It had been 17 years. The fan base was hungry. The players were hungry. Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram was hungry. It had to happen. Alabama beat Texas 37-21 to win the national championship.

Sure, the haters were out. It was expected. But they weren’t on the field. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy couldn’t handle a tough, physical defense and had his shoulder injured early. Too bad for him. He plays in a weak conference against weak defenses. When you play against the Southeastern Conference, you have to show up to do battle, son.

Ingram had to check out, too, with cramps. Thing is, his replacement, freshman Trent Richardson, would start for most teams in the country. At halftime, it looked like a walk. 24-6 Alabama. But the Longhorns didn’t quit. They played hard, and cut the lead to three. Wide receiver Jordan Shipley played out of his mind.

Regardless, never discount the Crimson Tide defense. Huffman High School graduate Marcell Dareus, a mid-season replacement, intercepted a pass by the Texas backup to score late in the first half. The big win was solidified when a hit came from Eryk Anders and Bama recovered the ball inside the 10-yard-line, followed by a touchdown run by Richardson.

It’s been a rough few years. Certainly, 1994 and 1996 had Alabama in the mix to win it all, but it didn’t happen. Then came the long, dark tea time of the Tide. Sure, there were decent teams, but none legitimately challenged for the national title.

Then there was 2009. The 13th national championship for Alabama. Feels good.

Bart Starr. Joe Namath. Kenny Stabler. Lee Roy Jordan. Cornelius Bennett. Derrick Thomas. David Palmer. Shaun Alexander. None of these heroes of Alabama football won the Heisman Trophy. For a program that has 12 national championships and 22 Southeastern Conference titles, the other major accomplishment in college football was something that had been lacking from the Tide trophy case for years. No longer.

Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram added one of the more incredible accomplishments of the team this year, becoming Bama’s first-ever Heisman winner, and the third consecutive sophomore to take home the award. The win was the closest in the history of the award, 75-Heismans deep. For the first time in years, stiffarmtrophy.com got the final lineup wrong. It had Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in third, ahead of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, but in fact the two flipped positions in the final results.

1. MARK INGRAM, RUNNING BACK, ALABAMA
Votes: 1,304 (227)
2. TOBY GERHART, RUNNING BACK, STANFORD
Votes: 1,276 (222)
3. COLT MCCOY, QUARTERBACK, TEXAS
Votes: 1,145 (203)
4. NDAMUKONG SUH, DEFENSIVE TACKLE, NEBRASKA
Votes: 815 (161)
5. TIM TEBOW, QUARTERBACK, FLORIDA
Votes: 390 (43)

Perhaps the most memorable part of the ceremony was Ingram totally losing it when he went on the dais, having to take a few seconds to compose himself. It was only about a minute or two into the acceptance speech that the 2009 winner was able to get himself together enough to roll through the rest of his thank-yous.

“I’m a little overwhelmed right now,” Ingram said at the podium. “I’m just so excited to bring Alabama their first Heisman winner.” Afterward, the super sophomore told the assembled media, “I was overwhelmed, really excited, just the fact that I’m the first Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Alabama and doing this for my family. It hasn’t been easy for us.”

Alabama football is an emotional endeavor, so most of us who slagged on Tebow for crying during the SEC Championship Game gave Ingram a pass. Double standards are the spice of life in sports.

This season, Ingram put up 1,542 rushing yards on 249 attempts for 6.2 yards-per-carry and 15 touchdowns, despite being extremely limited in action against the patsies of the Tide schedule. He also has 30 receptions for 322 yards, for 10.7 yards-per-catch and three touchdowns.

Ingram wins

Ingram’s interview with ESPN’s Chris Fowler

There’s only one step left: beating Texas in Pasadena in the BCS National Championship Game. If Alabama can do that, and there is significant thought to believe that it’s possible, 2009 could go down as one of the greatest years in the 117-year history of Crimson Tide football.

It’s alive! Like Lazarus in the Bible or something out of a George Romero film, Alabama running back Mark Ingram‘s chances at the Heisman Trophy are looking pretty good, a week after it seemed all was lost when Auburn shut him down. Against what was then the best defense in the nation, Ingram put up 113 yards rushing and three touchdowns. But hey, that’s not all. He also caught two balls for 76 yards. That’s 189 all-purpose yards, Broseph, and it could be enough to take Ingram to New York.

The back’s main competition going into Saturday’s games was Texas quarterback Colt McCoy (cue sound of .38s going off). As last week was great for McCoy and horrible for Ingram, this week was a flipped script. Against a rather poor Nebraska team in the Big XII Championship Game, the Longhorn slinger went 20-of-36 for 184 yards. OK, not that bad. Except for the three picks and no touchdowns. Based on the games Saturday, Tide quarterback Greg McElroy looks more like the Macker that should be going for the trophy.

The Heisman ballots have to be mailed off or submitted online by Monday, and next weekend we’ll find out if McCoy or Ingram will be bringing home the goods.

