BEST PLAYER
1. Sophomore tailback Mark Ingram set Alabama's single-season rushing record with 1,542 yards and also had 30 receptions for 322 yards, including a 69-yard catch in last Saturday's SEC title-game whipping of Florida. Ingram was at his best against the best, rushing for 825 yards and six touchdowns in the Crimson Tide's five games (Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, South Carolina, LSU and Florida) against Top 25 opposition. If not for a subpar showing at Auburn, where he had 30 yards on 16 carries, he would be the player to beat this weekend at the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
2. It can be argued that Rolando McClain had a better year than Ingram, as the Crimson Tide junior linebacker amassed 101 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, one Butkus Award and one Lambert Award.
3. Normally a punter wouldn't go on this list, but Georgia's Drew Butler leading the nation (48.84-yard average) by more than 3 yards a punt isn't normal.
BEST COACHING JOB
1. Alabama's Nick Saban began this season viewed as the SEC's No. 2 coach behind Urban Meyer, but that changed abruptly last Saturday. The Tide's 32-13 thumping of the Gators altered a lot of perceptions around the league and country, most notably the top coach and program. Alabama is exactly where Florida was at this time last year, on the verge of a national title, and will begin next season as the popular No. 1 choice, the same role the Gators had this past summer.
2. Rich Brooks led Kentucky to its first win over Auburn since 1966, its first win at Georgia since 1977 and a fourth consecutive seven-win season. Will he coach long enough ever to beat Tennessee?
3. Meyer isn't in the bowl he wanted, but there is something to be said for going 12-0 in a regular season containing swine flu, Tim Tebow's concussion and the suspension of Brandon Spikes for eye-gouging.
BEST GAME
1. Alabama's 12-10 win over Tennessee on Oct. 24 was not the greatest game from start to finish, but the last 80 seconds were phenomenal. After Vols quarterback Jonathan Crompton threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Jones and Tennessee recovered the onside kick, Crompton zipped a 23-yard pass to tight end Luke Stocker, who withstood a wicked hit by Tide defensive back Robby Green at the Alabama 27. Nobody among the 92,000 fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium had any clue who would win at that point, though Terrence Cody had an idea if hobbled Tennessee kicker Daniel Lincoln were to try another long field goal.
2. The Iron Bowl was a better game throughout than Alabama-Tennessee and arguably produced two winners, as Alabama rallied with a memorable drive and Auburn injected life back into the sport's greatest rivalry.
3. A tie between two overtime games the last week of the regular season, Tennessee-Kentucky and LSU-Arkansas.
BEST TEAM FOR 2010
1. Alabama will be the overwhelming pick to win next season's SEC and national titles with the return of quarterback Greg McElroy, running backs Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson and receivers Julio Jones and Marquis Maze. The defense has seven senior starters, including Terrence Cody and Javier Arenas, and likely will lose Rolando McClain a year early, but Dont'a Hightower will return from injury, and it's not like Nick Saban isn't recruiting well. Alabama and Florida play next season at Bryant-Denny Stadium, so both of these teams can't go 8-0 in league play again.
2. Florida no longer will have Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and Jermaine Cunningham, and the Gators could lose Joe Haden, Carlos Dunlap and Aaron Hernandez next month, but they still will be solid favorites in the East.
3. If Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett returns for his redshirt junior season, the Razorbacks could have an early shot at knocking off Alabama in Fayetteville.
UNBELIEVABLE MOMENT
1. October officiating and its aftershocks. It began with an Oct. 3 celebration penalty on Georgia receiver A.J. Green against LSU and continued Oct. 8, when SEC commissioner Mike Slive spoke in Chattanooga and said he didn't believe a "public hanging" was appropriate in handling officiating gaffes. After the officials at LSU-Georgia blew a call Oct. 17 in the Florida-Arkansas game, Slive publicly suspended the crew from its next assignment. The league cracked down on coaches complaining about officiating, which was dubbed the "Lane Kiffin rule," and Florida's Urban Meyer became the first violator, earning a $30,000 fine. What a month indeed.
2. The final minute of LSU's 25-23 loss Nov. 21 at Ole Miss, in which Tigers coach Les Miles and his staff displayed horrific clock management.
3. Mississippi State rolling to a 41-27 win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl after losing to the Rebels 45-0 last year.
David Paschall is a sports writer for the Times Free Press. He started at the Chattanooga Free Press in 1990 and was part of the Times Free Press when the paper started in 1999. David covers University of Georgia football, as well as SEC football recruiting, SEC basketball, Chattanooga Lookouts baseball and other sports stories. He is a Chattanooga native and graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received numerous honors for ...
McClain DID have a better year than Ingram, no question. Trent Richardson or David Paschal could have run for 1,500 yards behind the Bama OL. Sure, Ingram broke a lot of tackles on his way to the single season record but when you already have a 3-4 yard head start its a bit easier to break tackles.
Rich Brooks? Seems to me he performed the same as he does every year. I'd give it Ed Orgeron who helped Houston Nutt and Ole Miss to its best year in decades.
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