2013 BCS National Championship Game

The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game that took place on Monday, January 7, 2013 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It featured the No. 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 42–14 for the national championship and took home the Championship Trophy.

Alabama was the defending champion and represented the Southeastern Conference, which had participated in and emerged victorious from every standalone BCS Championship Game (since the format was introduced in the 2006–2007 season). In addition, the Southeastern Conference has never lost a BSC National Championship game to a non SEC opponent (The 2012 BCS game was a matchup between an at-large Alabama and LSU representing the SEC as champion) since the format's inception in the 1998-1999 season. Notre Dame did not belong to a conference and was the first independent team to play in the National Championship game since the start of the BCS.

The National Championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame was anticipated as an historical matchup with a rich tradition in college football. Going into the holiday season after Alabama was assured a spot in the National Championship after beating Georgia in the SEC Championship, sportscasters from both sides weighed in on who was most likely to win. Despite the historical record of, at the time, 5-1 in favor of Notre Dame many sports betting centers had Alabama as a heavy favorite with point spreads favoring Alabama as high as ten points over Notre Dame. Many prominent sports writers predicted Notre Dame to win based on several factors including strong overall defense, an inconsistent Alabama team (often cited as being "exposed" against LSU and Texas A&M), and various, intangibles such a destiny and generalized fatigue from the dominant performances of the Southeastern Conference.

In the aftermath of an Alabama 42 to 14 victory (with the score being 35 to 0 at one point in the game), the BCS National Championship game was considered by Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg to have failed to live up to its hype despite dominating television ratings. Mark Schlabach of ESPN expressed the wish that a playoff system had been in place wherein Oregon or Florida would have played against Alabama. Tom Coyne of The Huffington Post concluded that Alabama was more talented and physical with better preparation and execution of its game plan than Notre Dame. Specifically, inconsistent tackling, blown coverages, and porous defense were cited by Aaron Ellis of Forbes.com as major detriments to Notre Dame's efforts.

With the win, Alabama won their second straight BCS championship, their third championship in four years, and their ninth AP championship overall.

Point spread
While Notre Dame came into the game undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, as of January 3, 2013, the point spread on the game according to leading Las Vegas casinos projected Alabama to win by between 9.5 and 10 points. Two billion dollars were expected to be wagered on the game.

Teams
Alabama and Notre Dame met for the seventh time, first since 1987. Prior to the game, Notre Dame led 5-1-0 in the series, which includes two games in postseason. The two teams met first in the 1973 Sugar Bowl for the 1973 season national title. The Irish defeated the Crimson Tide 24-23 and became the winner of the Associated Press National Championship.

Alabama
During the regular season, Alabama led the nation in total defense, giving up 246.00 yards per game, and in rushing defense by allowing 79.77 yards per game. The team also led the SEC in scoring defense (10.7 points per game) and rushing defense (79.9 yards per game), was second in scoring offense (38.5 points per game) and rushing offense (224.62 yards per game). Key players for the Crimson Tide are quarterback A.J. McCarron, who led the nation in passing efficiency with a 173.08 rating; cornerback Dee Milliner, a Nagurski Award finalist; linebacker C.J. Mosley, a finalist in the Butkus Award; and center Barrett Jones, the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete/William V. Campbell Trophy recipient and the Rimington Trophy winner. McCarron has gained 5,655 yards for Alabama, which include 5,692 passing yards and losing 37 rushing yards. Alabama averaged 224.6 rushing yards per game without a sack this season.

Notre Dame
During the regular season, Notre Dame was the national leader in scoring defense (10.3 points per game) and sixth in total defense (286.83 yards per game). Key players for the Fighting Irish are freshman quarterback Everett Golson, who passed for 2,135 yards for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 305 yards for five touchdowns; senior linebacker and Heisman trophy finalist Manti Te'o, who had 103 tackles and seven interceptions, his third-straight 100-plus tackle season for a career 427 tackles; defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who ranks seventh with others in sacks/game (1.00) and needs two sacks to become the school's single-season record holder; guard Mike Golic Jr., who helped the team averaging more than 200 yards per game in both passing and rushing; and tight end Tyler Eifert, the John Mackey Award winner who caught 44 passes for 624 yards and four touchdowns.