With two weeks left, and Alabama staring at a trip to Auburn and the SEC Championship Game, Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram still isn’t letting go of first place in the Heisman Trophy race. Against UT-Chattanooga, he was pulled with 10 minutes left in the second quarter, but still put up 102 yards rushing on 11 carries with two touchdowns.

The other major contenders, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, can’t seem to make the jump to force Ingram out of the top spot. Considering the next two games for Ingram are big ones, and Ingram tends to perform on an exceptional level in big games, could spell the end of the race. However, the Tide need to keep winning. A big showing against Auburn on Friday and besting Florida’s tough run defense would sew it up.

HeismanPundit.com
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 58 (10)
2. Colt McCoy, Texas, 40 (1)
3. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 33 (1)
4. Tim Tebow, Florida, 20
5. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 13

ESPN.com Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 73 (13)
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 47 (1)
3. Colt McCoy, Texas, 32
4. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 24
5. Kellen Moore, Boise State, 20 (1)

CBS Sports Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 44 (3)
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 34 (1)
3. Colt McCoy, Texas, 28 (1)
4. Kellen Moore, Boise State, 10
5. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 6

Of course, Sports Illustrated isn’t doing anything to help the matter, laying the dreaded SI jinx by putting Ingram on the cover and giving him a five-page feature in the magazine.

Alabama running back Mark Ingram is moving even closer to becoming the Crimson Tide’s first Heisman Trophy winner, after his performance against Mississippi State during the past weekend. He had 19 rushes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Without a doubt, the totals won’t look as good this Saturday versus UT-Chattanooga. In the other patsy games, Ingram put up 56 and 91 yards, respectively. Also, head coach Nick Saban will want to save his starters for the Auburn game the day after Thanksgiving.

Season totals, through 10 games
Rushing: 194 attempts, 1,297 yards, 10 touchdowns
Receiving: 25 receptions, 225 yards, 3 touchdowns

Both HesimanPundit.com and the ESPN Heisman Watch are giving Ingram more points, but what was a one running back, two quarterback race is more of a mixed affair.

HeismanPundit.com
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 59 (10)
2. Colt McCoy, Texas, 35 (1)
3. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 33 (1)
4. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 23
5. Tim Tebow, Florida, 16

ESPN.com Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 72 (12)
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 42 (1)
3. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 37
4. Tim Tebow, Florida, 24
5. Colt McCoy, Texas, 23

CBS Sports Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 47 (4)
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 34 (1)
3. Kellen Moore, Boise State, 21
4. Dion Lewis, Pitt, 12
5. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 9

Alabama running back Mark Ingram is still on pace to win the Crimson Tide’s first Heisman Trophy as the team prepares to claim its 10th win of the season, a 7 p.m. ESPN tilt against Mississippi State. In his game versus LSU, Ingram ran for 144 yards on 22 carries for 6.5 yards-per-carry. It was his third-best YPC game of the year, behind North Texas (11.4) and Carolina (10.3). Ingram also caught five passes for 30 yards. He would be the second sophomore to win the award, following Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in 2007.

HeismanPundit.com
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama — 55 (9)
2. Case Keenum, Houston — 29 (1)
3. Colt McCoy, Texas — 28 (2)
4. Tim Tebow, Florida — 24
5. C.J. Spiller, Clemson — 16

ESPN Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama — 65 (10)
2. Case Keenum, Houston — 40 (1)
3. Tim Tebow, Florida — 31 (1)
4. Colt McCoy, Texas — 28 (1)
5. C.J. Spiller, Clemson — 26

CBS Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama — 54 (4)
2. Case Keenum, Houston — 46 (2)
3. Colt McCoy, Texas — 22
4. Toby Gerhart, Stanford — 9
5. Ryan Matthews, Fresno State — 7

We’re as surprised as anyone else, but Alabama running back continues to lead the race for the Heisman Trophy, according to two widely-watched handicapping polls. Over the weekend, Ingram rushed for 99 yards on 18 carries for 5.5 yards-per-carry, no touchdowns and one fumble. It was his first lost fumble in his time at Alabama.

Still, he’s doing OK. After eight games, Ingram has 1,004 yards rushing on 153 carries for 6.6 yards-per-carry and eight touchdowns. He also has 186 yards receiving from 19 catches for 9.8 yards-per-reception and three touchdowns.

The HeismanPundit.com poll, which has been pretty accurate since it started, goes like this:

1. Mark Ingram, 56 (9)
2. Jimmy Clausen, 26 (1)
3. Colt McCoy, 25

ESPN.com’s poll also has Ingram with a significant lead.

1. Mark Ingram, 57 (7)
2. Jimmy Clausen, 43 (4)
3. Tim Tebow, 41 (3)

With the bye week, Ingram will probably lose ground. Notre Dame takes on Washington State, who the Irish should destroy, Texas gets Oklahoma State, it’s toughest opponent for the rest of the season, and Florida goes to the Cocktail Party versus a Georgia team that has shown little in the way of defense all year.

However, if Ingram can put up the numbers he should with a the week off, the Crimson Tide could see its first Heisman winner.