LOS ANGELES - Alabama's smothering defense is designed primarily to stop the run and force opposing teams to pass - which could play right into Texas' hands in Thursday's Bowl Championship Series title game.
The Longhorns just happen to have the sixth-most prolific passer in NCAA history in Colt McCoy, a two-time finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
"It's always a danger when you've got a great quarterback that throws the ball well, that scrambles well," Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said Sunday. "You may push him into his asset. You may force him to do what he does best. So you've got to be able to throw curveballs and stop the pass as much as stop the run."
McCoy this season completed 70.5 percent of his passes for 3,512 yards and 27 touchdowns, averaging 270.1 yards per game. Texas averaged 152.7 yards per game on the ground.
"We're looking for the best thing to do against their scheme," Smart said. "What do they do best? How do you stop it? It just starts with that. Make them do something they don't do. And they're going to do the same to us."
Now what? A loss to Florida in the 2008 Southeastern Conference championship game spoiled an unbeaten year for Alabama, leaving the Crimson Tide spoiling for a rematch. So after thumping Florida 32-13 in last month's conference final, some players had to work hard to refocus on Texas.
"A lot of what we thought about this season was beating Florida," senior defensive lineman Lorenzo Washington said. "But it also was to get to the national championship game. Florida was the steppingstone to where we are right now."
Coach Nick Saban helped the top-ranked Tide regain their edge by giving his players just 24 hours to enjoy their SEC title before beginning preparation for second-ranked Texas.
Suh them: The Texas offense stumbled in its final regular season game, putting up season lows with 13 points and 202 total yards against a Nebraska defense that had nine sacks, led by tackle Ndamukong Suh. And after reviewing film from that game, some Alabama players have come away convinced Suh's performance holds valuable lessons for them.
"Nebraska's defensive line, they were just turned up every play. They just came off the ball . . . and the Texas offensive line just didn't match them that day," Washington said. "Suh, he went out there and just completely dominated the entire game. It shows us, 'Why can't we be the ones to go out there and dominate like that?' "
Grad school: Twenty-one players on the Crimson Tide have already earned a degree from Alabama, and getting that pesky schoolwork out of the way proved helpful, linebacker Cory Reamer said.
"It's just wake up in the morning, go watch film and then get ready for practice," said Reamer, who completed his work for a degree in finance in May and is on schedule to finish work on a master's degree in sports management in the spring. "There's a lot of guys that have bought into that kind of schedule, that have really gotten to have a lot more time in the film room."
According to figures released by the NCAA in November, Alabama graduates 67 percent of its football players, the third-best mark among the SEC's 12 schools.