Try as they might, the Alabama football team that won the 2009 National Championship will never, ever escape the asterisk behind their victory in the record books:

*opponent, Texas, played 58 minutes of the game with a replacement, freshman quarterback.

Alabama will forever rue knocking out opponent Texas' first-string, Heisman runner-up quarterback, Colt McCoy, in his first series of downs as he was about to score a touchdown on his team's opening possession. That injury will enable football aficionados to eternally question what might have been the outcome had Alabama had to face one of collegiate football's most skilled quarterbacks instead of an inexperienced freshman who was clearly out of his depth.

Yes, I understand you have to play with what you have, but I will wager many in the sports media, and most certainly Texas fans, will forever consider this The Phony National Championship.

Alabama would have been far better served by a clean, uncontroversial victory over Texas. This was a sad outcome for both teams as well as the national championship picture.

Russ Vaughn