College basketball: Shelton State men overwhelm Chattahoochee Valley. 3C
Sports REMARKABLE
MOBLEY & SONS
S U N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 13 , 2 009
SECTION C
WWW.TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
Ingram’s Heisman achievement adds to Alabama’s football legacy
A
t one point in his short press conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, just minutes after he won the Heisman Trophy, Mark Ingram was asked where that trophy would be placed. “We’ve got a beautiful facility in Tuscaloosa,” Ingram said. “So I guess it will go in there with all those national championship trophies somewhere.” It was a simple answer to a straightforward question. But there was also a deeper meaning, perhaps deeper than Ingram intended. His Heisman Trophy, won in the closest race ever on a New York night brimming with emotion, does deserve to be displayed among all those national championship trophies and Southeaster n Conference championship trophies and bowl trophies that have accumulated in more than 100 years of Alabama football. CECIL Ingram’s trophy isn’t HURT something separate from that tradition. It is a part of it. One of the questions that was asked frequently during the week, as it seemed likely — if never entirely certain — that Ingram could win was “what would it mean if Alabama were to have a Heisman Trophy winner?” As it turns out, it means something special. It is a prestigious award, the most recognized one in college football. Ingram himself, as he fought back tears in his acceptance speech, recognized that being the first player ever to bring the trophy home to Tuscaloosa wasn’t some idle accomplishment. But what means the most is the way that Ingram won it. This wasn’t a case of an individual rolling up great statistics on a team that didn’t win a championship. This wasn’t the case of a five-star recruit doing some dazzling things on his way to a huge NFL contract, although Ingram will certainly have that in his future. Ingram won, not by transcending the team concept, but by defining it. His accomplishments over the course of the season weren’t statistics achieved or yards gained as an end in themselves. Nearly every yard Ingram gained this season was a fundamental part of winning. Once Alabama had an opponent like Tennessee-Chattanooga put away, the Crimson Tide coaching staff SEE HURT | 4C
HEISMAN VOTING NEW YORK | Voting for the 2009 Heisman Trophy, with first-, second- and third-place votes and total points (voting on 3-2-1 basis) Player Mark Ingram, Alabama Toby Gerhart, Stanford Colt McCoy, Texas Ndamukong Suh, Neb. Tim Tebow, Florida C.J. Spiller, Clemson Kellen Moore, Boise St. Case Keenum, Houston M. Gilyard, Cincinnati G. Tate, Notre Dame
1st 227 222 203 161 43 26 10 2 2 2
2nd 236 225 188 105 70 31 20 9 2 3
3rd 151 160 160 122 121 83 30 13 13 9
Total 1304 1276 1145 815 390 223 100 37 23 21
HEISMAN VOTING NARROWEST MARGINS
2009 — 28, Mark Ingram, Alabama, over Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 1304-1276. 1985 — 45, Bo Jackson, Auburn, over Chuck Long, Iowa, 1509-1464. 1961 — 53, Ernie Davis, Syracuse, over Bob Ferguson, Ohio State, 824-771. 1953 — 56, John Lattner, Notre Dame, over Paul Giel, Minnesota, 1850-1794. 2001 — 62, Eric Crouch, Nebraska, over Rex Grossman, Florida, 770-708. 1989 — 70, Andre Ware, Houston, over Anthony Thompson, Indiana, 1073-1003. 1956 — 72, Paul Hornung, Notre Dame, over John Majors, Tennessee, 1066-994. 1964 — 74, John Huarte, Notre Dame, over Jerry Rhome, Tulsa, 1026-952. 2000 — 76, Chris Weinke, Florida St., over Josh Heupel, Oklahoma, 1,628-1,552. 1978 — 77, Billy Sims, Oklahoma, over Chuck Fusina, Penn State, 827-750. Note: Jay Berwanger, Chicago, defeated Monk Meyer, Army, by 55 in 1935 but vote totals of 84-29 were considerably smaller.
ALABAMA’S TOP HEISMAN FINISHERS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
“I’m just so excited to bring Alabama their first Heisman winner.” Mark Ingram
PURDUE 73, ALABAMA 65
Tide blows lead, game to Purdue By Tommy Deas Executive Sports Editor
TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama basketball team led No. 5 Purdue by as many as 16 points in the second half Saturday, but in the end the Crimson Tide never had a shot. At least not a made shot. Alabama missed its last 10 shots from the field and watched helplessly as the Boilermakers flexed their muscle to finish the game with a furious run to win 73-65 at Coleman Coliseum. “You’ve got to give Purdue credit,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “There’s obviously a reason why they are considered one of the best teams in the country. Adversity hit them and I thought they did a great job of fighting through and playing for 40 minutes. “This is a disappointment for us as we saw a great opportunity here, and also a learning experience for us at the same time. We didn’t play the way we needed to play for 40 minutes.” Purdue (9-0) scored 14 of the game’s last 15 points as Alabama (6-3) made just two baskets in the final 11 minutes of action to go with a handful of free throws. Alabama’s full-court pressure rattled Purdue in the first STAFF PHOTO | ROBERT SUTTON half, pressing the Boilermakers into 11 turnovers. In the final 20 minutes, Purdue solved the full-court puzzle and Alabama’s JaMychal Green shoots over a Purdue defender in the first half at Coleman Coliseum on was able to break the press. SEE TIDE | 5C Saturday.
Top-five Heisman Trophy finishers to play for Alabama (winner in parentheses): ■ Mark Ingram, RB, 1st in 2009 ■ Jay Barker, QB, 5th in 1994 (Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado). ■ David Palmer, WR-KR, 3rd in 1993 (Charlie Ward, QB, Florida State). ■ Terry Davis QB, 5th in 1972 (Johnny Rodgers, WB, Nebraska). ■ Johnny Musso, RB, 4th in 1971 (Pat Sullivan, QB, Auburn). ■ Lee Roy Jordan, LB, 4th in 1962 (Terry Baker, QB, Oregon State). ■ Pat Trammell, QB, 5th in 1961 (Ernie Davis, RB, Syracuse). ■ Harry Gilmer, HB, 5th in 1947 (John Lujack, QB, Notre Dame). ■ Harry Gilmer, HB, 5th in 1945 (Doc Blanchard, RB, Army).
ALL-STAR CLASSIC
Alabama downs Mississippi The Associated Press
MOBILE | For two-and-half quarters of Saturday’s Alabama-Mississippi AllStar Classic, rain and punting ruled the day. Then came the flood — of points, that is. Coty Blanchard and Daryl Norris each threw second-half touchdown passes as Alabama claimed a 21-13 victory on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Alabama improved to 16-7 all-time in the series. “We felt a lot more comfortable in the second half,” said Blanchard, from Alabama Class 4A state champion Cherokee County. “In the first half, we were trying to make things happen a little too much. At halftime, they talked to us about getting settled and letting things play out.” Blanchard hit Hoover’s Maudrecas Humphrey, son of former University of Alabama player Bobby Humphrey, for a 21-yard touchdown to put Alabama on top 7-3 late in the third quarter. Norris, from Fairhope, hooked up with Murphy’s Solomon Patton — a University of Florida commitment — for a 50-yard score early in the fourth quarter. SEE CLASSIC | 6C
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alabama’s Jarrick Williams tips away a pass intended for Mississippi’s Steve McNair Jr. during the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.