Alright...I waited as long as I could!

[G27]

Roll Tide!

 

Not here to talk smack, just proud of my alma mater.

[ShamGlock]

Honestly, if you had told me at the start of the year this would be the outcome I still would have taken it. Great year Irish, great game Bama.

[StPatrick]

Honestly, if you had told me at the start of the year this would be the outcome I still would have taken it. Great year Irish, great game Bama.

 

Agreed.  When I looked at the schedule pre-season, I saw 4-4 through October with a likely 7-5 finish and a semi-important bowl game, so the 12-0 regular season was MAJORLY unexpected.  I do wish the Irish would have carried themselves better, though.  The poor tackling was so unlike what they'd done up to this point that it was like watching another defense out there.  The BS calls in the 1st quarter may have made some small difference, but the way Alabama played, ND could have gotten all the calls in the world and still been beaten.

 

Nick Saban deserves a great deal of credit for the way the Tide won the game.  He built a simple run-first followed by play-action game plan based on two gambles, both of which he won.  First, he bet that Center Barrett Jones could handle ND nose guard Lewis Nix one-on-one, something no other team has tried.  Nix was doubled all year; this was the first time someone played "best on best" against him, and Jones held his own.  The handful of times he was beaten were not enough to affect the outcome of the game.  This allowed the 'Bama guards to get to the 2nd level off the snap and neutralize Manti Te'o, which they did very effectively.  At that point, the running game was good to go, which in turn opened up the play-action game.  Saban's second gamble was his correct guess regarding how Bob Diaco (ND defensive coordinator) would play his safeties.  Saban (or his OC) correctly guessed they'd be in a 2-deep look up fairly close, and also inside the hashmarks in order to support run defense.  That's how ND started the game, and the successful run game forced them to stay in that posture.  It helps that Saban knew that ND would be unwilling to bring a safety into the box, exposing their remaining 3 DBs, the defensive backfield being easily the worst part of the ND defense for the last several years.  'Bama then exploited the safeties' positions with multiple long play-action passes where their receivers ran post-corner routes, running over the top of the underneath corners to the middle of the field, then cutting a hard 45 to the sidelines, which prevented the safeties from getting over the top in a position to do anything but tackle after the catch.

 

I love ND and can't stand whoever they're playing, but the coach in me is very impressed by the simplicity of the Alabama plan and the few assumptions that needed to be proven correct for it to be effective.  It was an absolute masterpiece of game-planning.  Barrett Jones had better have gotten the game ball* - if he had been unable to handle Nix by himself, Alabama would have been on plan B after their first (likely unsuccessful) drive.  I guess if he doesn't get a game ball, he'll still be one of the first handful of OLs drafted, which is not too shabby by its own right.

 

*Seriously - this cannot be said enough - by doing what no other center had been capable of doing this year (or last year), he allowed his guards to get upfield and neutralize ND's best defensive player, along with the next closest LB or safety.  Te'o was never a factor in the game, and that was no accident.

Edited January 8, 2013 by StPatrick

[AU_88]

you are kidding yourself.

And I find it very humorous that someone flying an Auburn logo is all about Alabama, Nothing like being a fan of your own team.

No matter how bad my team is I am not selling out and rooting for a team I hate every other week,

I dislike Notre Dame just as much as I dislike Alabama. The thing I really hate is all the teams like Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Alabama who win a few games and ride their past. Notre Dame didn't even deserve to be in the same stadium as Bama. I rooted for Alabama because they will bring the championship back to the state of Alabama and bring a lot of money to the SEC. Auburn gets a piece of the pie. That's how these conference things work and our line of consecutive championships is continued. We all know what the world is about these days... $$$. Is it right, no, but it is what it is.

This discussion, and the comment you quoted, has become an SEC against Notre Dame argument. I graduated from Auburn, from a program that is in NASAs top five for hiring. Auburn may not be as good as Notre Dame academically, but I would be willing to put my degree up against yours.

I don't want to lose any possible friends, so lets get this back on topic to football and leave money and academics out. Edited January 8, 2013 by AU_88

[Patton]

Does everyone know the difference in Notre Dame and Lucky Charms?

One belongs in a bowl and the other doesn't.

[CQB Elite]

Agreed.  When I looked at the schedule pre-season, I saw 4-4 through October with a likely 7-5 finish and a semi-important bowl game, so the 12-0 regular season was MAJORLY unexpected.  I do wish the Irish would have carried themselves better, though.  The poor tackling was so unlike what they'd done up to this point that it was like watching another defense out there.  The BS calls in the 1st quarter may have made some small difference, but the way Alabama played, ND could have gotten all the calls in the world and still been beaten.
 
