2010 BCS National Championship Game The 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game was the finale of the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season , and was played between the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide . It was hosted by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena , California , January 7 , 2010 . It was the 12th BCS national championship game , and the second consecutive year the champion of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) was matched against the champion of the Big 12 Conference . The game was the ninth meeting of Texas and Alabama , though the first since the 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic . Prior to the game , Texas led the all - time series with a 7 - 0 - 1 record , with the first meeting in 1902 . The match - up was the third game in which the Tournament of Roses hosted the BCS National Championship game in Pasadena , and the fifth time , overall , that it has hosted a # 1 versus # 2 match - up . However , this was the first time the Tournament of Roses hosted the game as a separate event from the Rose Bowl Game . They had previously hosted BCS Championship games in the 2006 and 2002 Rose Bowls , and pre - BCS # 1 versus # 2 match - ups in the 1969 and 1963 Rose Bowls . ABC televised the game , as well as the Rose Bowl ; Fox televised the remainder of the BCS . The match - up was the final BCS game to air on broadcast television , with cable network ESPN taking over all Bowl Championship Series telecasts starting in 2011 . Following the game in June , Citi decided to end the sponsorship of any future Rose Bowl games , including the National Championship game . Pregame ceremonies . Audra McDonald performed " America the Beautiful " prior to the teams taking the field , while Flea , Josh Groban performed the Star - Spangled Banner . United States Air Force Academy parachute jumpers , Wings of Blue , dropped in before the National Anthem and 4 F - 18 Super Hornets flew over at the conclusion . Keith Jackson , the now - retired , legendary , long - time ABC Sports college football play - by - play announcer , performed the coin toss . Jackson was inducted into the Rose Bowl Game ' s Hall of Fame in 1999 . Teams . Texas wore its white jerseys and was situated on the east sideline , and Alabama wore its crimson jerseys and used the west bench at the Rose Bowl stadium . The two teams that played in this game had won a combined 16 poll - era national championships . Texas had won four , most recently in 2005 , and Alabama had won 12 , most recently in 1992 . Texas had participated in three previous BCS Bowl games and was only one of two teams who were undefeated and had played in at least three BCS Bowls . Alabama had played in two previous BCS Bowl games , 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl and 2000 FedEx Orange Bowl losing both . Texas was leading the all - time series with Alabama by a 7 - 0 - 1 count ( 2 - 0 in Austin , 2 - 0 in Dallas , 1 - 0 in Miami , 1 - 0 in New Orleans , 1 - 0 in Tuscaloosa , 0 - 0 - 1 in Houston ) . Game summary . Alabama won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff . On their first drive , Alabama was not able to earn a first down , and quarterback Greg McElroy was sacked for a loss . Alabama subsequently attempted a fake punt , but the pass was intercepted by Longhorn Blake Gideon . Texas ' next four plays yielded 24 yards via a combination of passing and running plays , putting Texas in position to score the game ' s first touchdown . At this point , Texas quarterback Colt McCoy ( 2008 & 2009 Heisman Trophy runner up ) was knocked out of the game on the Longhorns ' fifth play from scrimmage . On a planned QB run play , McCoy was hit by sophomore Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus , pinching a nerve in McCoy ' s throwing shoulder and leaving him unable to throw the ball accurately . McCoy was replaced by true freshman Garrett Gilbert , who was ineffective in the first half . However , in the second half , senior wide receiver Jordan Shipley helped QB Gilbert ' s cause by scoring two touchdowns against Alabama . With McCoy out of the game and Texas ' hopes dwindling , Alabama attacked Texas from both sides of the ball . While Gilbert was able to lead Texas to a field goal on his first drive and another on his second drive ( after a recovered short kick - off , but not a designed onside kick ) , Texas did not score any more points in the first half . Several of Gilbert ' s passes were off - target , and several others were dropped by Texas receivers . On the other hand , Alabama started working their offense . Alabama ' s offensive line was able to create holes in the Texas defense . Behind Alabama ' s offensive line , Alabama running back Mark Ingram moved almost at will against a Texas defense . The power offense resulted in Alabama taking a lead it would never relinquish on the first play of the second