The BCS National Championship Game offers a truly classic college football matchup this year, as the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Alabama Crimson Tide do battle in Sun Life Stadium in Miami on Monday night.
The teams are two of college football's most storied programs and the game offers a matchup of two strong, but even teams that are superb on defense and have playmakers on offense. Thwe inner of the game will take the national championship home and will likely also take the top spot in the Associated Press poll that ends the year.
Alabama is trying to win its second championship in a row and third in four years, while the Irish are trying o win their first championship in 24 years after going undefeated in 1988. Notre Dame is 12-0 this season under third-year head coach Brian Kelly, who can join former Irish coaches Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz and Dan Devine, who all won titles in year three.
"The tradition of Alabama and Notre Dame brings special attention to it, but we're just trying to be the best team on Monday, Jan. 7," said Kelly to the Associated Press. "All of that tradition, what's happened in the past, is not going to help us Jan. 7, but we do respect the traditions."
Kelly won the AP coach of the year and Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award this season and defied all preseason polls and predictions by taking the Irish to the title game. The team hasn't been considered one of the elite teams in college football for a number of years, but can break through that barrier with a win on Monday night.
Notre Dame opened the season with a 50-10 victory over Navy before winning a close 20-17 game against Purdue on Sept. 8. The Irish played a number of close games this season while scoring 26 points per game, winning six different times by nine or fewer points.
"Well, that's who we are," said Kelly. "It's been our defense all year. Our offense is able to manage enough points."
The defense has been exceptional for Notre Dame all season, allowing a nation-low 10.3 points through 12 games this year. The Irish were dominant over Michigan State in a 20-3 win and also took down Michigan 13-6 before routing Miami 41-3 on Oct. 6.
The most controversial game for Notre Dame was also one of the best. The team defeated Stanford 20-13 in overtime, but not without referees determining that Stanford's running back Stepfan Taylor did not make it into the endzone in a final stretch to tie the game in the extra period. After back-to-back wins over BYU and No. 8 Oklahoma, the Irish needed three overtimes to defeat Pittsburgh. Notre Dame rallied back from a 20-6 fourth quarter deficit to win and keep the undefeated streak alive.
The final stretch of the season saw Notre Dame defeat Boston College and Wake Forest before closing out the year with a 22-13 victory over the USC Trojans on the road. Linebacker Manti Te'o has been exceptional for the Irish this season, recording 103 tackles, 1.5 sacks, four passes defended and a nation-high seven interceptions. He had interceptions in back-to-back games against Brigham Young and Oklahoma and made a season-high 12 tackles against Michigan State on Sept. 15.
In the final game against USC, Te'o had five tackles and one interception in Notre Dame's 22-13 win. He registered double-digit tackles in six games this season and had two interceptions in Notre Dame's 13-6 win on Sept. 22. He won numerous awards, including the Walter Camp Award, the Bednarik Award as top defensive player, the Butkus Award as top linebacker and the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding player
"We're going to fight," Te'o said after the USC win. "That's our name. It doesn't matter where we are."
Quaretrback Everett Golson has been solid for the Irish this season while splitting time with Tommy Rees. Golson has been the primary starter, throwing for 2,135 yards and 11 touchdowns and also rushing for 305 yards and five touchdowns. Over the final four games of the season he threw for seven touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Notre Dame has one of the best defenses in the nation, but faces a tough test in Alabama, who is one of the only schools in the country that can match their unit statistically.
"Coach (Nick) Saban has put together the program that all (teams) want to model after," Kelly said. "... We're trying to put our program together the same way."
The Crimson Tide has been the top program in college football over the past few years and has the playmakers on offense to matchup against the Irish. The Crimson Tide are 12-1 this season and find themselves in the national championship game despite a loss to Texas A&M late in the year.
Alabama thought their chance at repeating as national champions was over. Luckily for Nick Saban and his team, both Kansas State and Oregon lost on Nov. 17, leaving the top two BCS slots open for Notre Dame and Alabama.
The team opened the year with nine straight wins before losing to the Aggies, including a 21-17 victory against LSU that saw the Crimson Tide comeback from a fourth quarter deficit.
"It's just the never-give-up attitude," quarterback A.J. McCarron said. "You've got to keep fighting through it."
McCarron has been a huge part of the success for the Tide, throwing for 2,669 yards and 26 touchdowns with three interceptions. He led the comeback against LSU and did it once again in the SEC championship game against Georgia, outgunning Aaron Murray to propel Alabama into the BCS title game.
The defense has been the strength of the team this season, recording 34 sacks, 81 tackles for loss and 17 interceptions. The Crimson Tide will have to hold down Irish running backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood, both of whom have rushed for over 700 yards this season.
"I ... couldn't be prouder of what this team has accomplished this season," Saban said. "We had a young team coming back ... and for this team now to have a chance to go back to the national championship game is a little unprecedented."
Alabama has two 1,000-yard running backs in T.J. Yeldon and Eddie Lacy, who have combined to score 27 touchdowns this year. The duo will have a tough time against Notre Dame's top-ranked rush defense and will need to look for solid openings around Manti Te'o, who should be all over the field on Monday night.
"This is just a good all-around football team with tremendous balance on offense and a very physical defense," Saban said of the Irish.
The last time the two teams played for a championship was in the 1973 Sugar Bowl when Notre Dame defeated Alabama 24-23 behind coach Bear Bryant. The team also played the next season, with Notre Dame winning again, 13-11.
Prediction: Alabama 21, Notre Dame 20. This is a game that could go either way based on just one play. Each side has a stellar defense and the offense to supplement it. The Crimson Tide has more playmakers, giving them a slight edge on the offensive side of the ball. Golson has played better down the stretch for the Irish, but McCarron has played in more big games and will not feel any pressure. The game will likely be decided by the defenses, both of whom have been good at shutting down other offenses this year. Saban and Kelly are both fantastic coaches, but Alabama has been on this stage for the past few years, while Notre Dame is new to the show (albeit not historically). Make it two in a row for the Crimson Tide.