At the end of the 2009 season, Nick Saban’s Alabama squad had rolled through an undefeated schedule, forging through close wins against rivals Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU before avenging their 2008 defeat in the SEC Championship by dismantling the Florida Tim Tebows.
With all of that accomplished, Alabama had one more hurdle to cement themselves as finally being “back.” The Texas Longhorns stood in the way of a National Championship, led by senior QB Colt McCoy. McCoy led the nation in completion percentage and had been viewed as one of the top QBs in the nation for four years.