quarter . Mark Ingram scampered into the end zone for a touchdown behind the block of 360 - pound defensive lineman Terrance Cody , who was routinely used by Alabama as a blocker when Alabama was close to the goal - line . Alabama took control of the game mid - way through the second quarter and Alabama ' s offensive line allowed freshman running back Trent Richardson to shoot straight down the middle of the field for a 48 - yard touchdown run . The PAT made the game 14 - 6 in favor of the Crimson Tide . McElroy was be sacked 4 times by the Texas defense in the first half , but with Ingram and Richardson both gaining yards steadily on the ground , Alabama rarely needed to pass . The last few minutes of the first half were dominated by the Alabama defense . Javier Arenas intercepted Gilbert to end one drive and Alabama ' s Leigh Tiffin added a field goal off the interception . After the ensuing kickoff , Dareus intercepted Gilbert with 12 seconds left in the half on a bobbled " shovel pass " and the 300 - pounder returned the interception for a touchdown , with the point after giving Alabama a 24 - 6 lead going into halftime . In the second half , the Texas combination of Gilbert and Shipley , and a Longhorns defense that shut down Alabama in the second half brought the Longhorns within 3 points of Alabama with six minutes to play in the game . However , the Crimson Tide ' s first sack ( by Erik Anders ) led to a fumble recovery by Courtney Upshaw at the Texas 3 - yard line that tipped the momentum back to the Crimson Tide . After the recovery , Alabama ' s Mark Ingram added his 2nd touchdown of the night and enabled Saban ' s team to extend its lead to 31 – 21 . Alabama ' s defense intercepted Gilbert twice in the ensuing drives and the Crimson Tide ' s offense added another touchdown from Trent Richardson for a final score of 37 - 21 . Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban won his second BCS Championship , the only coach to do so with two different programs . Alabama also became the third team in Division I FBS history to finish a season 14 – 0 , after Ohio State in 2002 and Boise State who did it in the Fiesta Bowl three nights earlier . Pivotal plays . Besides McCoy being taken out of the game , the two most pivotal plays of the game came at the ends of the halves . With only 15 seconds to go until halftime and Alabama leading 17 – 6 , Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert tossed a shovel pass into a crowd of Texas and Alabama linemen which bounced off the hands of Texas running back DJ Monroe . Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus , the same player who had knocked McCoy out of the game , gathered it in and powered 28 yards for a touchdown to give Alabama a 24 - 6 lead at halftime . The other pivotal play was late in the 4th quarter . Texas had closed the Alabama lead to 24 - 21 on the strength of two touchdown passes caught by senior wide receiver Jordan Shipley and a # 2 ranked defense that had held Alabama scoreless in the second half . Texas had the ball deep in their own side of the field with 3 : 04 left to play . Alabama defender Eryk Anders made his team ' s first sack , tackling Gilbert hard enough to force a fumble , which was recovered by Courtney Upshaw at the Texas 3 - yard line . On the following drive , with 2 : 01 to go in the 4th quarter , Alabama ' s Mark Ingram scored a touchdown to extend the Crimson Tide ' s lead to 31 – 21 . After the ensuing kickoff , Texas ' QB showed his inexperience against a great Alabama defense . On the second play of that drive , defensive back Javier Arenas grabbed his 6th interception of the season , electing to down the ball rather than return it . Alabama ' s true freshman running back , Trent Richardson , gained 27 yards in 3 plays to score , building Alabama ' s lead to 37 - 21 with 47 seconds to play . Texas ' final drive also ended with an interception which bounced off of several players before ending up in the grasp of Alabama reserve defensive back Tyrone King , a senior who saw little playing time in his career . Alabama QB Greg McElroy would take a knee to drain the last 0 : 36 off the clock , handing Alabama its first BCS championship , 8th national title since 1960 , and first ever win over Texas . Coming into the game , Texas had the top rated rushing defense in college football . However , Alabama ' s Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram rushed 22 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns , while back - up running back true freshman Trent Richardson contributed an additional 109 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries . Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy was 6 - for - 11 for 58 yards and no touchdowns , taking five sacks in the process . Texas ' freshman quarterback , Garrett Gilbert , passed for 186 yards and two touchdowns , but also lost a fumble and threw four interceptions , two of which bounced off Texas receivers .