2013 BCS National Championship Game

2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game
BCS Bowl 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
APCoachesBCS
222
APCoachesBCS
111
1234 Total
Alabama 141477 42
Notre Dame 0077 14
DateJanuary 7, 2013
Season2012
StadiumSun Life Stadium
LocationMiami Gardens, Florida
MVPOffense: Eddie Lacy (RB, Alabama)
Defense: C. J. Mosley (LB, Alabama)
FavoriteAlabama by 10[1]
National anthemZac Brown Band
RefereeLand Clark (Pac-12)
Halftime showBand of the Fighting Irish
Million Dollar Band
Attendance80,120[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersBrent Musburger (play-by-play)
Kirk Herbstreit (analyst)
Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi (sideline)
Nielsen ratings17.5 (26.4 million viewers)[3]
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes
AnnouncersEduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega
BCS National Championship Game
 < 2012  2014 > 

The 2013 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) 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.[4][5][6] In a rematch of the 1973 Sugar Bowl, Alabama routed the Fighting Irish by a 42–14 score to repeat as national champions 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). 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[7] 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[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 by Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg to have failed to live up to its hype[14] despite dominating television ratings.[15] Mark Schlabach of ESPN expressed the wish that a playoff system had been in place wherein Oregon or Florida would have played against Alabama.[16] Tom Coyne of Associated 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 of Forbes.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 the Georgia Bulldogs in 2021 and 2022.

On November 22, 2016, Notre Dame was forced to vacate all games from the 2012 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]


Cite error: There are <ref group=n> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Bowl Schedule, Los Angeles Times, January 4, 2013
  2. ^ "2013 BCS National Championship Bowl: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish". Stat Broadcast. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  3. ^ "BCS games rise in attendance and viewership". bcsfootball.org. Bowl Championship Series. January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  4. ^ "BCS selection procedures". Bcsfootball.org. July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  5. ^ "2013 Discover BCS National Championship logo unveiled". Bcsfootball.org. January 26, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  6. ^ "BCS Group and Orange Bowl unveil 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game logo". January 26, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2012.]
  7. ^ Pennington, Bill (December 8, 2012). "Before Computer Rankings and the Superdome, There Was Notre Dame vs. Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Alabama vs Notre Dame Series History | College Football Database". Collegefootball.bz. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  9. ^ Lassan, Steven (December 3, 2012). "5 Reasons Why Alabama Will Beat Notre Dame for the National Title". AthlonSports.com. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  10. ^ OddsShark on Dec 17 2012, 9:49a + (December 17, 2012). "BCS Championship Game betting: Alabama vs. Notre Dame odds preview". SBNation.com. Retrieved April 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Notre Dame Football: Why the Irish Can Beat the SEC". Bleacher Report. December 12, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  12. ^ Lassan, Steven (December 3, 2012). "5 Reasons Why Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama for the National Title". AthlonSports.com. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  13. ^ "10 Bold Predictions for Alabama vs. Notre Dame BCS Championship Showdown". Bleacher Report. December 13, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  14. ^ Michael Rosenberg (January 7, 2013). "Alabama overmatches Notre Dame in BCS championship game joke - College Football - Michael Rosenberg - SI.com". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  15. ^ "BCS National Championship Game 2013: Epic Contest Draws Huge Television Ratings". Bleacher Report. January 8, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  16. ^ "Notre Dame couldn't hang with Alabama, highlighting why a playoff is needed - college football - ESPN". Espn.go.com. January 8, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  17. ^ Greenberg, Chris (January 8, 2013). "Notre Dame Season Loses Luster After Blowout Loss To Alabama In BCS Championship Game". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Why Was Alabama Able To Blow Out Notre Dame?". Forbes. April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  19. ^ Solomon, Michael (January 8, 2013). "BCS National Championship: Alabama vs. Notre Dame—as it happened". Guardian UK. London. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  20. ^ "Alabama routs Notre Dame, wins 3rd BCS title in last 4 years". ESPN. January 8, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  21. ^ Daniels, Tim (November 22, 2016). "Notre Dame Student Trainer Committed Academic Misconduct for 2 Football Players". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 18, 2024.