Through My Eyes Part 13

"I'm not going to let you play," he said. He had tears in his eyes-he knew how much it meant to me.

"I have to play," I responded.

He cut me off. "I keep asking myself, if you were Nate, would I let you play? I keep saying, 'No.' I can't let you play." He really wanted to win, but he was unwilling to take a chance with my health.

"But they cleared me, and I haven't had headaches in days," I countered. "There's no reason for me not to play."

"No headaches?"

"No, Coach. No headaches." A headache had been starting to set in, but for all I know, it was from stress or a migraine, not the concussion.

Coach Meyer softened and said that we'd decide after warm-ups. All other things being equal, he would have erred on the side of caution, but I know my desire to play was eating at him.

I was praying in the locker room that the headache, which had been getting worse and worse, would simply go away. It didn't. I could barely see by the end of pregame warm-ups, it was hurting so badly.

Even though I don't recommend for anyone to ever do this, I played.

We started our first drive from our own seven yard line. Coach sent me in, and then, the moment I crossed the wide, white sideline and ran across the twenty-five yard line (Tiger Stadium is the only stadium I ever played in that paints the numbers every five yards instead of merely every ten) toward the end zone, my head completely cleared. No pain. I don't know if it was the adrenaline, the warm wishes from the LSU faithful directed my way, or the Lord's touch, but the pain was gone instantaneously. It never came back.

I only carried a couple of times, anyway, as the coaches didn't want me to take any more blows. We marched eighty-two yards on that first drive and kicked a field goal to take a 30 lead, and then they tied it in the second quarter. We really struggled on offense, but our defense stepped up in a big way. Right before halftime, I hit Riley Cooper on a twenty-four-yard touchdown, and our defense made that touchdown stand up. We won, 133. It was a great return to Baton Rouge.

We were very happy heading back to Gainesville. Certainly we would have liked to have done more on offense, but we were limited with what we could do because of my injury. So much of our offense was predicated upon the possibility that I would rush the ball, but everyone knew-especially LSU's defense-that wasn't going to happen. Not that night. At the end of the day, that was a good win against a very good team.

We had things to work on that week but were upbeat as we practiced. We had gotten over a major hurdle without being at full strength.

The game against Arkansas was remarkable the following week at our place. My head had been totally fine ever since I stepped onto the field at Louisiana State. Arkansas played well. It was a game to remember, even though our fans seemed less than pleased that it was so close. The whole game consisted of missed opportunities, which kept it close. We had an uncharacteristic number of fumbles and missed tackles, and for a while it felt like the Ole Miss game of 2008 all over again. There was no way I was going to let that happen. No way.

At one point, I hit Chris Rainey, who was wide open on a swing route. There was no one between him and a seven-yard touchdown except for the safety, and Chris totally made the guy miss. As the safety was falling away, he stuck his foot out and kicked the ball, which caused the ball to fly out of Chris's grip, up into the air, and onto the turf. They recovered. No one else was even in the area to tackle Chris, and yet a stray foot caused a turnover. Later on, Aaron Hernandez fumbled after a long reception on which he'd made a great effort, and still later I was stripped of the ball and they recovered the fumble. Just totally bizarre stuff, which was what made it reminiscent of the Ole Miss game from the previous year. Here they were with the worst statistical defense in the conference, and we couldn't put them away. In fact, we were trailing until late in the game.

We tied the game in the fourth quarter at 20 on a great play by Jeff Demps, and then we got the ball back. On that final drive, we were trying to score and leave as little time remaining on the clock as possible. In addition to our four turnovers and numerous dropped pa.s.ses, our defense had even struggled, surprisingly. After saving us against LSU, they had an off day against a very solid Arkansas offense. Because of that, we didn't want to leave any time for Arkansas's offense to get back on the field.

I felt that it was our turn on offense to step up-I mean we had turned the ball over an unacceptable four times. I told Coach to give me the ball; I was in one of those crazy moods.

I ended up throwing for thirty yards on that drive and rus.h.i.+ng for twenty-two more. On a third and ten play, we called time-out and then ran a play to Coop, where if it was man-to-man, one-on-one, he was going to run a stop route and I would put it right on him. The defender would think Coop was running a fade to the end zone, but instead we'd just get the first down.

If they weren't in man, then we'd probably go to Hernandez on an in cut. They gave us man-to-man and blitzed. Coop tripped coming off the line, but he scrambled up and I hit him in the chest for a first down. A huge play. Of course, the pa.s.s was at chest level because he was going to the ground again, and he actually made the catch of my low pa.s.s while on a knee-an amazing grab.

