more photosMIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The coach no longer wears houndstooth. The result is the same. Another Alabama dynasty.
Quieting the Irish by the first play of the second quarter, Eddie Lacy, A.J. McCarron and the No. 2 Crimson Tide rolled top-ranked Notre Dame 42-14 for the BCS championship Monday night, locking up a second straight national title and third in four years with another laugher of a title game.
The Bear would have been especially proud of this one — Nick Saban and the Tide romping to the second-biggest rout of the BCS era that began in 1999.
“We’re going for it next year again," said Alabama offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandijo, only a sophomore but already the owner of two rings. “And again. And again. And again. I love to win. That’s why I came here."
Lacy, the game’s offensive MVP, ran for one touchdown and caught a pass for another in the final minute of the opening half. He spun away from the vaunted Notre Dame defense not once, but twice, to cap a 28-0 blitz before the bands even got on the field.
“They just did what Alabama does," moaned Manti Te’o, Notre Dame’s star linebacker and Heisman Trophy finalist.
Lacy finished with 140 yards on 20 carries, coming up with two of his best performances in the two biggest games of the year. He rushed for a career-high 181 yards in a thrilling victory over Georgia in the SEC title game, and was nearly as dominant against the Irish. McCarron wasn’t too shabby, either, completing 20 of 28 passes for four touchdowns and 264 yards, adding another dazzling effort on top of his MVP in last year’s title game.
You could almost hear television sets around the country flipping to other channels, a hugely anticipated matchup between two of the nation’s most storied programs reduced to nothing more than the second straight BCS blowout for the Crimson Tide.
“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 (13-1) 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 LSU for last year’s crown, then scoring the first 35 points on Notre Dame. Saban’s team made the Irish (12-1) 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.
The Crimson Tide wraped up its ninth Associated Press national title, breaking a tie with Notre Dame for the most by any school and gaining a measure of redemption for a bitter loss to the Irish almost four decades ago: the epic Sugar Bowl in which Ara Parseghian’s team edged Bear Bryant’s powerhouse 24-23.
Bryant won five AP titles during his brilliant career. The way things are going, Saban might just chase him down.
The diminutive man with the perpetual scowl has guided Alabama to the top spot in the rankings three times since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2007, and if he’s serious about finishing his career with the job he has, there seems no reason he can’t win a few more before he’s done with “The Process."
Already, Saban is the first coach in the BCS era to win national titles at different schools, capturing his first at LSU during the 2003 season. Now, he’s the first coach with back-to-back BCS titles, and given the youthfulness of his team, Alabama figures to go into next season as a heavy favorite.
In an interesting twist, Saban’s fourth college title came in the stadium where he had the only stumble of his coaching career, a two-year tenure with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins that ended ugly, with the coach insisting he wasn’t planning to leave — then bolting for Alabama just two weeks later. His tactics may have been underhanded, but it’s hard to argue with the call he made.
Before a record Sun Life Stadium crowd of 80,120 that definitely included more green than crimson, Lacy ran right through Te’o and the Irish on a 20-yard touchdown run before the game was 3 minutes old, capping an 82-yard drive that was the 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, 61-yard pounding that finished with McCarron completely faking out the defense and lofting a 3-yard 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 80 yards — that included two long completions by McCarron. First, he went to Kevin Norwood on a 25-yard gain. Then, he hooked up with freshman Amari Cooper for a 27-yard gain to the Notre Dame 6.
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.
Polls
The AP Top 25
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
Record Pts Pv
1. Alabama (59) 13-1 1,475 2
2. Oregon 12-1 1,358 5
3. Ohio St. 12-0 1,302 3
4. Notre Dame 12-1 1,288 1
5. Georgia 12-2 1,230 6
5. Texas A&M 11-2 1,230 10
7. Stanford 12-2 1,169 8
8. South Carolina 11-2 1,038 11
9. Florida 11-2 933 4
10. Florida St. 12-2 922 13
11. Clemson 11-2 889 14
12. Kansas St. 11-2 871 7
13. Louisville 11-2 781 22
14. LSU 10-3 756 9
15. Oklahoma 10-3 615 12
16. Utah St. 11-2 456 18
17. Northwestern 10-3 443 21
18. Boise St. 11-2 419 20
19. Texas 9-4 358 NR
20. Oregon St. 9-4 303 15
21. San Jose St. 11-2 243 24
22. N. Illinois 12-2 227 16
23. Vanderbilt 9-4 180 NR
24. Michigan 8-5 147 19
25. Nebraska 10-4 119 23
Others receiving votes: Baylor 95, Penn St. 90, Cincinnati 78, Oklahoma St. 42, Tulsa 34, UCLA 31, Arkansas St. 28, TCU 9, UCF 9, Wisconsin 6, N. Dakota St. 1.
Monday’s Summary
No. 2 Alabama 42, No. 1 Notre Dame 14
Alabama 14 14 7 7 — 42
Notre Dame 0 0 7 7 — 14
First Quarter
Ala—Lacy 20 run (Shelley kick), 12:03.
Ala—M.Williams 3 pass from A.McCarron (Shelley kick), 6:14.
Second Quarter
Ala—Yeldon 1 run (Shelley kick), 14:56.
Ala—Lacy 11 pass from A.McCarron (Shelley kick), :31.
Third Quarter
Ala—Cooper 34 pass from A.McCarron (Shelley kick), 7:34.
