So here we are. Just Alabama, Texas and the crystal football.

It’s been quite a stretch between the Tide’s last title shot in 1992 and the present day. Seventeen years, six coaches, four losing seasons and three NCAA probations. From Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La., to the Rose Bowl – the freakin’ “Granddaddy of Them All” – in Pasadena. In just two years, no less. It’s more than improbable. It’s better than remarkable. It’s a damn miracle.

How did Alabama get here? You know how. Mal Moore hired Nick Saban, the best college football coach money could buy. Saban established a regime built on strong discipline and mental toughness, which resulted in near-immediate success. A relentless recruiter, he locked up the state’s top talent (players like Mark Barron and Julio Jones), combed the JUCO ranks for hidden gems (James Carpenter and Terrence Cody) and worked his connections from previous gigs to woo coveted out-of-state blue chippers (Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson). Excellent coaching, plus talent, plus tradition, plus luck, equals quick success.

How did Texas get here? Well they actually should have been here last year, but the inept vacuum within which major college football operates sucked the rug out from under them. Oklahoma played for the title in 2008, despite finishing the regular season with the same record as Texas and losing a head-to-head matchup against the Longhorns earlier in the year. That snub, not to mention the sturdy right arm of senior QB Colt McCoy, propelled Mack Brown’s boys to a perfect regular season and a Big 12 championship this year.

And, so, here we are.

For the Longhorns, this is familiar territory. Once again the underdog in Pasadena, they’ve got another chance to fool the experts and turn conventional wisdom on its head. For Alabama, a shot at national title No. 13. Let’s break it down:

ALABAMA OFFENSE VS. TEXAS DEFENSE

Let’s take a moment and recognize one key difference in style between the SEC and Big 12. They don’t run the ball in the Midwest the way we do here in the South.

The Big 12’s top rushing team (Oklahoma State) averaged just over 191 yards per game on the ground. There are five SEC teams that can beat that average, not the least of which is Alabama (216 rushing ypg). Why is that important to know? Well, if I told you that Texas has the nation’s top-ranked rushing defense (which they do), you should know that they haven’t played a whole lot of run-oriented teams this season. In fact, of the Longhorns’ 13 opponents in 2009, nine of them have rushing offenses ranked in the bottom half of the FBS. Of those nine, four are ranked 100 or worse out of 120 teams. Alabama not only boasts the 12th-best rushing offense in the country, but also the reigning Heisman trophy winner in RB Mark Ingram. In short, while Texas is statistically the best rush defense in the nation, Bama represents their biggest challenge to date.

Of course, rankings and statistics do little to counter the dreaded “Heisman jinx,” which ranks just above Sports Illustrated cover and just below Madden video game cover on the list of legitimate sports hexes. If you’re not familiar with this particular phenomenon, it seems that Heisman trophy winners who go on to compete in the national championship game don’t play so well and their teams often suffer the consequences. Sam Bradford, Troy Smith, Reggie Bush, Jason White, and so forth. Believe me, it’s a long list. Will that be the case for Mark Ingram and the Tide? Who knows? It helps that if Ingram struggles (say, like he did a few weeks ago against Auburn), the Tide has a capable duo of backups at their disposal in Trent Richardson and Roy Upchurch.

What Alabama has to do in this game to ensure success is maintain the balance they’ve achieved over the final weeks of the regular season and the SEC Championship game. In order to do that, offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and QB Greg McElroy will have to continue their recent aggressive approach to expanding the passing game. Texas’ air defense is not their strong suit (No. 23rd in the nation, 190 yards per game allowed), so there should be opportunities for the Tide to stretch the field and open things up for Ingram and Co. on the ground.