OPINION

By Dave Curtis

updated 11:52 p.m. ET Nov. 27, 2009

AUBURN, Ala. - Before Friday, the 2009 additions to Alabama football lore started and ended with a blocked field goal. Terrence Cody's paw swallowed a last-second Tennessee try a few weeks back, and, well, there was the lasting memory of the season.

Now, the big man with the big hand has competition for the Crimson Tide's No. 1 highlight for the year. Alabama's offense, maligned since September, finally strung together a fourth-quarter, championship-worthy drive to give the Tide a 26-21 victory at Auburn. And quarterback Greg McElroy, most maligned of all, capped the march with the biggest throw of his career.

The books will record it as a mix of rushes and screens and dump-off throws spread over 15 plays and 79 yards. The drive took 7:03 off the clock and ended with McElroy's moment — a play-action fake, and then a 4-yard TD pass to back Roy Upchurch with 1:24 left to play.

"He made all the right decisions in the critical times of the game," coach Nick Saban said.

The fans here, and those "Roll Tide" yellers across the region, will remember it as the possession that saved the year. The victory gives Alabama a second straight perfect regular season and keeps the Tide in great shape to play for a national championship. And it kept alive the possibility of undefeated Florida versus the undefeated Tide in an SEC Super Bowl next Saturday at the Georgia Dome.

And after Friday, McElroy has the confidence to play a starring role in what should be the most hyped game of 2009. The junior from Texas high school juggernaut Southlake Carroll lugged Alabama to victory on an afternoon when little else worked for it. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 218 yards (75 percent of his team's offense) for two touchdowns, with no interceptions.

Star tailback Mark Ingram gained only 30 rushing yards and missed much of the second half with a hip pointer. And the Tide's defense gave up more than twice its scoring average coming into the game (9.9 ppg), including 14 points during a wild flurry to start the game. A series of gadget plays helped the hosts to a two-score lead, and the Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd, which reached volumes not heard since the "one for the thumb" days, provided a menacing soundtrack. The ingredients of an upset began to gather.

"We needed the first couple series to regroup," Tide defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick said. "The tempo was fast, and we didn't have a lot of time to think."

They did have time to look a bit rattled for the first time all season. The Tide reserves, usually an energetic bunch, stood silent on the sidelines as Auburn danced on their championship hopes. Saban paced the sideline, fiddling with his sleeves and wondering how the heck his team ended up down 14-0. The defense was under siege. The run game was ineffective.

With Alabama's championship hopes in the balance, McElroy took charge. He looked little like the kid who went 10-for-20 with two interceptions against South Carolina, or the one who threw for 120 yards in a barnburner with Tennessee.

Nope, he looked like a leader. He zoned in on star receiver Julio Jones but had three other receivers catch at least three balls. On the game-winning drive, McElroy hit seven straight passes after missing his first. Three came on third downs, including the last, which resulted in Upchurch's first collegiate TD catch.

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Next week, of course, will bring a tougher challenge than what young Auburn presented here. The Tide, who worked with a short week before this trip, will enjoy an extra day to prepare for the Gators and rest their bodies.

"We're going to give them some time to try to recover," Saban said.

McElroy spent most of Friday recovering the game that made him a top quarterback recruit four years ago. For him, this week will be about building for the biggest game he's played so far, and the biggest game in the country this year.

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