At the end of our drive, Caleb Sturgis kicked a field goal to win it with nine seconds left. I didn't open my eyes until I heard the crowd roar; 2320.

Sure, it shouldn't have been that close, but it was a fun game and a gut check for us. We had been confronted with the Ole Miss game, the 2009 version, only this time we'd survived. We had to find a way to win that game, and we did. I was proud of our team.

On the one hand, it was troubling to have struggled with Arkansas. On the other, every team has the occasional game that they simply have to escape. When you're on the field sc.r.a.ping it out, you're not thinking about "style points" or coaches voting or what people on ESPN will say when the highlight reel rolls; you're thinking about winning the game. A win is a win, and we'd gotten exactly that. While there was a mild sense of anxiety over the game itself, we felt that we would have a chance to correct any shortcomings moving forward. We were still undefeated, and that was what mattered.

Chapter Twenty.

Finis.h.i.+ng Strong.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, and I have kept the faith.

-2 TIMOTHY 4:7.

I knew Mississippi State would be interesting. We were looking forward to seeing Coach Mullen and hoped that our knowing him as well as we did would counter any advantage he might gain by how well he knew our schemes and our personnel.

Therefore, going in, everyone knew that Coach Mullen was going to design some stuff for us because he knew our physical limitations and tendencies, and, man, did he deliver.

The game started off well. In the second quarter, I rushed for a touchdown to tie Herschel Walker for the all-time SEC rus.h.i.+ng touchdown record. But things went downhill from there. We were ahead 133 right before halftime and were driving against the Mississippi State defense, trying to put the game away. We were inside their ten yard line. Coach Mullen knew exactly what my check was on this certain play, so they showed like they were blitzing but didn't. I threw it up to the corner at the goal line as they antic.i.p.ated. It was tipped and intercepted by Johnthan Banks, who ran it back one hundred yards for a touchdown, making it 1310 going into the locker room at halftime.

A bad play by me, and now we were only up three. There was clearly some dissention in the locker room. It was not going well, and making matters worse on the other side of the ball was the fact that Brandon Spikes wasn't playing due to a hurt groin.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, we scored a touchdown on a run by Chris Rainey to put us up by nine and give us some breathing room. On Mississippi State's next possession, Dustin Doe returned an interception for a touchdown to put the game away. I'm thankful that he did, because I then threw another interception that was returned for a touchdown. Coach Mullen definitely had my number that night.

Even before my last interception, it had already been a tough night. A defensive leader had a pointed comment for me on the sidelines, which didn't sit well with any of us on offense. For four years we had always stuck together, with no finger pointing between the offense and defense, regardless of what was happening. I don't know what it was that was bothering him, but the Pounceys responded to him, and things started to heat up on the sidelines. I grabbed the Pounceys and pulled them away, but at the same time I was just as mad about the situation as they were.

We ended up winning, but it wasn't a good feeling for anybody; we were all a bit empty. I was really upset by it all after the game-my interceptions, our poor play, the moment on the sidelines. Afterward my family encircled me, under the stadium, helping me deal with it all.

From the outer edges of our group I could hear somebody asking to get through to me-Dan Mullen. He was great. He took me aside, put his arm around me, and encouraged me with thoughts both football-related and otherwise. It was a moment I'll never forget.

He didn't ask about my eye black, however. It was Ephesians 4:32, which was particularly appropriate for that day-"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted . . ." I'd heard that he had started an optional coaches' Bible study for the Mississippi State staff, which is impressive. It's tough to give up staff-meeting time, but he did. It's simply amazing what G.o.d will do with relations.h.i.+ps if we allow Him to work in our lives.

When we got back to Gainesville, we had a leaders.h.i.+p meeting and a team meeting. The leaders.h.i.+p meeting was with Coach Meyer, Coach Mick, the coordinators, and some of the player-leaders. The defensive player sincerely apologized, and we went on our way with that behind us.

Still, there was no denying that it had become a surprisingly tough season. If we weren't winning in perfect fas.h.i.+on, then we were very dissatisfied. That's a tough standard to live with. And I think that because we had such a high standard and such high expectations-Best Ever-we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves at times rather than just going out and playing the game. We'd been looking so hard for a way to motivate ourselves in the off-season, and that t.i.tle of Best Ever seemed to get everyone motivated and thinking the right things. But in actuality, what we really needed to do was focus on doing whatever we could to get ready to win games. The labels could always come later.

