Things are going pretty well for Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron.
He is the leader of the BCS champion Alabama Crimson Tide; he is coming off of back-to-back titles and he has a beautiful girlfriend. McCarron was excellent on Monday night in the 42-14 win, but all anyone could talk about on Twitter during the game was his girlfriend, the stunning Katherine Webb, winner of Miss Alabama 2012.
Webb's Twitter profile shot up big time, following her first appearance on television with five minutes left in the first quarter. She jumped from 2,000 followers to over 104,000 after the game, including famous names like LeBron James and Arizona Cardinals defensive linemen Darnell Docket. She now has more followers than her boyfriend.
Following the game she wrote on Twitter: "So extremely blessed... @10AJMcCarron. Congrats to Alabama and making history! #BCSChamps" she wrote.
During the game she received some praise from ESPN announcer Brent Musberger, who said "You quarterbacks, you get all the good looking women. What a beautiful woman."
Following the game, Webb spoke to Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel, but said she didn't know about it yet.
"I guess [Musburger] said something but I don't know what it was because I haven't seen it," Webb told Wetzel.
After McCarron and Alabama wrapped the game up, the quarterback went over to his parents and kissed his girlfriend for all the cameras to see.
"That means he's a family guy, a mama's boy," Webb said with a laugh to Yahoo! Sports. "And I'm totally good with that. It's that personality that attracted me to him in the first place. It was never about his status on the team."
Webb is an Auburn alum, but has shown no problems with rooting for the Crimson Tide.
"Alabama or Auburn, dont care....love my state and EVERYONE in it. #SEC #SweethomeAlabama," Webb posted on Twitter.
Social media was buzzing about Webb and she continued to be a web presence all throughout the celebration for Alabama, taking some of the shine away from McCarron and the Tide, but not for too long.
"My phone is dead," she told Yahoo! Sports, a bit stunned at it all. "My followers went from 2,300 this morning to 96,000 by the end of the night. I don't know if I should even check now, I don't know what is going on."
With his family and girlfriend in the stands, McCarron had one of his best games, passing for 264 yards and four touchdowns on 20 of 28 passes. The junior has now thrown for 10 touchdowns and just one interception over the past four games and helped him to become the first quarterback to win back-to-back titles.
"I'm truly blessed. I believe the man above always has a plan for you," McCarron said to ESPN.com. "He kind of lays down the grounds, and you can live it how you want [and] at the same time, make choices. It's great to do all this, but glorify in his name at the same time."
Alabama was dominant for the entire game and never gave Notre Dame a chance to catch up, rushing out to a 35-0 lead behind backs Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon. Lacy was named offensive MVP after rushing for 140 yards and one touchdown.
There was only one incident for Alabama in the game, coming when things were out of reach in the fourth quarter. McCarron and center Barrett Jones had a miscommunication at the line, leading to a penalty for delay of game. McCarron yelled at Jones, who then pushed him in the huddle to the surprise of the crowd.
Things settled down soon after, and following the game both players said they got caught in the heat of the moment.
"I shouldn't have pushed him," said Jones to CBSNews.com. "It's just not a big deal. The play clock was running down. We were delayed. We just wanted to run some clock and we ended up not having much time at the line and they shifted and I ended up having to make some calls, and then the clock ran out. AJ blamed it on the nearest person, which was me."
"He wanted to do something else, and I was right and he didn't like it," McCarron said, grinning. "That's us, we're both perfectionist. I think you're all are making it a little bit bigger than what it is."
McCarron reached a milestone in the game, passing John Parker Wilson for the all-time record for touchdown passes at Alabama with 49. Over the past two championship games, McCarron has been nearly perfect, completing 43 of his 62 passes with four touchdowns and zero interceptions in wins over LSU and Notre Dame.
This isn't the end for Alabama or McCarron. The quarterback has already planned to return for his senior season, while Nick Saban appears to be content in Tuscaloosa. McCarron decided on returning to school in December
"There were some factors in my decision to return to Alabama for my senior year but after talking to my family and coaches, I knew it was the right choice for me," he said in a statement at the time, according to ESPN.com.
McCarron led Alabama to a 12-1 record and finished first place in the SEC with a 7-1 record after defeating Auburn in the last regular season game of the year. He was the leader of the 15th-ranked scoring offense in the nation and averaged 214 passing yards per game. McCarron also led the nation with a 173.08 passer rating.
The quarterback's best game of the season came on the road against Tennessee when he threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns in Alabama's 44-13 win. He threw for four touchdowns in three different games this season, including in the team's 49-0 win over Auburn.
McCarron has gone 24-2 as a starter for the Crimson Tide in his career and set the school-record this season for consecutive passes without an interception. He would become the first quarterback to play in three straight national title games of the Crimson Tide can reach the BCS title game next season.
Whether or not McCarron and Webb are together for the long haul, both have upped their profiles on social media following the game. McCarron has the potential to go down as one of the most successful quarterbacks in college football history and has done something special by staying in school and winning two straight championships with Nick Saban.