Nick Saban deserves a great deal of credit for the way the Tide won the game.  He built a simple run-first followed by play-action game plan based on two gambles, both of which he won.  First, he bet that Center Barrett Jones could handle ND nose guard Lewis Nix one-on-one, something no other team has tried.  Nix was doubled all year; this was the first time someone played "best on best" against him, and Jones held his own.  The handful of times he was beaten were not enough to affect the outcome of the game.  This allowed the 'Bama guards to get to the 2nd level off the snap and neutralize Manti Te'o, which they did very effectively.  At that point, the running game was good to go, which in turn opened up the play-action game.  Saban's second gamble was his correct guess regarding how Bob Diaco (ND defensive coordinator) would play his safeties.  Saban (or his OC) correctly guessed they'd be in a 2-deep look up fairly close, and also inside the hashmarks in order to support run defense.  That's how ND started the game, and the successful run game forced them to stay in that posture.  It helps that Saban knew that ND would be unwilling to bring a safety into the box, exposing their remaining 3 DBs, the defensive backfield being easily the worst part of the ND defense for the last several years.  'Bama then exploited the safeties' positions with multiple long play-action passes where their receivers ran post-corner routes, running over the top of the underneath corners to the middle of the field, then cutting a hard 45 to the sidelines, which prevented the safeties from getting over the top in a position to do anything but tackle after the catch.
 
I love ND and can't stand whoever they're playing, but the coach in me is very impressed by the simplicity of the Alabama plan and the few assumptions that needed to be proven correct for it to be effective.  It was an absolute masterpiece of game-planning.  Barrett Jones had better have gotten the game ball* - if he had been unable to handle Nix by himself, Alabama would have been on plan B after their first (likely unsuccessful) drive.  I guess if he doesn't get a game ball, he'll still be one of the first handful of OLs drafted, which is not too shabby by its own right.
 
*Seriously - this cannot be said enough - by doing what no other center had been capable of doing this year (or last year), he allowed his guards to get upfield and neutralize ND's best defensive player, along with the next closest LB or safety.  Te'o was never a factor in the game, and that was no accident.

Saban may have had a good game plan but ND had no business being in that game. In fact, the NC was decided at the end of the SEC Championship because ND couldn't have beaten UGA either. I agree that Jones is an outstanding offensive lineman but if Te'o was that talented (he did come in second in Heisman voting) then he should have been able to separate himself from an OG and make a play. In fact, most people I know that watched the game didn't even realize Te'o was in the game until late in the 3rd qtr. No one that is truly that good of a player gets neutralized the entire game.

For as good as ND's defense is supposed to be they still should have brought their offense with them to Miami. The offense they did have looked lethargic and over- whelmed & couldn't score any points til UA had put in the 3rd string defense. That put immense pressure on a LB and NG to win the game.

Let's sum up the game like this- Alabama & Notre Dame could play every day between now and St. Patrick's Day and Notre Dame would still never beat Alabama.

[StPatrick]

Saban may have had a good game plan but ND had no business being in that game. In fact, the NC was decided at the end of the SEC Championship because ND couldn't have beaten UGA either. I agree that Jones is an outstanding offensive lineman but if Te'o was that talented (he did come in second in Heisman voting) then he should have been able to separate himself from an OG and make a play. In fact, most people I know that watched the game didn't even realize Te'o was in the game until late in the 3rd qtr. No one that is truly that good of a player gets neutralized the entire game.

For as good as ND's defense is supposed to be they still should have brought their offense with them to Miami. The offense they did have looked lethargic and over- whelmed & couldn't score any points til UA had put in the 3rd string defense. That put immense pressure on a LB and NG to win the game.

Let's sum up the game like this- Alabama & Notre Dame could play every day between now and St. Patrick's Day and Notre Dame would still never beat Alabama.

 

1. regarding your assertion as to how a linebacker should separate himself from an OG, you are simply wrong.  When a man 50+ pounds your size gets to you and gets fit, you go where he wants you to go.  An LB spends the first instant of every play reading; the Bama guards were able to go upfield at the snap.  The ND LBs and Safeties (when they were low) were put under physical control by larger men just as they were starting to move to their point of attack.  Had ND played UGA, they wouldn't have even made that gamble.  Their center is just a center, where Barrett Jones has played tackle and guard.

 

2. I concede that I still can't figure out what Brian Kelly's offense was trying to accomplish.

 

3. You can talk about who deserves to be in the game all you want, but face facts - the way the system works, had OSU players not traded favors for (likely crappy) tattoos, Alabama isn't in the game at all.  Only two teams had undefeated regular seasons.  Until there is a 16 team playoff, people will argue about who should have been there and who shouldn't.

[Patton]

Amazing how the two undefeated giants did not beat a SEC team in 2012. Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M lost to SEC teams.
Once again the BCS bowl system...

[G27]

Wha???

 

http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-the-most-heartbreaking-and-inspirational-story-of-the-college-football-season-is-a-hoax

[Superposed]

Manti Te'o was just another good linebacker who found out in the championship game how it will be to play in the pros.  He had no business even being at the Heisman award show.  There are several better linebackers in the SEC than Manti.

[knox]

One quick glance at the BCS National Champions for the past 7 years will clearly show it is the SEC vs everyone else, with the SEC winning 7 straight.

 

I don't know why the SEC is stronger than every other conference, it just is.  And I don't see that changing any time soon.  Looks like TX A&M just strengthened the SEC a bit more.