NEW ORLEANS -- Any lip reader watching Alabama?s win at Florida knew Nick Saban wanted his young quarterback to settle down.
The emotion got the best of AJ McCarron a few times. They even met afterward to discuss harnessing that competitive drive for the good of the Alabama football team.
A month later, LSU came to town, and McCarron?s passion became an issue again.
?I tried to play calm,? McCarron said. ?And in the end, I wasn?t playing my game.?
Somewhere between Florida and LSU is his goal Monday night. By 8:30, McCarron and the No. 2 Crimson Tide can avenge the overtime loss to No. 1 LSU in the BCS National Championship Game.
On a personal level, the only loss of McCarron?s career of a starter wasn?t a complete disaster. He completed 16 of 28 passes for 199 yards with one interception.
He just wasn?t sharp the whole game. Two incompletions and a sack ended his night in overtime, when a missed Cade Foster field goal was followed by a 25-yarder from LSU?s Drew Alleman.
Tigers 9, Tide 6.
Former Ohio State quarterback and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit saw something from McCarron when watching and rewatching the Nov. 5 game tape.
?He was hesitant,? Herbstreit said. ?I don?t think he trusted what he was seeing, especially when he was throwing the ball. He was late on some throws. If he trusts what he sees and just executes the game plan and gets the ball to the playmakers and doesn?t make mistakes, then Alabama has a chance to win.?
There were a few points that night when the momentum built and that fire burned hot.
But he remembered that chat with Saban.
Settle down, McCarron thought.
?This game, I mean, I have to show some emotion,? he said. ?My offensive lineman, Barrett Jones, he always picks at me. ?I really like it when you get pumped up, because it gets me fired up.?
Jones, a fourth-year junior and Outland Trophy winner, remembers the pregame chat he had with McCarron that night.
?I tell him to do what he doe -- nothing more, nothing less,? Jones said. ?He really has become more of himself these last few weeks. Not that he was holding back, but it?s hard to assert yourself fully when you?re a new guy. But he?s started to feel more comfortable when he?s been able to bring that passion and emotion to the huddle.?
Winning the job this summer after two seasons observing starter Greg McElroy took some adjustments.
Confidence in his game, McCarron said, was never an issue. But earning that respect in the huddle and practice field takes time.
?At the beginning of the year, I had to do a lot more listening than telling,? McCarron said. ?But now, I feel like as the season progressed, I am able to come to guys and tell them, ?I want you to do this instead of this,? and it helped. It helped a lot.?
And offensive coordinator Jim McElwain noticed. The new Colorado State head coach also coaches the quarterbacks. He, more than anybody, could speak to the evolution of McCarron since early November.
?He is an emotional guy, and I love when he gets going,? McElwain said. ?That was a great learning experience for him, and he?s starting to understand how he plays his best.?
Settle down.
But don?t lose that edge.
McCarron said he knows how to handle himself this time.
So does that mean a fist-pumping quarterback will take the field Monday night.
?Yeah,? McCarron said. ?There?s no telling.?
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