Mike Celizic

That the game turned out to have any drama at all was remarkable. After all, Colt McCoy, the great Texas quarterback, was done for the game, and Alabama’s defense was feasting on filet of Garrett Gilbert, the freshman who came in to replace him.

But think what might have been if Texas coach Mack Brown hadn’t made one of the dumbest play calls in history just before the end of the first half.

Asking a rookie to execute a shovel pass with 15 seconds left in the half on your side of the field? What did you dial that one up on, Mack, a rotary phone?

There were dumb coaching calls on both sides of the field Thursday night. Alabama coach Nick Saban handed Texas the first three points of the game when he called for a fake punt on the game’s first series. The pass was intercepted and Texas had the early lead.

But without their great quarterback, if Texas hoped to win, there was one thing it couldn’t do: screw up.

Gilbert would find some rhythm in the second half, but you can’t count on a freshman to lead your team on multiple long scoring drives. He wasn’t going to carry the team on his back as McCoy might. And you didn’t want him to have to work miracles on a final drive.

But until late in the first half, Gilbert didn’t have to do any of those things. Alabama had the lead in the CITI Your Bailout Dollars at Work BCS Championship Game, but it was only 17-6.

The Longhorns had gotten their points off ‘Bama turnovers, one of which came on Saban’s dumb call.

A screw up on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball right back to Texas, and the Longhorns got another three points out of it. Even with McCoy out, things were looking good. They were still looking hopeful after Alabama scored two touchdowns to go up 14-6. The guys in burnt orange needed just to play tough defense and hope for a big special-teams play and another score off a turnover. Get that and the Longhorns were in the game.

But with Gilbert looking shakier than Tiger Woods’ marriage, Texas couldn’t afford to give the Crimson Tide any points and couldn’t make any mistakes, dumb or otherwise.

Alabama had added a field goal just before the half to make it 17-6. When Texas got the ball back, there was less than half a minute to play and a lot of field to cover. If ever there was a time to take a knee and go into the locker room to regroup, this was it.

Texas picked up nine yards on a run and called time. That’s when Brown got too clever for his team’s good. Thinking he might be able to get some points on the board, he called a shovel-pass.

The ball bounced off the receiver’s hands and into the hands of an Alabama defender who took it into the end zone for a 24-6 lead.

Slideshow   BCS Championship Game Click to see pictures from No. 1 Alabama's 37-21 win over No. 2 Texas. more photos

At that point, you wondered why Texas bothered coming out for the second half. But then Saban got too smart for his own good and decided to sit on the lead.

The strategy has worked for him all year. His defense has been able to smother the opposition and his offense hasn’t needed to do much once he had the lead.

But it’s dangerous to go white-bread bland with the offense. Alabama spent the third quarter going three-and-out. And with the quarter almost over, Gilbert hit Jordan Shipley with a long touchdown pass from near midfield.

Alabama couldn’t just turn a switch and recover its abandoned offense. Unable to score, the Tide watched Gilbert hit Shipley for another score. A two-point conversion made it a three-point game.

Special feature Texas gunslinger Check out quarterback Colt McCoy in action. NBCSports.com

Of course, if Brown hadn’t given away 7 points just before the half, Texas could have been leading at that point. Instead, the Longhorns had to ask for more miracles from Gilbert, and he had used up his supply.

A fumble in the shadow of the goal line made it a 10-point game. Another turnover and another touchdown turned it into a 37-21 route. But the late ‘Bama scores came because Texas and Gilbert had to try for heroic plays. They had to make up for Brown’s mistake.

It was asking too much. And it revealed another truth about championship football: If you’re going to lose, do it on a bad play, not on a bad play call.

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