#1 Notre Dame (12-0)
#2 Alabama (12-1)

Matchup will be made official tomorrow. This should easily be the most watched championship game in BCS history.

Let the debate begin!

I'm not by any means an SEC fan....but no way will this game be better than the SEC Championship Game. Unbelievable game. Incredibly exciting.

As for Notre Dame....they need a couple more big breaks than Bama. They can stop the run far better than Georgia....but Georgia was very good, home crowd and a few big breaks...and still lost.

Notre Dame has to get a couple TD before half or this game could get ugly.

I can see ND being great with a couple breaks and winning by a GW FG....but can also see Bama being Bama.

Alabama 31
Notre Dame 20

ccrunner609;1334247 wrote:This game is a lose lose for all of football. SEC wins another one and we have to hear is how great they are. If ND wins, the world might explode cause ND fans are freakin annoying.

As for the game though......I would bet that ND doesnt even score.

Not many outside of the midwest are nearly as asshurt about the participants.

Ironman92;1334238 wrote:I'm not by any means an SEC fan....but no way will this game be better than the SEC Championship Game. Unbelievable game. Incredibly exciting.

As for Notre Dame....they need a couple more big breaks than Bama. They can stop the run far better than Georgia....but Georgia was very good, home crowd and a few big breaks...and still lost.

Notre Dame has to get a couple TD before half or this game could get ugly.

I can see ND being great with a couple breaks and winning by a GW FG....but can also see Bama being Bama.

Alabama 31
Notre Dame 20

I think that this is a very fair assessment. Bama is really good, but Notre Dame has one of the best run defenses in the country. We've seen several times this year that if you make Alabama one dimensional they become very beatable. I think that if Notre Dame can keep it close early then they can keep it close throughout and have a shot to win it at the end. If Alabama jumps out early I don't see Notre Dame being able to come back and make it close. I expect the game to be relatively low scoring (high 30's-low 40's combined) and closer than Vegas thinks.

I agree 100% about the low scoring possibility of this game.

I worry about Alabama because they've been there. The NC game is old hat to them. This is uncharted waters for ND, and I'm worried that the stage might be too big. Experience may be a key factor here.

The Irish success comes down to Golson. I think a mobile QB could cause some trouble for the Alabama defense. But he's RS freshman, and will be facing the best defense he's faced all year. If he can limit the mistakes, ND could pull it off. But some Freshman mistakes, and this one could get REALLY ugly. I expect Kelly to run the ball...A LOT. And throw a lot of short passes designed for Eifert until Golson settles in.

It would be so great for Notre Dame to be the team that breaks the SEC strangle-hold on the BCS title game.

sherm03;1334253 wrote:I agree 100% about the low scoring possibility of this game.

I worry about Alabama because they've been there. The NC game is old hat to them. This is uncharted waters for ND, and I'm worried that the stage might be too big. Experience may be a key factor here.

Third time in four years for them (and they are 2-0 in their previous two appearances, and another team from Alabama won the other one they didn't play in). Notre Dame on the other hand hasn't played in a real big game in ages and Kelly got killed in his only BCS appearance.

sherm03;1334253The Irish success comes down to Golson. [B wrote:I think a mobile QB could cause some trouble for the Alabama defense. But he's RS freshman, and will be facing the best defense he's faced all year. If he can limit the mistakes, ND could pull it off.[/B] But some Freshman mistakes, and this one could get REALLY ugly. I expect Kelly to run the ball...A LOT. And throw a lot of short passes designed for Eifert until Golson settles in.

It would be so great for Notre Dame to be the team that breaks the SEC strangle-hold on the BCS title game.

You basically just described Johnny Manziel, so that should be comforting.

krambman;1334259 wrote:Third time in four years for them (and they are 2-0 in their previous two appearances, and another team from Alabama won the other one they didn't play in). Notre Dame on the other hand hasn't played in a real big game in ages and Kelly got killed in his only BCS appearance.



You basically just described Johnny Manziel, so that should be comforting.

Kelly never coached that bcs game for cinci. For the game I don't think Kelly will be conservative at all. I think he comes out and have golson 5 wide hurry up offense. If notre dame stops the run I really like their chances but it will be tough. Lacy and yeldon are a load

I'll say 27-16 Bama.

Bama 31-10

sherm03;1334253 wrote:I agree 100% about the low scoring possibility of this game.

I worry about Alabama because they've been there. The NC game is old hat to them. This is uncharted waters for ND, and I'm worried that the stage might be too big. Experience may be a key factor here.

The Irish success comes down to Golson. I think a mobile QB could cause some trouble for the Alabama defense. But he's RS freshman, and will be facing the best defense he's faced all year. If he can limit the mistakes, ND could pull it off. But some Freshman mistakes, and this one could get REALLY ugly. I expect Kelly to run the ball...A LOT. And throw a lot of short passes designed for Eifert until Golson settles in.

