The Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Kalen DeBoer quieted some doubters with a first round College Football Playoff victory in Norman against the Oklahoma Sooners. And that includes former Alabama legend Mark Ingram.
Ingram won a Heisman trophy and a national championship with the Crimson Tide before going on to have a successful pro career with the New Orleans Saints. But heading into the Oklahoma game, he was as skeptical as anybody about his former school after they laid an egg in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.
In spite of a blowout loss, the CFP committee did not drop the Crimson Tide out of their final bracket. (Over in the Big 12, BYU was not as lucky after their own championship game defeat, raising questions about double standards that were overshadowed by the Miami-Notre Dame debacle.)
It looked like Alabama would be embarrassed again after falling into a 17-0 hole against Oklahoma, but they stormed back to take a 34-24 victory.
Mark Ingram joked with Kalen DeBoer that he had to give an apology in order to come on his Triple Option Podcast with Fox Sports colleagues Rob Stone and Urban Meyer for questioning whether Alabama should have gotten in to the College Football Playoff.
“I was throwing the rat poison out there and clearly y’all heard me because you went out to Norman and we did the job. And we’re gonna do the job again in a few weeks. So you know, I go harder for Bama than anybody in the nation. I go harder for you than anybody in the nation. Did I feel like we left our destiny in the committee’s hands? Yes, I did. But at the end of hte day, I’ll root for Bama, I want Bama in the playoff, I want Bama to win the natty, I want Bama to ball every single time we’re on the field. So I do apologize. And you know I’m the ultimate King Gump,” Ingram told DeBoer.
Kalen DeBoer told Mark Ingram that it was all good because of the work that he does behind the scenes to support him and his alma mater.
“Here’s the thing. You come back all the time, you help us. I know where the loyalty is at, I know where the love is at. You’re saying how it was and we didn’t play very good in that game. And so it was all real and that comes with the territory,” DeBoer said.
Ultimately, this is what we all want from college football, right? We live in a time when perceptions of media bias in college football are stronger than ever. And the ESPN-SEC vs Fox-Big Ten divide is very real. But this is the blueprint for how it should be done. Mark Ingram can speak openly and honestly and tell it like it is about the Crimson Tide while still being a beloved and supportive alum. The two ideas don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And it might be nice if everyone else in college football can put aside their own biases and allegiances to do likewise.
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