Ranking the 30 Greatest National Championship Games
By Zach Bigalke
30. 2013 BCS National Championship
#2 Alabama d. #1 Notre Dame 42-14
BEFORE THE GAME
There was little surprise in the selection for the BCS National Championship game after the 2012-2013 season. Three weeks before the end of the season in mid-November, Kansas State and Oregon were leading the BCS rankings. But on November 17, both teams lost in prime time, the Ducks in overtime at home to Stanford and the Wildcats by 28 on the road at Baylor. Into their place moved 11-0 Notre Dame and 10-1 Alabama in the November 18 rankings.
Alabama closed out its regular season with a 49-0 rout of rival Auburn at home over Thanksgiving weekend. The Iron Bowl allowed them to lock down a spot in the SEC championship. In Atlanta, Nick Saban’s team found itself in a fight against third-ranked Georgia. The Bulldogs came up just short in their upset bid, as Aaron Murray’s last pass of the game found Chris Conley five yards short of the goal line as time ran out. At 12-1, Alabama secured the conference title and guaranteed it would stay at #2 in the final BCS rankings.
Notre Dame had already made sure it would be in Miami for the game against the Crimson Tide. After ascending to the top spot in the rankings, they finished off the only undefeated regular season in the country by taking down USC 22-13 in Los Angeles. In Brian Kelly’s third season in South Bend, he had put the Fighting Irish in position to compete for their first national championship in decades.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The two teams entered the game with the top two scoring defenses in the country. Only one actually performed like a top unit. Alabama scored on their first three possessions of the game, while the Tide defense clamped down on a Notre Dame offense that stayed undefeated despite an offense that averaged fewer than 27 points per game. Everett Golson threw for 270 yards with a touchdown and a pick, and also ran for another score. But the Irish running game finished with only 32 net yards on 19 attempts as they could never generate any comeback momentum.
Meanwhile everything was working for the Crimson Tide offense. AJ McCarron threw for 264 yards and four touchdowns on 20-of-28 passing. The one time he had to scramble, he gained nine yards. Both Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown apiece. It all added up to nearly perfect balance on offense, as they finished with 264 passing yards and 265 rushing yards. The game plan also kept the defense fresh, with Alabama enjoying over 16 more minutes of possession than Notre Dame. After plenty of hype, the game itself failed to live up to expectations.