroy, Jones

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- There are many lessons that football teaches, but the greatest of these is the possibility for redemption.

You may have been the goat last week. You may have been the goat earlier in the day. You may have had coaches and fans screaming at you in anger. But if you keep playing, if you persevere, the game will eventually give you a chance to be a hero.

Such was the case for Greg McElroy and Julio Jones, who each wore the hero's crown with pride Saturday night after No. 3 Alabama came from behind not once but twice to knock off No. 9 LSU 24-15 and clinch a spot against No. 1 Florida in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 5 in Atlanta.

Alabama, a team not used to playing from behind, trailed 7-3 in the first half and 15-10 when the fourth quarter began.

"I am very pleased with the resiliency our team showed tonight," said Alabama coach Nick Saban, who will take his team to the SEC title game for the second straight year. "We faced some adversity but we overcame it. We had to in order to beat a very good football team."

No one on Alabama's team was more resilient that McElroy, whose struggles in the red zone coming into Saturday's game have been the source of much frustration here in the state. Coming into the game McElroy had completed only eight of 27 passes (29.6 percent) in the red zone. On the rest of the field, he was 85 of 126 (67.5 percent).

He really didn't improve on those numbers Saturday. In the second quarter, McElroy missed a wide-open Jones for what would have been a 13-yard touchdown pass to tie the game. Just before halftime, with Alabama at the LSU 23-yard line -- which is close enough to the red zone to count -- McElroy was pressured and threw the ball up for grabs. It was a horrible pass that was intercepted by LSU's Kelvin Sheppard. Saban exploded at McElroy for his poor decision and LSU held a 7-3 lead at halftime.

Jones, considered to be one of the most gifted receivers in school history, also drew Saban's ire early in the fourth quarter. Trailing 15-10, Alabama had a third down at the LSU 2-yard line. But the Crimson Tide broke the huddle with 12 men and were flagged. Unfortunately for Jones, he was the closest person to Saban, who threw down his headsets in anger. Alabama had to settle for a field goal and still trailed 15-13 with 12:35 left.

"When stuff like that happens you have to forget about it," Jones said. "You just have to keep playing. If you do that, good things will happen."

About two minutes later, something good happened for both McElroy and Jones. On first down at his own 27, McElroy threw a pass out in the flat to Jones. Jones made one LSU defender miss and suddenly was racing down the Alabama sideline for a 73-yard touchdown and a 21-15 Alabama lead.

The Alabama sideline looked like a huge weight had been lifted off its collective shoulders when Jones scored.

"The man looked like he was shot out of a cannon," running back Mark Ingram said. "That was really good to see. We needed that."

Jones had his best statistical game of the season with four catches for 102 yards. The catch and run was the longest of his Alabama career. And it was a much-needed antidote for Alabama's lack of a downfield passing game. Coming into Saturday's game, Jones -- the nation's top high school receiver in 2007 -- had only 20 catches for 229 yards and one touchdown. Part of that lack of production has been injuries and he is just now getting healthy again. Part of it is due to the struggles of McElroy over the past three games.

Greg McElroy throws for 276 yards after piling up only 212 the previous two games combined. (US Presswire)

"I really wasn't worried about my numbers because we're winning," Jones said. "I've had guys come up to me and keep encouraging me. They want me to make a big play. It's just great to make a play and help the team. I'm glad I could do it."

McElroy, who is still undefeated as a high school and college starting quarterback, completed 19 of 34 passes for 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With 11:40 left in the third quarter he threw a perfect bullet to Darius Hanks for a 21-yard touchdown that gave Alabama a 10-7 lead. But McElroy had his fair share of frustrating moments. In addition to his two mistakes in the first half, he badly overthrew a wide-open Brad Smelley on what would have been a sure touchdown.

Despite Alabama's success, there are rumblings here that if McElroy cannot capture his early season form it will eventually catch up to the Crimson Tide when they face a team with a good quarterback. It's pretty safe to say that Florida, their opponent on Dec. 5, has a very good quarterback.

If McElroy is concerned, he didn't show it after the game. "You just keep working and keep trying to figure things out," he said. "I've got a lot of really good players around me. I just have to get them the ball."

"Greg is going to be fine," offensive guard Mike Johnson said. "He made the plays tonight when we had to have them. We have a lot of confidence that when the game is one the line he is going to get the job done. All I know is that we're 9-0. He must be doing something right."

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