And honestly, we should have relaxed. We were a team stretched tight like a rubber band. We were probably starting to fray at the edges, and that was in no small part because of the pressure that we'd put on ourselves. I wish we had all taken a step back at some point, but charging ahead always seemed like the right thing-keep our focus, keep working harder. We needed to appreciate where we were, where we'd been, and who we were. But in that moment, this was a very tough thing to do.

We pushed ahead and got ready for our annual skirmish in Jacksonville. Even though they had a lot of talent and a lot of good players, Georgia wasn't as good as the year before. Of course, that didn't stop them from talking their usual trash during pregame. They came out wearing these new uniforms with black helmets, and we just went to work on them. I threw two touchdown pa.s.ses in the first quarter and then rushed for a touchdown in the second, breaking former Georgia Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker's all-time SEC rus.h.i.+ng touchdown mark. To do that against Georgia, in my hometown, made it that much better. I kept that ball and gave it to my dad for Christmas.

After a first half like that, we knew we were in control, and we went on to beat them handily, 4117. The only controversy came when Brandon Spikes tried to poke a guy in the eye. Coach Meyer suspended him for the first half of the next game, because what he did was wrong. He shouldn't have done that, without question. Brandon would tell you that too.

At the same time, though, people are so naive about what happens on the field. Spikes said he was retaliating for someone's trying to do the same to him earlier in the game, and I believe him. After all, I had three occasions in that game as well when guys were trying to grab my neck or gouge my eyes. And you do not want to know what happens in piles in every game, with guys trying to grab someone in places that could cause some serious pain. It's awful, but it's not like Spikes invented this stuff.

I agreed with the punishment as a way to hopefully deter this in the future-Spikes himself ended up agreeing to sit out the entire next game because of the outcry-but I think people were singling him out unfairly. Maybe we could get more pictures from piles or maybe get the referees to pay more attention-I'll bet something like that happened to me at least forty times in my college career. A lot of good players that I played against unfortunately engaged in stuff like this.

With Brandon out for our next game at Vandy, our concerns about being without one of our best players on defense were eased by the hope that we could repeat our solid victory over them from the previous year. While we didn't put up the kind of numbers that our offense was used to, our defense had a stellar performance, as we beat them by a score of 273.

There was no doubt we were better than they were, but as with some of the earlier games that season, our play was only good, not great. This was especially true on offense where we encountered a carefully designed game plan that they executed well. They had a solid cornerback, Myron Lewis, who stayed on Riley Cooper all game. They gambled that he could stay on Coop without help, and then they had the rest of their guys available to help on Hernandez and the rest of our offensive threats. Lewis played great, and that was a game when we missed some of the receiving talent-Caldwell, Murphy, and Harvin-that we'd lost the last few years to the NFL.

People everywhere were looking for a reason to explain what was off about our offense, and often that reason was Percy Harvin's absence. While there's no doubt that not having Percy's explosive ability hurt us, in my opinion, the person we missed most was Louis Murphy, who I'd always thought was publicly underappreciated. Murph was the guy that we were going to on third downs when we had to have it, because he was going to find a way to get open and beat man coverage and win the play. He and I were always on the same page. I could look at him a certain way and he'd know what I was thinking. He was also the hardest working receiver I'd ever played with. Other guys worked really hard, too, but every single day my freshman through junior years Louis would stay after practice, keep working, and then work more on his own.

His drive was clearly exhibited on a play that year. While we were missing him, he was playing well for the Oakland Raiders. Zach Miller, the Raiders' tight end, caught an eighty-six yard touchdown pa.s.s that never would have happened but for Louis's hustle to get out in front of the play and block three different guys at different times. Three. I love that. That's what I mean about Louis Murphy.

As we prepared the next week, we continued to try and refine our offense and make improvements based on what each game was showing us. This was crucial because the next game was at South Carolina, and it was tough, as always. With the sense that we still could be playing better ringing in our ears, I was pleased that we were able to make that game one of the best games of the year. Very early in the game I hit Coop on a skinny post (almost a straight line pattern toward the goal post, almost down the exact center of the field) for a touchdown. Even though we didn't score a lot that day, I did a good job of managing the options and audibles to get us into some good plays. There was even one fourth down and one, at their twenty-five yard line; I audibled to an option to an overload that wasn't even in our game plan for the week. We were able to get the edge, and I pitched to Demps, who scored on it.

