By KEVIN MOBLEY – Guest Writer
The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated Notre Dame 42-14 on Monday, Jan. 7, and now the SEC has secured its seventh consecutive national championship.
As I looked upon an aerial view of Sun Life Stadium from my couch, I saw what looked like a sea of crimson.
Granted, the seats at Sun Life are orange, but you get the picture.
I also saw a very dramatic scene before the teams ran out onto the field. The two tunnels merge into one opening for the teams to run out, and Alabama was to run out first. But as they showed Alabama running out, Notre Dame was standing there, watching the Tide go by.
It’s as if they were watching the BCS National Championship go by with them.
On the first possession of the game, Alabama looked like a well-oiled machine; Notre Dame looked lost and downright intimidated. The Crimson Tide started with a 29-yard play-action pass from A.J. McCarron to Kevin Norwood. Then they got a huge gain on a 15-yard facemask penalty after a first down run by Eddie Lacy.
Finally, Lacy capped of the 2:57 drive with a 20-yard touchdown run, giving them a 7-0 lead and a huge momentum swing.
Alabama also got its first break not long thereafter, as Notre Dame was flagged for interference with the punt receiver after he fumbled the ball, but the replay showed that if anyone interfered it was his teammate. Notre Dame would’ve had the ball inside Alabama territory and once again the luck looked to be with the Crimson Tide, rather than the Irish.
Alabama went right down the field and scored again, using a great balance of passes by McCarron and runs by Lacy, ending with a play action pass, which fooled Manti Te’o and the entire Irish defense, completed to tight end Michael Williams for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Notre Dame then went three-and-out, and the Tide was in prime position to extend their lead and start the blowout.
They did. 21-0 Alabama.
Sound familiar?
The Irish started to show signs of life when Everett Golson completed a 31-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels that put them past midfield, but they squandered the chance by turning it over on downs after Alabama’s Deion Belue batted down a deep pass to T.J. Jones on fourth down.
The majority of the second quarter was a stalemate, like boxers trading blows, and misses too. However, once again, 21-0 Alabama.
Then it got worse.
After Notre Dame’s key defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore went down with an apparent knee injury, Nick Saban pounced, and on third down McCarron completed a 27-yard pass to Christion Jones all the way down to the Notre Dame 11-yard line.
On the next play, McCarron dumped the ball off to Lacy over the middle, he does a little spin move and next thing you know the Notre Dame defense has given up more points, 28, in one half then they have in any game this season.
This was one of those games where you didn’t have to watch the second half. You didn’t even have to watch the second quarter. You just knew.
In the next few months talk will ensue about an Alabama dynasty, Notre Dame’s huge shortcoming, how Georgia was so close, and the annual conversation of who will dethrone the SEC.
Ohio State tried, Oklahoma tried, Texas tried, Oregon tried, and now Notre Dame has tried.
But the SEC is still standing tall.
What mattered most going into the game
10: Big Man on Campus – Notre Dame’s quarterback, Everett Golson, has started 10 games for the Irish this year, accumulating 2135 passing yards, 305 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns thus far.
9: Keep on rolling – Alabama’s quarterback, A.J. McCarron, is the second-most efficient quarterback (173.1 efficiency rating) in the country, behind Georgia’s Aaron Murray.
8: Here’s the kicker – Notre Dame kicker Kyle Brindza has made almost 75 percent of his kicks this year, including one from 52 yards against USC.
7: Decisions, decisions – Alabama kicker Jeremy Shelley has made all 11 of his attempts this year, but they’ve all been from 38 yards or shorter. The Crimson Tide’s other kicker, Cade Foster, has come in to attempt kicks longer than 40 yards, but has only made four out of nine kicks.
6: Matchup – T.J. Jones vs. Dee Milliner: Jones, a Georgia native, has had 43 catches for 559 yards, four touchdowns and has been Golson’s go-to receiver this season. Milliner has had two interceptions, 18 pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
5: Matchup – Barrett Jones vs. Louis Nix: Jones has paved the way for 2920 rushing yards and has captained his team to the National Championship game. Nix has been very disruptive at nose guard, as he has had 45 total tackles and two sacks.
4: Manti, the Great – Te’o, who was a Heisman candidate and winner of the Bednarik and Nagurski awards, has had 103 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, seven interceptions and has recovered two fumbles
3: I’ll just take that – Alabama’s defense has forced 28 turnovers this season, including 17 interceptions and 11 fumbles, giving the Crimson Tide a turnover margin of +13.
2: Close call – Notre Dame has had five games that they’ve won by seven points or less, including two in overtime vs. Pittsburgh and Stanford.
1: Dynasty Mode – Alabama is playing in its third National Championship game in four years, winning its two previous Titles in 2009 against Texas and 2011 against LSU.
Front page graphic by Austin DeFoor.
