FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 1 Notre Dame allows 10.3 points per game, best in the nation. No. 2 Alabama allows 10.7. So the BCS championship should be a defensive struggle, right? First to 12 wins. Well, maybe. Those offenses are pretty good, too. Here are the major battles to watch:
Alabama center Barrett Jones vs. Notre Dame nose guard Louis Nix III.
Jones is a two-time All-America who will be starting his third national championship game. Nix is a 326-pound run stuffer, a magnet for double teams and a big reason the Fighting Irish have allowed only two rushing touchdowns. When Pittsburgh ran the ball well in the first half against Notre Dame, Nix was on the sideline with the flu. In the second half when Nix came in, Pitt's running game was not nearly as effective. How much help Jones needs with Nix will go a long way toward determining whether the Irish can hold up against an Alabama running game that averages 5.6 yards per carry.
Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert vs. Alabama cornerbacks Dee Milliner and Deion Belue.
Eifert is an All-America and the leading receiver for the Fighting Irish with 44 catches for 624 yards. He is the type of tight end that is all the rage in the NFL right now. Huge (6-feet-6, 250 pounds) but with the speed and agility to get down the field and make big plays. Alabama's safeties, specifically Robert Lester, are better equipped size-wise to match up with Eifert, but Notre Dame loves to get its big target matched up against a cornerback and have him outmuscle the smaller player.
Alabama running backs Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon vs. Notre Dame inside linebackers Manti Te'o and Dan Fox.
It's not just about stopping the run. Te'o, Fox and that Notre Dame front seven have been so good in run defense, allowing 3.2 yards per carry, it has allowed defensive coordinator Bob Diaco to play his safeties deep to protect inexperienced cornerbacks. If the linebackers need help containing Alabama's two 1,000-yard rushers, that leaves cornerbacks KeiVarae Russell and Bennett Jackson exposed.
Notre Dame left tackle Zack Martin and left guard Chris Watt vs. Alabama defensive ends Damion Square and Quinton Dial and strong-side linebacker Adrian Hubbard.
The Fighting Irish like to run left. A lot. Irish coaches make no secret that Martin has been their best lineman. That should keep Square, a solid 286-pound senior, busy. Of course one of the keys to Alabama's defensive success is its depth. Martin and Watt won't get any breaks.
Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson vs. Alabama coach Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.
Golson will be making his 11th career start. He has come a long way this season.
Saban and Smart are masters of mixing coverage and pressures and making quarterbacks generally miserable as they try to figure out what's coming.
This will not keep Golson from playing the game of his life and winning the National Championship for old Notre Dame. Fuck Saban and the Cleveland Browns
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get down in the trenchs
opcorn2