In general, the game was going much as we'd hoped it would. Unlike the Vandy game, we were playing more like ourselves, executing better, and maintaining possession. Then, in the third quarter, I was running down the middle, when I cut it inside and tried to sidestep someone going low for the tackle and at the same time hurdle him. He hit my leg, and I flipped over him, landing on the back of my head. I got up and started walking toward the wrong sideline, when Coop grabbed me and pulled me back to the huddle. On that next play the offensive guys helped me call the play because I was still gathering myself as to exactly where I was.

AP was always very alert and aware, so when I got to the sidelines after the drive, he asked if I was okay. I was dizzy but didn't let on to him that I was anything but okay. We never told anyone, but Coop and the rest of the offense knew. It went away quickly and I was fine the rest of the game. We won, 2414.

After dispatching Florida International University, FSU was coming to town for my last game in the Swamp. Senior Day. It was an emotional week, between a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and the knowledge that my last game was coming. I could see that Coach Meyer was pretty emotional that week, too, so I tried not to think about it too much, but we spoke of it some during the week leading up-our last game together in the Swamp. We talked around it a little, that we wouldn't be able to spend as much time together in the future when I was no longer playing, but neither of us had the heart to bring it up directly.

We had really great practices as a team that week, and the coaches' speeches before the game made for a great atmosphere. It started with Vitamin Addazio. He's one of the best at pregame speeches, anyway, which is why Coach Meyer nicknamed him Vitamin Addazio-because time with him gave us a charge. That day his talk was packed even fuller than usual, as he spoke about the seniors, what the group had accomplished, and our overall level of character. The other coaches spoke as well, and by the end we were all a mixture of being ready to play and never wanting it to end.

By pregame warm-up time, I was throwing the football badly. I wouldn't have said that I was so emotional that it was throwing me off, but I'd never had that happen before. I don't know what happened. I asked David Nelson to come into the locker room so I could throw the ball to him in there to continue to get loose even after pregame.

Eventually they began reading off the names of seniors, and one by one they'd run out onto the field. I hadn't thought much about what I was going to do when they announced my name and I ran out on the field by myself-for that one last game. Other people did stuff when they got called. I figured I would just go out of the tunnel like every other game, give Coach a hug, and go win the game.

When I was waiting in line-I was the last one- I was seeing the other guys go out, and they were getting hugs and everything. It got so emotional, and I really didn't even think I was going to get emotional, but by the time it was my turn and I was up-I was already crying. I took off out of the tunnel, one last time, and reached Coach Meyer, who was also crying.

So many lunches. So many times hanging out at his lake place near Gainesville. So many film sessions. So many discussions. So many Bible studies. So many plays called. Injuries and chipped teeth. So many moments that we would always remember. He would always be there in my life, but it was going to be different. I later heard that fans were getting emotional as well when they saw us-it was impossible for us not to be emotional, too. I'm not sure why I ever thought that I wouldn't.

That was pretty much the end that day for FSU. Game over.

Somehow, the emotion of the moment and the extra throwing with David changed everything-when the game started, I began hitting all my receivers. I played my best game of the year against FSU. Probably because I was playing FSU. We killed them. We had great checks. They were covering our receivers really tight, but our guys were still able to create enough separation that I was able to put it on them. Anything and everything we wanted to do, we were doing on offense.

Behind a great offensive line, I threw three touchdown pa.s.ses, and ran for two more. I even fumbled late in the game, but for once I didn't beat myself up too much about it. The fumble came at the end of a good play and we were killing them by that point. It still bothered me . . . but it was a really awesome play.

It was good to beat them four times.

After the game, we went to the Hilton, where we'd planned a surprise celebration for my mom's birthday. All her friends and everybody in town were there, about a hundred of us in all, in what proved to be an incredibly happy occasion on an otherwise bittersweet day. As good as it felt to beat FSU and close out the regular season undefeated, it was hard to shake the knowledge that my time was coming to a close. Of course, before that could happen, we had to face the biggest test so far this year.

The next week was the SEC Champions.h.i.+p Game against Alabama. Carlos Dunlap got arrested during the week for driving under the influence of alcohol, and Coach Meyer understandably suspended him. I was furious with Carlos.

I don't get why anyone would take substances that would affect their thinking anyway, but how someone could be so reckless and thoughtless, not only toward himself, but also toward both innocent bystanders as well as his teammates as we prepared for such an important game, was beyond me.

His loss really hurt us, both as a distraction during the week and during the game. Not only was he a good run stopper, but he was someone who could have brought pressure on the pa.s.s rush against their quarterback, Greg McElroy. As it turns out, we couldn't do that all game. That hurt us.

