 | TEXAS (13-0) VS. ALABAMA (13-0)
Citi BCS National Championship Game
Jan. 7, 8 p.m. ET
ABC |  |
INSIDE THE CAMPS
TEXAS
The bar was raised again, this time by Texas.
After directing the Longhorns to a 13-0 record and capturing a berth in the BCS championship game, Mack Brown was awarded the most lucrative salary in college sports.
Brown will now command $5 million annually in a deal that still extends through 2016. A clause remains that provides Brown a "significant" position within the university if he voluntarily resigns. No timetable has been set for Brown's departure.
When that does happen, defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will be elevated to head coach as part of an arrangement struck last year. Muschamp earns $900,000 annually as the second-highest paid college assistant in America. He trails Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who makes $1.2 million.
The compensation is factored entirely from revenue earned by the football program. A year ago, Texas football generated $87.6 million, which was tops in the country. Estimates for revenue this year top $100 million following the expansion of Royal-Memorial Stadium to more than 100,000 seats.
Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds was not bashful in his praise of Brown, who is 128-26 with the Longhorns in his 12th season.
"We've got the best football coach in the nation at the University of Texas," Dodds said. "We're the envy of lots of institutions. I'm just real proud of where we are. I like the stability."
Texas didn't really need to up the ante for Brown. He's probably not going to take another job. But hey, the money is there so why not flaunt it? Besides the publicity the move generated speaks to the solid footing Texas enjoys in football.
Texas supporters will like Brown even more if the Longhorns can win their second national championship in five years. The odds seem stacked against them, however, after their narrow escape against Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game was compared to Alabama's impressive rout of Florida for the SEC title.
Stopping Alabama's Heisman-winning running back Mark Ingram looms as the greatest challenge for the Texas defense. Colt McCoy and the Longhorns' offense, meanwhile, face a Bama defense allowing 241.7 yards and 11 points on average.
ALABAMA
The seeds of Alabama's national championship game appearance were planted right after last season.
"There was a time when we had a team meeting after the (2009) Sugar Bowl (a loss to Utah), right before we started the offseason program," said Alabama coach Nick Saban.
"We kind of showed a picture to the players of the SEC Championship, and we said there are some great teams and we would have some difficult times, and we had to work to beat the best team in our league. ... And everything you do, every time you go to work, every time we lift weights, every time you run, every time we practice, it's not to be as good as the guy you're playing against. It's to be as good as the guy you have to beat to be the champion.
"Our players bought into that."
So, it's no surprise to Alabama that it is headed to Pasadena to play in the national championship game after dispatching the defending national champion Florida Gators 32-13 in the SEC title game.
It's a powerhouse matchup: 13-0 Alabama vs. 13-0 Texas.
Everything -- well, most everything -- starts for both of these teams on defense.
Alabama ranks No. 2 and Texas No. 3 in total defense. The Longhorns are No. 1 and the Tide No. 2 in rushing defense. Alabama is No. 1 and Texas No. 8 in scoring defense ... and on it goes, right down the line, where statistically these are two of the best defenses in the country.
Offensively, however, they are very different.
Texas, behind quarterback Colt McCoy, is 14th in passing and 55th in rushing, while Alabama is 12th in rushing and 84th in passing.
To get here, Alabama had to win close games, blocking a last-second field goal try by Tennessee to preserve a 12-10 victory and driving the length of the field for a touchdown on the final possession to beat Auburn. But the Tide capped the season with a dominating victory over Florida in Atlanta's Georgia Dome to win the school's 22nd SEC title.
The chance to win championships is "a big reason why a lot of people come here," said Tide quarterback Greg McElroy, a Texan from Dallas whose hero is Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo.
"Our fullback, Baron Huber, said it best when he said, 'If you could write a page in history, what would you want it to say?'"
Alabama has a chance to write some history with the school's recognized 13th national championship in January.
KEY MATCHUPS
Alabama RB Mark Ingram vs. Texas LB Roddrick Muckelroy.
