Today marks eight years since the Tide beat LSU for the national title

Like a lot of New Orleans Saints fans, I was really disappointed by how Sunday’s wild card playoff game turned out. For those of you who didn’t watch it, the Minnesota Vikings upset the Saints, 26-20, in overtime at the Superdome. I literally felt sick when the game ended.

I don’t know what New Orleans’ problem was on Sunday, but they just seemed to be very out of sync, especially on offense. New Orleans is usually a well-oiled machine on offense, but not on Sunday. New Orleans was especially terrible on third down, and they had a number of costly penalties.

I should probably give credit where credit is due. Minnesota obviously entered the game with a solid plan defensively, and it paid off. They kept it close and got a few breaks along the way, which is why they’ll be playing the 49ers this Saturday in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.

I’m not pulling for San Francisco, but I’ll also be shocked if Minnesota gets the win on Saturday. The 49ers are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and was one of only three teams to beat New Orleans during the regular season. The winner of Saturday’s Minnesota-San Francisco game will play either Seattle or Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game the following weekend.

On the AFC side, I’m pulling for Baltimore. I’ve always kind of liked the Ravens, and I look for them to cruise their way into the Super Bowl. I don’t see any of the other AFC teams – Tennessee, Houston or Kansas City – giving them much of a run. Of course, I figured that New Orleans was destined for the Super Bowl before the Vikings screwed that up.

----- 0 -----

As hard as it is to believe, today (Thursday) marks eight years since No. 2-ranked Alabama defeated No. 1-ranked LSU, 21-0, to win the BCS National Championship in New Orleans, making it the third national championship won by Coach Nick Saban. That game was played on Jan. 9, 2012 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Many football fans in the reading audience will remember that the BCS title game that season was a rematch between Alabama and LSU. Earlier that season - on Nov. 5, 2011 - No. 1-ranked LSU beat No. 2-ranked Alabama, 9-6, in overtime in Tuscaloosa. That game turned out to be Alabama’s only loss of the season.

Alabama really had some great players that season, including a number who will always be remembered by hardcore Alabama fans. Household names on the roster that year included D.J. Fluker, Marquis Maze, Mark Barron, Don’ta Hightower, C.J. Mosley, Courtney Upshaw, Nico Johnson, Dre Kirkpatrick, Ha Ha Clinton Dix, A.J. McCarron, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy. Needless to say, Alabama was loaded with talent that season.

Many Hillcrest fans will remember that Nico Johnson and C.J. Mosley both played in football games at Brooks Memorial Stadium in Evergreen. Mosley played at Theodore High School, and Johnson played for Andalusia. I got to see Johnson play multiple times in high school, and I remember thinking that if you had 11 kids like him on one team, you’d be unbeatable. He really was something special.