Royal meeting: Notre Dame, Alabama to face off in title game
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Assistant Editor
It was a foregone conclusion after the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, but it became official Sunday night as No. 1 Notre Dame will meet No. 2 Alabama for the BCS National Championship Game Jan. 7, 2013, at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium.
Brian Kelly’s 12-0 Irish will be a decided underdog against the defending national champions, who are 12-1 with the only setback of the season came at home to Texas A&M, 29-24, Nov. 10.
Notre Dame, who has not played for a national championship since 1988 which was the last time it won it all, punched its ticket to the title game with a 22-13 win Nov. 24 at USC.
Alabama earned its way to defend its crown by virtue of its thrilling 32-28 win over No. 3 Georgia Saturday night in the SEC Championship Game.
The Crimson Tide have been a frequent visitor in the BCS title game. They’re making their third appearance in the last four years. In addition, Alabama is trying to become the first team to win back-to-back BCS championships.
Oddsmaker Danny Sheridan currently has Notre Dame an eight-point underdog to Nick Saban’s team.
So how do the Irish upset ‘Bama?
“Their defense is going to have to carry the day once again,” said ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit tonight on ESPN’s BCS Selection Show. “Every time they’ve been doubted, they’ve stepped up.
“The big question in this game will be their front, not just Manti Te’o, but their defensive line. If you look across the board those guys have stepped up physically, they’ve been athletic and now they get their biggest test with Alabama’s big, strong offensive line and those two talented running backs.
“The challenge will really be for Notre Dame, they like to protect their corners by keeping their safeties deep to prevent the big play from a guy like (Alabama receiver) Amari Cooper. To be able to keep their safeties back there and protect those corners, they’ve got to be able to win the battle at the line of scrimmage,” Herbstreit added. “They’ve done that against most teams they’ve played all year. Can they do that against Alabama? Or do they have to start to creep their safeties down and leave themselves vulnerable on the outside for one-on-one opportunities.”
The game will feature the nation’s two best defenses. Notre Dame’s D is No. 1, allowing just 10.33 points per game, while Alabama is second, giving up 10.69 points.
Both teams enter the showdown with the same number of wins over top-25 teams this season.
‘Bama was 4-1 top-25 teams, beating then-No. 8 Michigan (41-14), No. 11 Mississippi State (38-7), No. 5 LSU (21-7) and Georgia. Alabama fell to No. 15 Texas A&M.
The Irish were 4-0 against top-25 teams, knocking off then-No. 10 Michigan State (20-3), No. 18 Michigan (13-6), No. 17 Stanford (20-13 in overtime) and No. 8 Oklahoma (30-13).
“They play physical football,” said Kelly about Alabama. “They play the game the right way. Balanced. They’re great against the run. They run the football. They exert their will. There’s a physical presence.
“Coach Saban has put together the program that all want to model after, the consistency, playing for championships each and every year. Why wouldn’t you want to construct it the way he has? We’re trying to put our program together the same way where we’re physical on both sides of the ball, all areas fundamentally sound, well coached across the board.
“That’s why it’s going to be such a great matchup to go against Coach Saban and go against the football team that has proven it on a consistent basis. That’s where we want to be. We want to get to the level that Alabama and Coach Saban has already taken his program.”
Saban said Notre Dame is special to him because he coached for a decade at Michigan State and played the Irish frequently in one of the school’s historic rivalry games.
“We have a special respect for Notre Dame, all they’ve done and the tradition they have,” said Saban, who grew up as a Catholic kid as he put it.
“The first thing I think about is the kind of team they have this year. When Coach Kelly was describing our team, that’s exactly how their team looks. They’re physical up front. Their front seven on defense is really physical. They have a good offensive line. They’ve got great balance on offense, almost 50-50 run-pass in terms of their production. This is a really good team and I think a great matchup, and a little bit of old fashion football actually.”
To say the least, the Notre Dame-Alabama will be a tough ticket. Sun Life Stadium’s capacity is 71,540.
Both teams receive 17,000 tickets to the BCS Championship Game. There will be no public sale for any of the seats allocated to Notre Dame.
Today, ticket prices for the BCS National Championship Game started at $1,529 apiece on StubHub.com.
If you are unable to secure a ticket, you’ll be able to watch all the action of the national championship game on ESPN with coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m.
The Notre Dame-Alabama game might be the most-watched BCS title game since the system began in 1998, and for good reason. The game will feature an Irish program that has won eight Associated Press national championships, equalling Alabama’s mark.
Needless to say, these two programs are a couple of college football’s heavyweights. The two powers have played six times total, the last coming in 1987.
The Irish are 5-1 against ‘Bama. One of those Notre Dame victories came in the 1973 Sugar Bowl and the 24-23 Notre Dame win delivered the Irish the national championship. The colossal giants also met in the 1975 Orange Bowl, a game Notre Dame won 13-11.
The Irish will try to end not only Alabama’s stranglehold on national championships, but the SEC’s dominance, which currently stands at six straight national crowns.
“Certainly when we talk about Notre Dame’s tradition there’s one other team that you think about down south with that same kind of tradition and you think of Alabama, Coach (Bear) Bryant and Coach (Ara) Parseghian and the great matchups between these two programs go back many years,” said Kelly, whose team will leave for Miami Jan. 2.
“If you’re looking for two programs with great tradition, two programs that are going to play tough, physical football, I don’t know if you could get a better matchup.”
Stay tuned to IndySportsLegends.com over the next five weeks as we’ll provide you thorough coverage of Notre Dame’s biggest game in about a quarter of a century.
NOTRE DAME NUGGETS
– The Irish have never won a BCS game (0-3), losing to Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2000 season, losing to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2005 season and losing to LSU in the Sugar Bowl after the 2006 season.
– Notre Dame becomes the first school ever to be ranked No. 1 in the current NCAA Graduation Success Rate football standings (at 97) and also play in the BCS Championship Game.
– The Irish are 15-16 all-time in bowl games.
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