OK, the entire Texas defense must contain the Crimson Tide threat, who wowed the country with 113 yards rushing and three touchdowns against Florida in the SEC title game. Ingram, a sophomore, ran for a school-record 1,542 yards while becoming Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner. Muckelroy leads the Longhorns in tackles, though as run stoppers, the unit relies heavily on a stout defensive front led by DT Lamarr Houston. UT leads the nation in rushing defense with a 62.1-yard average. Alabama (77.9) ranks second.
Alabama LB Rolando McClain vs. Texas' running backs.
This figures to be one of the bigger mismatches in the game. Texas had trouble all season developing a consistent rushing threat before finally settling on speedy RB Tre' Newton. Still, QB Colt McCoy may be as dangerous as any of the Texas rushers with his ability to scramble. McClain was named the Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker. The 6-4, 258-pound McClain not only covers the field but inflicts punishment. He led the Tide with 101 tackles, including 12.5 for loss.
Alabama CB Javier Arenas vs. Texas WR Jordan Shipley.
Shipley has long been a favorite target for QB Colt McCoy. The two are longtime friends and roommates. Arenas was an All-SEC cornerback who made opponents afraid to challenge him. Two Alabama teammates, Mark Barron and Marquis Johnson, were credited with more passes defended, 17 apiece. But Arenas could match up most frequently with Shipley, who led the Big 12 with 10 touchdowns scored, eight off receptions and two off returns.
NAMES TO KNOW
TEXAS
QB Colt McCoy -- Entered the Big 12 championship game as the leader in the Heisman Trophy outlook, but did himself no favors by throwing for just 184 yards and no touchdowns, with three interceptions, against Nebraska.. McCoy ranked as the Big 12's most efficient passer (19th nationally), while throwing for 3,512 yards and 27 touchdowns.
S Earl Thomas -- Ranks second nationally in passes defended with 18, including eight interceptions, which ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally behind UCLA's Rahim Moore.
WR/PR Jordan Shipley -- Averaged 13 yards per return and broke two runbacks for touchdowns. One of five receivers in the country to snag more than 100 receptions, he averages 104.8 yards per game with 106 receptions (a UT record) and 11 touchdowns.
PK Hunter Lawrence -- It was no fluke he connected on a 46-yard try to win the Big 12 championship game at the buzzer. Lawrence is 22 of 25 on field goals for an .880 percentage.
ALABAMA
TB Mark Ingram -- Mr. Heisman. He was the SEC's second-leading rusher (118.6 ypg) who rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns in the SEC Championship Game against Florida, adding 76 yards on two receptions.
QB Greg McElroy -- The surprise MVP of the SEC Championship Game (12 of 18 passing, 239 yards, one touchdown), McElroy has not lost a game as a starting quarterback in college (13-0) or high school (16-0).
LB Rolando McClain -- He is the heart of the Alabama defense, calling signals as well as leading the team with 101 tackles, 12.5 behind the line of scrimmage.
CB/KR Javier Arenas -- He is the SEC career leader in punt return yards and touchdowns, and his fourth-quarter interception of Tim Tebow in the end zone effectively shut down the Gators' hope of a comeback in the SEC title game.
MEDICAL WATCH
TEXAS
- CB Aaron Williams missed much of the Nov. 26 victory against Texas A&M with a deep leg bruise, but he played well in the Big 12 championship game and snagged an interception in the end zone after Nebraska blocked a punt.
- P Justin Tucker continued to struggle with his rugby-style boots. One was blocked and another was returned to the Texas 10-yard line after the line drive allowed the cover unit little time to motor downfield.
- DT Lamarr Houston and DB Deon Beasley, both of whom were shaken up in the Texas A&M game with injuries that were not considered serious, played against Nebraska. Houston ranked second among the Longhorns with six tackles.
ALABAMA
- LB Dont'a Hightower is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery following an injury in the Arkansas game.
- DE Damion Square is out for the season with a knee injury.
- Reserve RB Terry Grant was limited almost the entire season with an abdominal strain.
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TSX PICKS: Alabama 24-17
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