ND—Golson 2 run (Brindza kick), 4:08.
Fourth Quarter
Ala—Cooper 19 pass from A.McCarron (Shelley kick), 11:27.
ND—Riddick 6 pass from Golson (Brindza kick), 7:51.
A—80,120.
———
Ala ND
First downs 28 16
Rushes-yards 45-265 19-32
Passing 264 270
Comp-Att-Int 20-28-0 21-36-1
Return Yards 1 2
Punts-Avg. 4-49.3 5-42.8
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 4-40 3-35
Time of Possession 38:13 21:47
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Alabama: Lacy 20-140, Yeldon 21-108, A.McCarron 1-9, K.Drake 3-8. Notre Dame: Riddick 10-37, C.Wood 4-2, Golson 5-(minus 7).
PASSING—Alabama: A.McCarron 20-28-0-264. Notre Dame: Golson 21-36-1-270.
RECEIVING—Alabama: Cooper 6-105, Norwood 3-66, M.Williams 3-17, Ch.Jones 2-40, Lacy 2-17, Shinn 2-14, K.Johnson 1-5, Yeldon 1-0. Notre Dame: T.Jones 7-90, Daniels 6-115, Eifert 6-61, Riddick 1-6, C.Wood 1-(minus 2).
Bowl review
Saturday, Dec. 15
New Mexico Bowl
At Albuquerque
Arizona 49, Nevada 48
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
At Boise, Idaho
Utah State 41, Toledo 15
Thursday, Dec. 20
Poinsettia Bowl
At San Diego
BYU 23, San Diego State 6
Friday, Dec. 21
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl
At St. Petersburg, Fla.
UCF 38, Ball State 17
Saturday, Dec. 22
New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana-Lafayette 43, East Carolina 34
MAACO Bowl
Las Vegas
Boise State 28, Washington 26
Monday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl
At Honolulu
SMU 43, Fresno State 10
Wednesday, Dec. 26
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
At Detroit
Central Michigan 24, Western Kentucky 21
Thursday, Dec. 27
Military Bowl
At Washington
San Jose State 29, Bowling Green 20
Belk Bowl
At Charlotte, N.C.
Cincinnati 48, Duke 34
Holiday Bowl
At San Diego
Baylor 49, UCLA 26
Friday, Dec. 28
Independence Bowl
At Shreveport, La.
Ohio 45, Louisiana-Monroe 14
Russell Athletic Bowl
At Orlando, Fla.
Virginia Tech 13, Rutgers 10, OT
Meineke Car Care Bowl
At Houston
Texas Tech 34, Minnesota 31
Saturday, Dec. 29
Armed Forces Bowl
At Fort Worth, Texas
Rice 33, Air Force 14
Pinstripe Bowl
At New York
Syracuse 38, West Virginia 14
Fight Hunger Bowl
At San Francisco
Arizona State 62, Navy 28
Alamo Bowl
At San Antonio
Texas 31, Oregon State 27
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
At Tempe, Ariz.
Michigan State 17, TCU 16
Monday, Dec. 31
Music City Bowl
At Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt 38, N.C. State 24
Sun Bowl
At El Paso, Texas
Georgia Tech 21, Southern Cal 7
Liberty Bowl
At Memphis, Tenn.
Tulsa 31, Iowa State 17
Chick-fil-A Bowl
At Atlanta
Clemson 25, LSU 24
Tuesday, Jan. 1
Heart of Dallas Bowl
At Dallas
Oklahoma State 58, Purdue 14
Gator Bowl
At Jacksonville, Fla.
Northwestern 34, Mississippi State 20
Capital One Bowl
At Orlando, Fla.
Georgia 45, Nebraska 31
Outback Bowl
At Tampa, Fla.
South Carolina 33, Michigan 28
Rose Bowl
At Pasadena, Calif.
Stanford 20, Wisconsin 14
Orange Bowl
At Miami
Florida State 31, Northern Illinois 10
Wednesday, Jan. 2
Sugar Bowl
At New Orleans
Louisville 33, Florida 23
Thursday, Jan. 3
Fiesta Bowl
At Glendale, Ariz.
Oregon 35, Kansas State 17
Friday, Jan. 4
Cotton Bowl
At Arlington, Texas
Texas A&M 41, Oklahoma 13
Saturday, Jan. 5
BBVA Compass Bowl
At Birmingham, Ala.
Mississippi 38, Pittsburgh 17
Sunday, Jan. 6
GoDaddy.com Bowl
At Mobile, Ala.
Arkansas State 17, Kent State 13
Monday, Jan. 7
BCS National Championship
At Miami
Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14
Saturday, Jan. 19
RAYCOM College Football All-Star Classic
Stars vs. Stripes, noon (CBSSN)
East-West Shrine Classic
East vs. West, 1 p.m. (NFLN)
Saturday, Jan. 26
Senior Bowl
North vs. South, 1 p.m. (NFLN)
2012-13 Final Conference Bowl Records
ConferenceW L Pct.
Western Athletic 2 0 1.000
Conference USA 4 1 .800
Southeastern 6 3 .667
Atlantic Coast 4 2 .667
Big East 3 2 .600
Pac-12 4 4 .500
Sun Belt 2 2 .500
Big 12 4 5 .444
Independents 1 2 .333
Big Ten 2 5 .286
Mid-American 2 5 .286
Mountain West 1 4 .200