2010 BCS National Championship Game

2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game
BCS Bowl Game
1234 Total
Texas 6078 21
Alabama 024013 37
DateJanuary 7, 2010
Season2009
StadiumRose Bowl
LocationPasadena, California
MVPOffense: Mark Ingram II (RB, Alabama)
Defense: Marcell Dareus (DE, Alabama)
FavoriteAlabama by 4[1]
National anthemJosh Groban and Flea
RefereeJohn McDaid (Big East) [2]
Halftime showMillion Dollar Band
University of Texas Longhorn Band
Attendance94,906
PayoutUS$31 million (estimated)[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersBrent Musburger (play-by-play)[4]
Kirk Herbstreit (analyst)[4]
Tom Rinaldi and Lisa Salters (sideline)[4]
Nielsen ratings17.2 (28.5 million viewers)[5]
BCS National Championship Game
 < 2009  2011
50-yard line action for the national championship in Pasadena, California, January 7, 2010.

The 2010 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion 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. Alabama got the win over Texas, 37-21, to complete a perfect 14-0 season and clinch the school's 13th national championship and first since 1992.

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.[6]

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 No. 1 versus No. 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 No. 1 versus No. 2 match-ups in the 1969 and 1963 Rose Bowls.

With the win, Alabama became only the third team to complete a 14-0 season (after Ohio State in 2002, and Boise State just three nights earlier in the Fiesta Bowl).

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,[7] and also the last national championship game to be televised on broadcast television until 2027.[8] Following the game in June, Citi decided to end the sponsorship of any future Rose Bowl games, including the National Championship game.[9]

  1. ^ "College Football Playoff Championship Betting History at VegasInsider.com, The Leader in Sportsbook and Gaming Information - College Football Camellia Championship Football Game History". www.vegasinsider.com.
  2. ^ Big East officials will call national championship game, al.com
  3. ^ "2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game FAQs". TournamentofRoses.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference tofr times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Solomon, Jon (January 13, 2010). "2009–10 Bowl TV Ratings". The Birmingham News.
  6. ^ Maisel, Ivan (December 7, 2009). "Texas and Alabama bring history, tradition to BCS title game". ESPN. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  7. ^ Dufresne, Chris (June 13, 2009). "Rose Bowl game moving to ESPN in 2011". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  8. ^ Brooks, Amanda (March 19, 2024). "ESPN and the College Football Playoff Extend Exclusive Media Rights Agreement Through 2031-32 Season". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "Citi out as Rose Bowl sponsor". ESPN.com. June 22, 2010.