Ingram overcomes Heisman curse, injured ankle to become champion

PASADENA, Calif. -- Mark Ingram knows history. He knows that the BCS Championship Game is where the reputation of Heisman Trophy winners has gone to die -- or at the very least been put on life support.

History says that before Thursday night's 37-21 victory by Alabama against Texas, Heisman Trophy winners had played in the BCS Championship Game seven times, losing all but one.

But Ingram, who became Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner on Dec. 12, knew something else as he entered a game against the nation's No. 1 defense against the run (62.2 yards per game). If you've got a stud offensive line and if you run hard enough, you can pretty much kick history's butt.

That is exactly what Ingram and the Alabama offensive line did as the sophomore ran for 116 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns. In fact, Alabama had two backs over 100 yards; freshman Trent Richardson ran for 109 yards.

In the process, Ingram became only the second Heisman Trophy winner to follow it up with a BCS championship (USC quarterback Matt Leinart was the other in 2004). Alabama also exorcised a lot of demons that had hung over this team since losing the 2008 SEC Championship Game to Florida followed by a humbling loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl.

"After we lost to Utah, Coach [Nick] Saban challenged us," Ingram said. "He asked us how we wanted to be remembered. Did we want people to remember us for the loss to Utah or for something bigger? Since then, we've been working like crazy to put our team in this position. And tonight we are national champions. All the hard work paid off."

Alabama got off to a shaky start in this game, which certainly could be attributed to nerves. After all, the Crimson Tide had not won a national championship since 1992 and they had spent an entire month listening to everybody from Kirk Herbstreit to the cleaning lady in Saban's office proclaim how they were supposed to dominate the Longhorns. A couple of boneheaded plays in the kicking game put Alabama behind 6-0 and made the SEC Fathers, who were thinking about winning their fourth consecutive national championship, a little on the nervous side.

But, as great teams with great players do, Alabama settled down and began to play its game. And the Crimson Tide's game is giving the rock to No. 22 and running behind the big uglies up front. Alabama had 148 yards rushing in the first half and 90 of those belonged to Ingram.

When Alabama picked up a touchdown right before the half on a nimble 28-yard interception return by defensive end Marcell Dareus, the die seemed to be cast. Alabama had a 21-point lead, Texas was without quarterback Colt McCoy (shoulder), which meant the second half was supposed to be showtime for Ingram.

The script, however, didn't really play out that way for the sophomore from Flint, Mich.

Ingram tweaked his ankle and suffered some cramps with 7:52 remaining in the third quarter and was clearly annoyed when he had to leave the field. It appeared he would not return and that Richardson would finish what looked like a lopsided game.

But Texas freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who came on for the injured McCoy, finally found his stride and threw touchdown passes of 44 and 28 yards to Jordan Shipley. Suddenly Alabama's lead was 24-21 with 6:15 left. Alabama needed to run some clock.

"I was hurting all over the place but there was no doubt that I was going back in the game," Ingram said. "We could not let this thing slip away."

In the final minutes, Ingram stabilized the Alabama offense and scored another touchdown with 2:01 left after a Texas turnover. Alabama then added a final touchdown with 47 seconds left, making the game appear more lopsided than it really was.

"I can't describe the way I am feeling right now," said Ingram, who this season broke Bobby Humphrey's single-season rushing record, which had stood at Alabama for more than 20 years. "The SEC Championship Game was special. The Heisman was special. But there is nothing like this. There is nothing like being the national champion."

Saban added, "Mark is a special player but really all of our running backs and offensive linemen have made a commitment to us being able to run the ball effectively. I know Mark was hurting but I knew he would be ready to help us at the end."

Alabama began this season uncertain how strong the running game would be. The Crimson Tide lost three starters on the offensive line from the season before and the losses included tackle Andre Smith, the Outland Trophy winner, and All-SEC center Antoine Caldwell. But a freshman (Barrett Jones), a sophomore (William Vlachos), and a junior (James Carpenter) were plugged into those positions.

In a span of less than four weeks, Mark Ingram gets to hold the two most coveted trophies in college. (AP)

By the end of the season, what was supposed to be a question mark -- Alabama's ability to field a power running game -- had become a rock-hard certainty. As it did the season before, Alabama just wore opponents down and beat them up in the fourth quarter.

"Only the guys in that locker room know how far our offensive line has come," Ingram said. "Those guys have worked incredibly hard and it has paid off for us. I just think they are great."

Now Ingram will return for his junior season as the presumptive Heisman favorite. Only one other player, Ohio State's Archie Griffin (1974-75) has won two Heismans. Alabama will certainly be the preseason No. 1 team in the land with enough good players returning to make a run at yet another national title.

"We're going to enjoy this one for a little while and then we'll go back to work," Ingram said. "I believe next year's championship game is in Phoenix, right? This time next year that is exactly where we want to be."