After the flex, Tide QB wrecks Gators' season

ATLANTA -- Greg McElroy looked silly, arrogant and just a little bit dumb.

Locked in the biggest game of his life, Alabama's quarterback flexed. His biceps. Toward the Florida bench. It's a wonder that the Gators didn't come off the sideline and pound his posing frame into the Georgia Dome turf right there.

It was only the second quarter of the SEC title game that would define his Alabama legacy, and already McElroy was channeling the legend he would outplay.

McElroy had just thrown a block for teammate Mark Ingram on a 7-yard run. No biggie, except at that moment, the quarterback put his body at risk and taunted the defending national champions at the same time.

Florida did not retaliate then, or for most of Alabama's 32-13 victory that will send the Crimson Tide to their first BCS title game 33 days from now. A Tide Nation that had just about turned blue from holding its breath between championships can exhale. Three years after Nick Saban was hired and 17 years after their last national title, 'Bama is at the top again. And by top we a mean a victory that was considered the de facto national title game anyway.

Who's that team from Texas the Tide are going to play?

Doesn't matter. Tim Tebow, Superman for most of his career, lost to a kid who had one super night. McElroy completed 12 of 18 for 239 yards and a touchdown, earning a title that Tebow seemed to have on permanent lockdown each week -- MVP.

Only those in the Alabama locker room saw this coming. McElroy, a redshirt junior, has been up and down in his first season as starter. Perhaps his most redeeming qualities were, first, coming to Tuscaloosa and then sticking around for three years until the job was his.

'Bama seemed like an odd destination for a guy who came from the wide-open offense at Southlake Carroll High near Dallas. Chase Daniel preceded him and set all of Missouri's passing records. McElroy arrived at Alabama four years ago and mostly sat while John Parker Wilson played.

Even this season, while Alabama was rising to No. 2 in the country, McElroy was uneven, never surpassing 148 yards in four midseason games. The difference might have finally come last week at Auburn. McElroy and crew saved the season with a game-winning drive in the final minutes. In that game, McElroy threw the winning pass to Roy Upchurch with 1:24 left.

"If anything, I hoped the doubters were quieted after that drive," tight end Colin Peek said. "It helped keep our dream season alive."

There's something about Texas quarterbacks. There are 22 Lone Star natives starting at the position at the 120 I-A programs. That's almost 20 percent, the highest concentration from any one state. Still, McElroy wasn't included in most conversations when breaking down the second consecutive SEC title game between 1-2 teams.

"If you take jerseys and uniforms off, would anybody know who [McElroy] was today?" tackle Mike Johnson asked. "We're just glad he's our quarterback."

Twenty-somethings do strange things, even stranger when the SEC and national title are at stake with all the college football world watching.

"As far as the muscle pose is concerned, I didn't try to show off," McElroy explained. "If I did so, it was totally by accident. This game is full of emotions. It's a revenge game to a certain extent."

It was that and a whole lot more. Alabama led 20-17 coming into the fourth quarter of last year's SEC title game. Then it was outgained 117-1 on the field and 14-0 on the scoreboard. Tebow did his usual thing, jumping into defensive huddles and exhorting the special teamers.

That fourth quarter stuck with the Tide for a year. Nose tackle Terrence Cody mentioned that 'Bama had looked mostly at film of Tennessee, LSU and Arkansas, the three teams that gave Florida the most trouble. There was word that during Mississippi State week (Nov. 14), the 'Bama defense worked on nothing but Florida's offense. Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen was Tebow's offensive coordinator before taking the job last year.

"It's a game we came 15 up minutes shy in last year. So, yeah, we were all emotional," McElroy said of the 31-20 loss in 2008. "Why would you play the game if you didn't play emotional? This is what we spend hours upon hours to prepare for."

McElroy is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, but plays smaller, if that's possible. He's not a runner and his mechanics can look messed up at times. Against LSU, 'Bama won despite McElroy. He missed three wide-open receivers, hitting any one of them would have taken a lot of angst out of a 24-15 victory.

"I think everybody wants to be praised and wants to be celebrated at all times," McElroy said. "That's just not the nature of the beast at this position. At times, you get waaaay too much credit. I just do like my idol does, Tony Romo, and take the good with the bad."

Tony Romo? A poser of another kind. The Cowboys quarterback has more commercials than playoff wins.

Tide fans are proud of their quarterback after Greg McElroy's MVP effort. (US Presswire)

You'll read a lot about Alabama's defense and Ingram's Heisman-worthy performance (113 yards, three touchdowns). You won't read much about McElroy being the X-factor -- as in anyone except the 'Bama quarterback was expected to win this game for the Tide.

In the latest game of the century, he was just in the moment when he flexed for the Gators. He stayed in the moment until he was done helping 'Bama win its first SEC title in 10 years and 22nd conference title overall.

"It's a reason a lot of people come here, to play for the tradition," said McElroy, explaining why a passing quarterback would come to Alabama to mostly hand off. "Our fullback, Baron Huber, said it best: 'If you could write a page in history, what would you want it say?' We wrote our page tonight."

The legend known as Tebow? Maybe it's time for him to start wearing Greg McElroy pajamas.

Saban and offensive coordinator Jim McElwain took Alabama's unlikely difference-maker Saturday and made him a centerpiece. Saban didn't know until Thursday that Ingram, his star tailback, would be 100 percent after recovering from a hip pointer. Florida was playing without havoc-creating defensive end Carlos Dunlap, suspended because of that DUI. Hey, why not come out throwing?

"Finally, he was able to get his hands untied," Peek said of McElwain. "I feel we run the ball a lot. For the first time, we really came out and started throwing the ball."

A lot in this case was only 18 times, but it was what 'Bama was getting for its output. Big plays. The first play of the game was a 19-yard pass to Julio Jones. McElroy's fourth pass went to Marquis Maze for 15 yards. Alabama was up 9-0 before Florida had run its fourth offensive play.

The quarterback who seldom runs kept a first-half drive alive by avoiding a tackler and tight-roping the sideline to pick up a first down. On the biggest play of the game, he hit Ingram on a short screen that went for 69 yards to the Florida 3.

It wouldn't be an SEC game without officiating controversies. It seemed as if the crew missed two crucial calls on the play. Ingram was sprung by a block in the back by Peek. Also during the run, Ingram seemed to step out of bounds with left foot at about the Florida 30.

Nothing could stain McElroy's night. His prettiest play was a 17-yard, against-the-grain throw right to the fingertips of Peek to make 26-13 five minutes into the third quarter.

The who's-your-daddy moment came early in the fourth quarter, when Ingram scored his third touchdown on the 17th play of an 88-yard drive that took up 8:47.

The two quarterbacks' fates were intertwined in the final minute. In a cruel twist, Tebow was shown sobbing on the giant HD video board at the Georgia Dome with 57 seconds left. The Alabama faithful screamed with delight.

Seconds later, McElroy ran the 71st and last play of the game of his life. There was no silliness or arrogance. Just joy.

"It all came full circle," he said, "all the 110s [sprints] we've run, all the blood, sweat and conditioning, all the reps in the weight room. That's what it's all for, to take a knee against Florida to win the SEC championship."