http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/sports/ncaafootball/alabama-picks-up-pace-and-a-title-.html 2014-12-07 04:13:42 Alabama Picks Up Pace, and a Title No. 1 Alabama displayed a faster pace on offense in a convincing victory over Missouri in the SEC title game. === ATLANTA — It was less than two years ago that Alabama Coach Nick Saban grumbled about what he termed “continuous football.” Saban, 63, is of a bygone era of huddles and off-tackle runs, and he worried about players’ exposure to injury with more plays in a game and whether there was a hint of competitive imbalance. On Saturday here, Saban, the old-school coach who seemed uptight about football becoming a fast-paced game, had his team play with the top down at the start of the Southeastern Conference championship game. Alabama (12-1) set the pace with a touchdown drive at a lickety-split pace on its first possession of the game and rolled by Missouri (10-3) in the Georgia Dome, 42-13. The Crimson Tide, who are ranked No. 1 by the College Football Playoff committee, will most likely play a national semifinal game Jan. 1 in New Orleans in the new four-team playoff structure. The final four teams will be announced Sunday, and whoever Alabama faces will have to beware of a team that can go fast on offense, huddle and run the football and play any style it likes. The quick feet of quarterback Blake Sims, who spun and spat out short passes to the sidelines, helped Alabama rack up 504 yards. It is a style of play that is supposed to belong to other national title contenders — Oregon, Florida State, Baylor or Texas Christian — but Alabama’s offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin, discovered in the first game of the season against West Virginia that Sims seemed to play better at a fast pace. Sims, a fifth-year senior who was named the game’s most valuable player, completed 23 of 27 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. The Crimson Tide also remembered how to run the ball, as tailback Derrick Henry went for 141 yards. Amari Cooper, a junior wide receiver for Alabama, caught 12 passes, an SEC championship game record. Kiffin moved Cooper from left to right, put him in motion, set him wide and placed him in the slot. Missouri was not sophisticated enough on defense to double-team Cooper with a corner and a safety, and by halftime, he had 10 catches for 61 yards as Alabama led by 21-3. The Tigers’ defense suffered a significant blow with 11 minutes 58 seconds left in the second quarter when defensive end Shane Ray, the SEC leader in sacks and tackles for loss, launched himself into Sims. The hit under Sims’s chin was ruled targeting, and Ray was ejected from the game. A week after giving up 630 yards to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, Alabama’s defense was impenetrable. Defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson could not be blocked in the run game, and Alabama was able to use six defensive backs to defend against the Missouri spread offense. The Tigers managed just 41 yards rushing. Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk was flushed from the pocket over and over, sometimes by just a basic four-man rush. Mauk completed 16 of 34 passes for 272 yards. There were 73,526 fans in the Georgia Dome, and Alabama fans had at least 80 percent of the tickets. The throng was on its feet cheering loudly on the first series as the Crimson Tide went 68 yards in 10 plays in a brisk 3:36. Sims, a first-year starter who has played running back and wide receiver at Alabama, peppered the Missouri defense with short throws until the Tide got close enough to the end zone to thump Missouri with the run. T. J. Yeldon scored from 1 yard out, and the score was quickly 7-0. Missouri’s defense did not buckle completely. It forced two Alabama punts, but on the Tide’s fourth possession, while Missouri was trying to contain Cooper, another Alabama wide receiver, DeAndrew White, got open deep for a 58-yard touchdown pass. The score was 14-0 with the extra-point kick. Missouri was best on offense when Mauk was flushed from the pocket and threw the ball up for his receivers. In the second quarter, a third-and-4 pass was hauled in by receiver Jimmie Hunt for a 32-yard gain. That set up a 33-yard field goal by Andrew Baggett, and the score was 14-3. Alabama then resorted to its old-school ground game and went 75 yards in 14 plays. Yeldon rushed for the touchdown from the 2, and the extra point kick made the score 21-3. Missouri scored 10 third-quarter points to draw within 21-13. The Tigers set up their touchdown with a wild fling by Mauk to Hunt that covered 63 yards to the Alabama 1. Mauk completed a fourth-down pass from the 1-yard line to Bud Sasser for the score. Alabama showed all its resources on a drive that started late in the third quarter and went 64 yards to put the game away. In a college football season of flawed teams — Oregon’s offensive line, Florida State’s uneven play, Ohio State’s quarterback injuries, the defenses of the Big 12 contenders — Alabama was a team that could erase its flaws week to week with different varieties of play. Fast or methodical on offense, solid between the 20s on defense, blitz-happy in the red zone, the Crimson Tide will go for its third national title in the last four years. That is the brand of continuous football — the superior kind — that Saban prefers.