They started the game off better than we did. We fell behind, but after every lead we came back. Unfortunately, we simply couldn't stop them. We trailed 1210 in the second quarter and then 1913 at the half. Looking back, I should have been more unsettled than I was at halftime, but I was certain we would come back to win. They were controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, however, and were simply crisper than we were.

As the second half began, they didn't miss a beat, playing solid football that we couldn't counter. They had a good plan for us defensively, by switching up their coverages and bracketing our receivers. On defense, we just couldn't stop them enough. Or even at all, really. We ended up losing on a very long night, 3213. On that night, they had the pa.s.sion and focus and were the better team.

After the game, I was, as you probably can imagine, overwhelmed by emotion and could not hold back the tears. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. Things weren't supposed to end here like this. The feeling I was faced with now was different from after our last loss-the Ole Miss game in 2008. Disappointing as that loss was, I knew I could still do everything in my power to change the course of that season, and I did. I'd approached this game the way I'd approached every game since the Ole Miss game: I'm going to do everything in my power to make the future what I want it to be. On this day it hadn't been enough, and it was an incredibly hard thing to swallow. And worse, it was the end. There was no bouncing back, at least not for our National Champions.h.i.+p chances.

Before I could take the podium to address the media, Coach Saban came and found me. He was quite gracious. He told my family what a cla.s.s act I was and how my determination last year had become the focal point for Alabama this season. As it turns out, while we were searching during the off-season for the motivation that would drive us to becoming the Best Ever, Coach Saban was telling his players that they had to match my determination. All year, Alabama was using my drive as their measuring stick. Nothing was going to shake off the pain of that loss, but I appreciated his comments that night more than he probably realized.

That game is one that will always be with me. It'll always hurt like all the St. Augustine losses while at Nease. To lose an SEC Champions.h.i.+p Game, and an undefeated season, and a National Champions.h.i.+p, all in one fell swoop . . . well that was tough. We believed we were the two best teams in the country and whichever one of us won that day would win the National Champions.h.i.+p game.

It ate at me, but that's life. Sometimes it doesn't break your way, yet the Lord has a plan for it all. I'd rather there be fair winds and following seas all the time in my life, but that's not always what G.o.d has in mind for us. But either way, we are to honor Him and bring Him glory. Sometimes, people see more of your witness when you're facing adversity than when everything is going your way. People expect you to be a good winner, but they know how agonizing it is to lose. When you are able to reflect G.o.d's light during those times of great disappointment, it can have quite an impact. I try to keep that in mind.

I know that somewhere people may be watching you or me, and how they see us handle the adversity that comes into our lives could make a difference in how they handle something they face in their lives.

The next week, I went to Orlando for the Home Depot College Football Awards ceremony again. There was no pressure that year-I knew I wouldn't win anything. We'd had a good year, but statistically other guys had been better.

There was a function the night before the Home Depot Awards, and as I walked into the ESPN Club at Disney's BoardWalk, I saw her outside the window, looking at us. We sat at our table-the exact same spot in the exact same restaurant from which Uncle Bill (Heavener) had called my sister Christy in 2007 to see if she could come to the Heisman ceremony two days later. This time, however, I was thinking about the girl outside the window. The way she was looking at me, pointing toward me.

My dad tells me that he was trying to get my attention to introduce me to someone "important," as he says it. I don't recall that, because I was focused on someone else important. I asked Robby to go outside and bring the girl and her family through security, and I met her. Kelly Faughnan had been diagnosed with a brain tumor the prior year, and following surgery, she had asked her parents if they could come to Disney, not only for a vacation, but also to hopefully meet me at the Home Depot Awards. I was both flattered and shocked. Then, I had an idea: since I didn't have a date for the following night at the awards ceremony, I asked her if she'd walk the red carpet and attend the event with me.

She agreed, and Uncle Bill also offered to give Kelly and her family a tour of Full Sail University's Orlando campus the next afternoon. It's a fascinating place to see, training people in entertainment, media, and fine arts.

They were late to their tour the next day and, in fact, ended up rescheduling it altogether. Turns out they were busy dress shopping for the event-I hadn't even thought of that.

We had a great night, talking, walking the red carpet together, and enjoying each other's company through the event. The Lord provided everything-we walked the red carpet more slowly than anyone else, because the surgery had left her balance a little off, but at the same time, I enjoyed stopping for everyone who wanted something signed. It was the perfect speed for both.

At the end of the evening, I turned to my mom and said that, sure enough, I didn't win anything.

