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Alabama vs. Notre Dame

The Alabama Crimson tide just keeps on rolling no matter who the opponent. Whether its another national powerhouse or a powerhouse within the great SEC, nobody has had the answer for Alabama when it comes to the BCS Championship Game.  Coach Nick Saban might as well say, "I don't always play in the BCS Championship Game, but when I do I win." Of course Saban would never say "I" and gives all the credit to the players, but everyone one knows it is he that has made Alabama great again.

In 2009 Alabama romped over Texas 37 to 21 in the Bama's first BCS title game. Then it was LSU that was dominated 21-0 by the Tide in the BCS's only shutout in the national title game. On January 7, 2013 the nations' Cinderella team and one of the biggest national programs in college football was embarrassed as Alabama beat Notre Dame 42-14 as the Tide won its third BCS Championship in fours years and its 15th overall.

After entering the game No. 2 in the rankings, the Tide scored touch downs on its first three possessions and never let up in crushing the No. 1 ranked Irish, 42-14, before a packed house of 80,120 in Sun Life Stadium and a national television audience.

With junior quarterback A.J. McCarrion having already announced he would return for his senior season, Alabama has to be thinking of three in a row.

"People talk about how the most difficult thing is to win your first championship," said Alabama coach Nick Saban, who has now won four of them. "Really the most difficult thing is to win the next one because there's always a feeling of entitlement."

Alabama led 35-0 before the Irish managed to score their first touchdown late in the third quarter. The Tide answered with a 13 play 79 yard drive quell any slim hopes of a comeback that Notre Dame might have gotten from tits first trip into the end zone.

The Alabama win gave the Crimson Tide back-to-back national titles and three in  the last four years. For Nick Saban, it gave him four titles in eight years of college coaching, with three  Alabama Championships added to the 2003 title he won while the coach at LSU. He spent two years in the NFL between his coaching jobs at LSU and Bama.

It also gave the Southeastern conference its seventh consecutive national championship. Florida was the national champ in 2006, LSU in 2007, Florida again in 2008, Bama in 2009, Auburn in 2010, and Alabama in 2011 and 2012. It also gave the SEC a 6-3 record in the 2012 season's bowl games. the bowl season got off to a mediocre start for the SEC at 3-3, but it ended with a flourish as Texas A&M destroyed Okalahoma, Ole Miss blasted Pitt and Alabama overwhelmed Notre Dame.

Trailing 42-7, the Irish then tacked on their second score of the game in the fourth quarter to keep the Tide form challenging USC's 55-19 bashing of Okalahoma in 2004 as the biggest rout in 15 championship games during the BCS era. Of course Nick could have made it much worse but he put the reserves in early in the third.

Alabama finished the season with a 13-1 record. Notre Dame ended 12-1.

Junior running back Eddie Lacy, on of two 1,000-yard rushers for the Tide in the regular season, eared offensive MVP honors after rushing for 140 yards on 20 carries. he finished the season with 17 rushing touchdowns which ranks tied for third in the single season annals. His 30 career rushing touchdowns rank sixth in the record books.

"I think this is first time the season we were able to come out and play a complete game," said Lacy. "We've had slow starts at times, but were able to come back."

C. J. Mosley was the defensive MVP for Alabama. He finished the game with eight tackles, including one for a loss of six yards. The Alabama  defense head the vaunted Irish offense to just 32 yards rushing for the game.

McCarron, last years MVP, was 20 of 28 passing for 264 yards and four touchdowns. He was not intercepted and became the only current starting quarterback ti the FBS to have two national championships on his resume and the first in Alabama history, which includes the likes of such greats as Bart Star, Joe Namath, Pat Trammell, Kenny stable, Jeff Rutledge and Richard Todd.

"I get chills thinking about it," McCarron said. "all of the thanks go to my teammates. They made this possible."

A.J.'s four touchdown passes in the championship game gave hime a school record of 49, passing John Parker Wilson mark of 47, and he has another year to play.

Freshman Amari Cooper caught two touchdown passes in the championship game.  That moves his single season total to a school 11, passing Al Lary's (1950) mark of 10. Cooper became only the fourth player in Alabama history to gain 1,000 receiving yards in a season, only the fifth time the mark has bee achieved in Crimson Tide history.