It would be so great for Notre Dame to be the team that breaks the SEC strangle-hold on the BCS title game.

To me this is the X factor. All things being equal, I think ND has the better overall team, but as you said, the stage may be a bit overwhelming.

'Bama-24
ND-17

If this game was being played in my yard, I'd pull the drapes.

The way Alabama ran the ball against a good Georgia D, I can't see them being stopped. I don't see Notre Dame and Golson being able to do much offensively. We'll see, but I still have my reservations.

I think Alabama is the best team in the country...and they are fortunate Notre Dame is the match-up. I think Oregon is the team everyone is giving the "whew" in-regards to slipping up.

Crimson streak;1334275 wrote:Kelly never coached that bcs game for cinci. For the game I don't think Kelly will be conservative at all. I think he comes out and have golson 5 wide hurry up offense. If notre dame stops the run I really like their chances but it will be tough. Lacy and yeldon are a load

Okay, I guess killed is a bit of an overstatement, but he still lost by 13. I was thinking both of Cincy's BCS appearances were blowouts.

Azubuike24;1334346 wrote:The way Alabama ran the ball against a good Georgia D, I can't see them being stopped. I don't see Notre Dame and Golson being able to do much offensively. We'll see, but I still have my reservations.

I think Alabama is the best team in the country...and they are fortunate Notre Dame is the match-up. I think Oregon is the team everyone is giving the "whew" in-regards to slipping up.

Pretty sure Georgia ranked somewhere in the mid 60s against the run this year. Not sure I'd call that good.

karen lotz;1334356 wrote:Pretty sure Georgia ranked somewhere in the mid 60s against the run this year. Not sure I'd call that good.

15th in total defense. Better in the back 7 than front 4, but still. They got gashed by South Carolina, but other than that, they had a very good defense.

Not on the level of Notre Dame...

karen lotz;1334356 wrote:Pretty sure Georgia ranked somewhere in the mid 60s against the run this year. Not sure I'd call that good.

Alabama 2nd in the nation against the run.
Notre Dame is 5th.
Georgia is 67th, so in the bottom half of the FBS.

http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1040/p2

karen lotz;1334356 wrote:Pretty sure Georgia ranked somewhere in the mid 60s against the run this year. Not sure I'd call that good.

Hay guise. Take it easy on Notre dame. I know lotz bout sportz.

Yeah they were good against the pass. When Bama started running the ball right at them, they couldn't do anything. Jarvis Jones was a complete non factor in the second half. Ogletree was making tackles by having guys trip over him after running him over.

I'm not saying Notre Dame will stop their running game, but I'd think they will have a little more success against it than Georgia did tonight.

Would love to see Kelly go deep in the first series. Air it out, and give the kid some confidence.

Of course, this all hinges on ND getting the ball first or getting a stop...

ernest_t_bass;1334367 wrote:Hay guise. Take it easy on Notre dame. I know lotz bout sportz.

Thanks for adding to the discussion. Its appreciated.

Azubuike24;1334346 wrote: I think Alabama is the best team in the country...and they are fortunate Notre Dame is the match-up. I think Oregon is the team everyone is giving the "whew" in-regards to slipping up.

Really? I think everyone would WANT to play Oregon because every year they prove to be a fraud and lose when facing a real defense. I WISH they hadnt done so versus Stanford, but it is what it is. They showed their true colors earlier than most years this year...

Laley23;1334377 wrote:Would love to see Kelly go deep in the first series. Air it out, and give the kid some confidence.

Of course, this all hinges on ND getting the ball first or getting a stop...

Would be a pretty safe bet if Brown is in the game. They've tried to hit that early in a few games but only completed it in the 4th quarter against Oklahoma.

Laley23;1334380 wrote:Really? I think everyone would WANT to play Oregon because every year they prove to be a fraud and lose when facing a real defense. I WISH they hadnt done so versus Stanford, but it is what it is. They showed their true colors earlier than most years this year...

That was just my gut feeling. I'm happy with the title game...

karen lotz;1334379 wrote:Thanks for adding to the discussion. Its appreciated.

QQ. The minute someone says anything that would lead one to conclude ND is fucked, you get defensive. ALWAYS

Tonight I was thinking when was the last time that so many fans, analysts, etc. were saying that one team in the BCS Championship game would be so overmatched and was a fairly big underdog and honestly I think it was the 2003 Fiesta Bowl when most were calling for a comfortable Miami(FL) win because OSU supposedly just couldn't hang with their overall talent and speed. A midwestern team with a great tradition has a chance to win their first national title in a couple decades vs. the Southern power going for a 2nd straight national championship. There are some similarities between this title game and the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. I'm obviously hoping the result is the same and ND can pull off the somewhat improbable victory.