She paused, and I could tell that I was going to get some of Mom's wisdom.

"You had the best night of all."

Right again, Mom. Right again.

Going to the Heisman that weekend was fun. Although I had won the Campbell Award, the "Academic Heisman," we knew I wouldn't be winning the original Heisman that year. I knew I wasn't going to win, so that took all the pressure off. I'm the only player who has ever been invited to three of them, but I'm still not entirely sure why they even invited me. At the same time, I wasn't going to turn down another one of those fun New York family vacations that we'd gotten used to the past few years.

While we were there, we got a chance to visit with Mark Ingram, and we adopted him into our family, since he'd made the trip by himself. At first he thought we were nuts-we showed him how we were breaking people's hands on the sidewalks of Manhattan. Not literally breaking them, but breaking apart couples. For some reason, starting in 2007, Robby, Peter, and I were trying to see how many couples who were holding hands we could get to unclasp hands. I'm not sure why we did it, but we got some looks, followed by an occasional look of, "Wait. I think that was Tim Tebow who just made us let go . . ."

We would also do spin moves, by simply walking directly at people, then at the last minute, spinning as if they were a defender and walking past them. We got a lot of weird looks on that, too, including one from Mark. After a few minutes, however, he joined in.

So . . . if anyone tells you that Mark Ingram and three other guys made him and his wife unclasp their hands, or put a spin move on him on a New York sidewalk in December of 2009, it's completely true.

On the Heisman night I could tell Mark was so tight and nervous; I asked him if he wanted to pray with me, much like Danny had done for me two years before. I knew how nerve wracking that night can be. I was pulling for him to win, especially after a weekend of spin moves. I encouraged him to handle it with his usual grace and humility and give G.o.d the credit. Thankfully, Mark won. What a cla.s.s act.

In the meantime, I was concerned about Coach Meyer's health. During the SEC Champions.h.i.+p Game, he'd experienced chest pains, but with the way we'd played, who wouldn't?

We tried to put it all out of our minds and prepare for Cincinnati. They'd been highly ranked all year, but to be honest, the excitement and energy to play Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl wasn't there in the same way. It was nothing personal against them-the same would have been true no matter who we faced. The bottom line was that our goal had been to play for the National Champions.h.i.+p; anything less than that was a disappointment.

Still we had a pretty decent few weeks of practice. It was important to me that we finish strong. Sometimes in life things don't work out as you'd hoped. You adopt phrases like Best Ever, and yet it doesn't work out with the fairytale ending. How you respond is important. Do you put your tail between your legs, or do you find the next challenge and press on?

I wanted us to press on, to finish strong.

The day after Christmas, we were thrown a curveball: Coach Meyer resigned. I was excited for him to start his next phase of life with his family. It also gave us a renewed focus on the Sugar Bowl. The next day we went out there in shorts, s.h.i.+rts, and helmets and had an unbelievable practice at which Coach got really emotional.

I guess it was hard for him to decide what to do, and he was trying to make a quick yet wise decision. He changed his mind that same day and decided to come back for the Sugar Bowl and then take a leave of absence through the spring and stay as the head coach.

I really wanted the best for him, whichever direction he chose-he is someone who is always trying to do the right thing for his family, for himself, for the school, for his players, and for his coaches. He tried to figure out the best chance for success for his players, not just for football but for their lives. Every Tuesday during my senior year he would bring in people to talk about job opportunities and how you can get jobs, building your resume, etc. Stuff that would help the players when their playing careers were over, and he took away from practice time to do that for us. I think that shows a lot of character too. Really, though, you can't even begin to scratch the surface of the number of lives he has affected and changed because he cares so much.

We finished strong, by the way. Cincinnati was ranked number four in the country, while we had fallen to number five after our loss to Alabama. They were undefeated and disappointed that they wouldn't be playing for the National Champions.h.i.+p. We, of course, were disappointed as well. We took out our disappointment on them.

I completed my first twelve pa.s.ses, and we scored on our first five possessions, racing out to a big lead. I completed twenty of my first twenty-three pa.s.ses for 320 yards and three touchdowns by halftime, and by early in the third quarter we led, 303.

We won, 5124, and I pa.s.sed for the most yards in my college career, 482, completing thirty-one of my thirty-five attempts. I ended up with 533 yards of total offense, the most in the history of any BCS game. It was a tremendous way to finish, both for me as well as for our senior cla.s.s. In doing so, we became the first school to win thirteen games in back-to-back seasons.

Some think we showed that we were, in fact, the Best Ever.