Tradition. Skill. Talent. Top head coaches. Nationwide pedigree. This year's BCS National Championship game in Miami has everything a college football fan could want.
Just two weeks before the college football season ended, the BCS had Kansas State and Oregon ranked as the top two teams and had them in line to play the national championship. But after two upset losses, Oregon by Stanford and Kansas State by Baylor, the door opened for a classic matchup between two traditional college football powerhouses in Alabama and Notre Dame.
(HERE is the full schedule of college bowl games for the 2012 season.)
Notre Dame came into the season this year hoping for a successful run after last year's 8-5 record in the second year under coach Brian Kelly. No one expected Notre Dame to be competing for a national championship, let alone go undefeated at 12-0.
The team last won a national championship in 1988 and is 5-1 all-time against Alabama. Both teams have talented players on offense, but it is the defense that sets these two teams apart. They are ranked one and two in the nation in scoring defense, with Notre Dame in the top spot allowing just 10.3 points per contest.
Earlier in the season, Kelly used both quarterback Everett Golson and Tommy Rees, but lately its been all Golson for the Irish. The sophomore passed for 217 yards and had no turnovers in Notre Dame's regular season finale against USC and passed for three touchdowns the previous week against Wake Forest as the Irish dominated 38-0 on Senior Day.
Golson has passed for 2,135 yards and 11 touchdowns this year while completing over 58 percent of his passes. He has also been a threat on the ground, rushing for 305 yards and five touchdowns. The Alabama linebackers are all five-star recruits and are fast, so if Golson takes off, he will have to be aware of where they are at all times.
The toughest stretch for the Irish this year was against Stanford and Pittsburgh after both games went into overtime. The Irish took care of Stanford 20-13 in one overtime after a controversial no touchdown call on running back Stepfon Taylor and then took the Panthers to three overtimes before winning 29-26.
The Irish started the season with a 50-10 win over Navy and then squeaked by Purdue 20-17. Over the next three games the Irish held opponents to single digits and didn't let anyone score more than 26 points the entire season.
Senior Theo Riddick is leading the team in rushing with 880 yards and five touchdowns and had 146 on the ground with one score in the final game against USC. The biggest receiving threat for the Irish this season has been Tyler Eifert, who has caught 44 balls for 624 yards and four touchdowns.
Linebacker and Heisman finalist Manti Te'o will be a force in his last college game, but he can't do it alone. The senior has been exceptional this year, making 103 tackles including 46 solo, to go along with two sacks. In the final game of his career, a 22-13 win at USC, Te'o had five tackles, including three solo, and one interception and notched his third 100-tackle season in his Notre Dame career.
While Notre Dame has an exceptional defense, they have yet to see a squad like Alabama. The team has played tough programs like Michigan State and Oklahoma, but Alabama offers a wide range of challenges for the Irish on defense that could change the course of the national championship.
Head coach Nick Saban has won two national championships in three years and looks as if he is poised for another one. The Irish are a tough team, but the Crimson Tide play in the SEC, the conference where the last six BCS champs have come from.
The defense is ranked second in the nation in scoring behind the Irish with 10.7 points allowed per game, while the offense is scoring 38 points, ranked 15th in the nation. The Crimson Tide has a balanced offensive attack and average over 400 yards per game. That offense combined with a stout defense will help Alabama take the edge off of Notre Dame's tough front seven.
Quarterback AJ McCarron has played in numerous pressure-filled games during his career and will not be phased by the moment. In the SEC championship game against Georgia, McCarron rallied Alabama back from behind to win and threw for 162 yards and one touchdown. He wasn't perfect all game, but he came through when it counted.
He did the same thing against LSU earlier this season, hitting running back Eddie Lacy with the game-winning screen pass near the end of the fourth quarter as Alabama won 21-17. The junior has passed for 2,669 yards and 26 touchdowns with just three interceptions and is completing over 66 percent of his passes. He is one of the national leaders in passer rating and has numerous weapons to choose from against Notre Dame.
Lacy is the leading rusher for the team with 1,182 yards and 16 touchdowns, including 181 yards and two touchdowns in the SEC championship game. The team also has another 1,000 yard rusher in TJ Yeldon, who hit the mark with 153 yards and one touchdown in the SEC championship.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper gives McCarron a deep threat and is the most talented receiver on either team. The Irish secondary is solid but not stellar, which should give McCarron chances to air the ball out. Cooper made 53 receptions for 895 yards and nine touchdowns this season, including eight catches for 128 yards and touchdown against Georgia.
Alabama started the season with nine straight wins before losing to Heisman winner Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies. The Tide were able to get back into the national title picture two weeks later once Oregon and Kansas State lost, leaving Alabama as the number 2 team in the nation.
After three straight wins and an emphatic 49-0 beating on Auburn, Alabama looks dominant and ready for the national championship game. The team has scored over 40 points seven times this season and dropped 50 on Arkansas in a 52-0 drubbing in the third week of the season.
The matchup of Alabama and Notre Dame, Saban and Kelly, is the best thing that could have happened to college football this season. The game is more relevant when Notre Dame is playing well and this is sure to be the highest rated national title game in history.
PREDICTION: Alabama 31, Notre Dame 24. This game could be closer than that, or lower scoring than that, but that's what we're going with. These two defenses are just stellar and there are playmakers all over the field on both sides of the ball. Legacies are at stake here as Saban goes for his third national title in four years, while Kelly will try to stake his claim as the best Irish head coach of this new generation. Many years of tradition will clash in Miami on Jan. 7, but there can be only one winner. It'll be Alabama this time.
HERE is the full schedule of college bowl games for the 2012 season.
