GATOR BOWL : Burgdorf Leads Alabama to 24-10 Victory

Brian Burgdorf has been a quarterback struggling for acceptance. He might have found it in the Gator Bowl.

In only his fourth college start, Burgdorf threw for two touchdowns and ran 33 yards for a score as No. 18 Alabama finally looked like the defending national champion, rolling past No. 12 North Carolina, 24-10, on Friday night.

“This is a great confidence builder for me,” Burgdorf said. “It’s a steppingstone to next year. We won nine games and that was something we needed to do. It was a great year for us.”

It was the kind of game Alabama Coach Gene Stallings loves: methodical on offense, stingy on defense, no turnovers. And this time there was no quarterback controversy for the Crimson Tide. Burgdorf got the start in place of injured Jay Barker and took every snap until victory was assured for Alabama (9-3-1).

Stallings had assured everyone that his players were over the disappointment of losing three of their final four games to fall from championship contention.

He turned out to be right. There wasn’t the letdown that might have been expected when a team is forced to settle for the Gator Bowl a year after winning the national title.

Burgdorf completed 15 of 23 passes for 166 yards. He threw an eight-yard touchdown to Tarrant Lynch that broke a 10-10 tie early in the third quarter, then added a 10-yarder to Chad Key with 6:34 to play that sealed the victory over North Carolina (10-3).

Burgdorf also ran 33 yards on a quarterback draw for Alabama’s first touchdown.

It was a far cry from the Southeastern Conference championship game, when Alabama lost to Florida, 28-13, and Burgdorf was yanked in favor of receiver David Palmer.

On Friday night, Burgdorf came out only after Alabama had built a two-touchdown lead in the final minutes. And then it was for freshman Freddie Kitchens, not Palmer, who may have been playing his last college game as he ponders whether to skip his final year and make himself available for the NFL draft.

Palmer declined to be interviewed after the game.

For North Carolina, it was a disappointing end to a fine season. The Tar Heels, who had won three in a row and seven of eight, were hoping for their first 11-victory season since 1980 and their first top-10 final ranking in 12 years.

They fell short on both counts mainly because the option-oriented running game, which ranked seventh nationally with 253 yards per game, gained only 42 yards against Alabama. North Carolina’s two 1,000-yard tailbacks, Curtis Johnson and Leon Johnson, were held to 27 and 24 yards, respectively.

“They did a great job stopping the run,” said North Carolina receiver Corey Holliday, who had nine catches for 125 yards, both school records for a bowl game. “They put eight men around the ball, they were aggressive and we had to throw the ball more than we wanted to.”

The game was tied, 10-10, at halftime, but Alabama dominated the final two quarters. The Crimson Tide came out on its first possession of the second half and went 65 yards in 12 plays for Burgdorf’s touchdown pass to Lynch. It was the first pass of the drive after 11 runs.