2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game
15th BCS National Championship Game
Alabama Crimson Tide Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12–1) (12–0[n 1]) SEC Independent 42 14 Head coach:  Nick Saban Head coach:  Brian Kelly AP Coaches BCS 2 2 2 AP Coaches BCS 1 1 1
1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 14 14 7 7 42 Notre Dame 0 0 7 7 14
Date	January 7, 2013
Season	2012
Stadium	Sun Life Stadium
Location	Miami Gardens, Florida
MVP	Offense:Eddie Lacy (RB, Alabama) Defense:C. J. Mosley (LB, Alabama)
Favorite	Alabama by 10[1]
National anthem	Zac Brown Band
Referee	Land Clark (Pac-12)
Halftime show	Band of the Fighting Irish Million Dollar Band
Attendance	80,120[2]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Brent Musburger (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Heather Cox andTom Rinaldi (sideline)
Nielsen ratings	17.5 (26.4 million viewers)[3]
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Deportes
Announcers	Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega
BCS National Championship Game  ← 2012  2014 →

The2013 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the2013Discover BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a postseasoncollege footballbowl game that took place on Monday, January 7, 2013, atSun Life Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida. It featured the No. 1 rankedNotre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 2Alabama Crimson Tide.^[4][5][6] In a rematch of the1973 Sugar Bowl, Alabama routed the Fighting Irish by a 42–14 score to repeat as national champions and took home theChampionship Trophy.

Alabama was the defending champion and represented theSoutheastern Conference, which had participated in and emerged victorious from every standalone BCS Championship Game (since the format was introduced in the 2006–2007 season). Notre Dame did not belong to a conference and was the firstindependent 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^[7] in college football. Going into the holiday season after Alabama was assured a spot in the National Championship after beating Georgia in theSEC 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^[8] many sports betting centers had Alabama as a heavy favorite^[9][10] 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,^[11][12] an inconsistent Alabama team (often cited as being "exposed" against LSU and Texas A&M), and various intangibles such as destiny and generalized fatigue from the dominant performances of the Southeastern Conference.^[13]

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 bySports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg to have failed to live up to its hype^[14] despite dominating television ratings.^[15]Mark Schlabach ofESPN.com expressed the wish that a playoff system had been in place wherein Oregon or Florida would have played against Alabama.^[16] Tom Coyne ofAssociated Press concluded that Alabama was more talented and physical with better preparation and execution of its game plan than Notre Dame.^[17] Specifically, inconsistent tackling, blown coverages, and porous defense were cited by Aaron Ellis ofForbes.com as major detriments to Notre Dame's efforts.^[18]

With the win, Alabama won their second straight BCS championship, their third championship in four years, and their ninth AP championship overall.^[19][20] Alabama was the last team to become back-to-back champions until theGeorgia Bulldogs in 2021 and 2022.

On November 22, 2016, Notre Dame was forced to vacate all games from the2012 season, including this game, as a former student athletic trainer was revealed to have committed academic fraud by doing substantial course work for two players and impermissibly helping six others, rendering some of the players ineligible.^[21]

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.^[22]

It was the seventh meeting between Alabama and Notre Dame, but the teams' first since1987. Heading into the game, Notre Dame led the series 5-1-0, which included two bowl victories. The two teams first met in the1973 Sugar Bowl, with the Irish defeating the Crimson Tide, 24–23. Following the game,Notre Dame was voted national champions by theAssociated Press whileAlabama had been declared the champion byUPI in a poll taken prior to this Sugar Bowl contest, the last time the final U.P.I./Coaches poll was announced before the bowl games.^[23]

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.^[24] 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 were quarterbackA. J. McCarron, who led the nation in passing efficiency with a 173.08 rating; cornerbackDee Milliner, aNagurski Award finalist; linebackerC.J. Mosley, a finalist in theButkus Award; and centerBarrett Jones, theNational Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete/William V. Campbell Trophy recipient and theRimington Trophy winner. McCarron 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 allowing a sack all season.

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).^[25] Key players for the Fighting Irish were freshman quarterbackEverett Golson, who passed for 2,135 yards for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 305 yards for five touchdowns; senior linebacker and Heisman trophy finalistManti Te'o, who had 103 tackles and seven interceptions, his third-straight 100-plus tackle season for a career 427 tackles; defensive endStephon Tuitt, who ranked seventh with others in sacks/game (1.00) and needed 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 endTyler Eifert, the John Mackey Award winner who caught 44 passes for 624 yards and four touchdowns.

† = 2012 All-American

• 2012–13 NCAA football bowl games
• BCS National Championship Game
• Alabama Crimson Tide football bowl games
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish football bowl games
• American football in Florida
• Sports competitions in Miami Gardens, Florida
• 2013 in sports in Florida
• January 2013 sports events in the United States

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