Mark Ingram had a monster run through December Madness,
but he saved his best for last. With the most anticipated matchup of the postseason
remaining close through the first two quarters, Ingram simply put Alabama on his back
over the final 30 minutes, scoring twice and leading the Crimson Tide to 17 unanswered,
second-half points and a December Madness national championship with a 23-10 victory over
Texas in the title game.
In a game that featured a couple of the top offenses and defenses in the country this season,
it was the Heisman Trophy-winning running back that clearly made the difference. Alabama
posted 377 yards of total offense and more than 200 of them belonged to Ingram, who carried
the ball 27 times for 150 yards and a touchdown and also caught three passes for 56 yards
and a touchdown.
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy - also a Heisman finalist - got the Longhorns off to a hot
start in the first quarter. Looking for his second consecutive December Madness championship,
McCoy connected with Malcolm Williams on a stunning 56-yard scoring strike that accounted for
nearly one-third of the Longhorns’ total passing yards on the day.
Alabama kicker Leigh Tiffin settled for a pair of field goals to cut the deficit to 7-6, but
Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence continued his successful December Madness run with one of his own,
giving the Longhorns a four-point lead heading into the second half.
Once there, it was the Ingram show. A 45-yard pass from Greg McElroy to Julio Jones set up
Ingram’s first touchdown run, a six-yard burst that gave the Crimson Tide its first lead of
the game - one that they would never give up - on Alabama’s first possession of the second
half. It took until the early minutes of the fourth quarter to add to that lead, but Ingram
did it in dramatic fashion, breaking free from a Longhorns defense that was the best in the
nation in terms of yards allowed per play coming in. Ingram went 53 yards to make it a
two-possession game, Tiffin tacked on another field goal later in the quarter and the Crimson
Tide captured the championship.
Player of the game: Mark Ingram (27 carries, 150 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD)
Winning Percentage of 1,001 Simulations:
Alabama 87.8% - Texas 12.2%
December Madness 2009
1
16
Alabama
Troy
54
7
8
9
Ohio State
Georgia Tech
31
10
4
13
TCU
West Virginia
33
10
5
12
Florida
Brigham Young
27
10
3
14
Cincinnati
Central Mich.
38
20
6
11
Boise State
Virginia Tech
28
24
7
10
Oregon
Iowa
21
17
2
15
Texas
East Carolina
33
9
1
8
Alabama
Ohio State
28
7
4
5
TCU
Florida
17
14
3
6
Cincinnati
Boise State
27
34
7
2
Oregon
Texas
13
24
1
4
Alabama
TCU
20
13
6
2
Boise State
Texas
20
23
1
2
Alabama
Texas
23
10
Over the next four Tuesdays, the top 16 NCAA college football teams (11 conference champions and five at-large) in the nation will compete for the ultimate title in the December Madness playoff.
To view the results of a completed round, click the Round Indicator above the bracket. Results below the bracket include scores, recaps, boxscores with play-by-play and more.
To determine who wins and advances, WhatIfSports uses its award-winning simulation software, SimMatchup College Football, to "play" each game 1,001 times.
