The Alabama Crimson Tide became National Champions Thursday night by defeating the Texas Longhorns 37-21 behind 116 yards rushing on 22 carries from their Heisman Trophy winning tailback, Mark Ingram. Ingram (only a sophmore) bested the “Heisman Curse” to become just the second winner (along with Matt Leinart) in the BCS era to also win the title. In the first half, his 92 yards rushing helped propel the Tide to what turned out to be an insurmountable 24-6 lead. Unable to play most of the second half due to cramps, Ingram came back in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.

Texas lost its best player, Colt McCoy, after only 5 plays and freshman Garrett Gilbert was clearly overwhelmed in the first half. He settled down in the second half and Texas made a game of it as Gilbert threw two touchdowns to Jordan Shipley to close the gap to 24-21. The ‘Bama defense, however, ruined Cinderella’s evening by sacking Gilbert and recovering his fumble deep in Longhorn territory. From there, it was all Tide as they scored two touchdowns late to win going away.

Pencils on Strathmore 300 Smooth bristol:

Inks on Strathmore 300 Smooth bristol (with PS fixup):

Colors done in Photoshop.

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