Alabama crush Notre Dame to win American football college title
The Crimson Tide swept away the Fighting Irish as Alabama beat Notre Dame 42-17 in the American football national college title decider in Miami.
Alabama got touchdowns on each of its first three drives, quickly turning expectations of a classic showdown between two storied football programmes into a mismatch.
It was the third national title in four years for the Crimson Tide, with coach Nick Saban overseeing a dynasty that invites comparisons with that established by Paul “Bear” Bryant, who led Alabama to six titles from the late 1950s and the early 1980s.
Alabama running back Eddie Lacy ran for one touchdown and caught a pass for another in the final minute of the opening half, spinning away from the vaunted Notre Dame defence not once, but twice, to cap a 28-0 blitz before the break.
Lacy finished with 130 metres on 20 carries, coming up with two of his best performances in the two biggest games of the year. He also rushed for a career-high 165 metres in a thrilling victory over Georgia in the Southeastern Conference title game.
Quarterback A.J. McCarron wasn’t too shabby, either, completing 20 of 28 passes for four touchdowns and 240 metres.
“We’ve had a lot of really great football players who’ve worked really hard,” Saban said. “Because we’ve had a great team, we’ve been able to have a significant amount of success.”
Alabama scored 69 straight points against its title game opponents, going back to getting the final 13 against Texas in 2010, followed by a stifling 21-0 victory over Louisiana State for last year’s crown, then scoring the first 35 points on Notre Dame.
Saban’s team made the Irish look like a squad that would be hard-pressed to finish in the middle of the pack in the mighty Southeastern Conference, which has now won seven straight national championships.
Before a record stadium crowd of 80,120, Lacy ran right through the Notre Dame defence on a 18-metre touchdown run before the game was three minutes old, capping a 75-metre drive that was longest of the season given up by the Fighting Irish.
It would only get worse. Alabama marched right down the field on its second possession, this one a 10-play, 55-metre pounding that finished with McCarron faking out the defence and lofting a touchdown pass to Michael Williams, standing all alone in the back of the end zone.
On the first play of the second quarter, T.J. Yeldon powered over from the 1 to make it 21-0, the finish to another impressive drive – this one covering 73 metres – that included two long completions by McCarron.
By that point, it was clear to everyone that Notre Dame’s hopes of winning its first national championship since 1988 were all done. But Alabama just poured it on.
Lacy’s 10-metre touchdown reception with 31 seconds left in the half left the Irish fans shaking their heads in disbelief.
Alabama made it 35-0 on McCarron’s second TD pass of the night, a 32-metre pass to Cooper without a Notre Dame defender in sight.
The Irish finally scored late in the third quarter through Everett Golson but that served no other purpose except to end Alabama’s remarkable scoreless streak in the Bowl Championship Series title games.
Notre Dame made tremendous strides under Brian Kelly, going from unranked in the preseason to the top spot in the rankings by the end of the regular season. But that long-awaited championship will have to wait at least one more year.
“We’ve got to get physically stronger, continue to close the gap there,” said Kelly. “Our guys clearly know what it looks like now – a championship football team. That’s what you measure yourself against there. It’s pretty clear across the board what we have to do.”
