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ARLINGTON, Texas – Yes, Notre Dame has taken another boost. But you know what? Everyone too.
Everyone but maybe Clemson or the state of Ohio – and anyone who wins this college football playoff semifinal had better tie him up on January 11, or they could be the next victim of the blast. of Alabama. The 2020 Crimson Tide thresher could be so powerful that no one stands a chance against it.
The first three possessions of that transplanted playoff game were a stunning display of Alabama’s offense – it could have been a fake Rose Bowl, but the Tides are for real. They scored 21 points in 18 games, tearing the Fighting Irish apart with lethal speed and precise execution. It was Najee Harris flying, DeVonta Smith sprinting, Mac Jones distributing and Notre Dame chasing. And never catch.
Final Score: Alabama 31, Notre Dame 14. What seemed inevitable before the game became inevitable soon after kick-off.
Najee Hariss’ big day was facing an Irish defender at one point.
Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports
Alabama needed seven plays to make 79 yards for its first touchdown, never once on a third down and only twice on a second down. His next possession was a 97-yard slash through the Irish in just five games, highlighted by Harris shrugging Notre Dame cornerback Nick McCloud on a 53-yard rush. “It’s what he does on a regular basis,” Harris said.
This piece was emblematic of the talent gap between the two teams – the Crimson Tide rising to a higher plane than the Irish. By the time the game was 11 minutes it was 14-0 and it was basically over.
After her second possession of the game, Notre Dame never had the ball with a chance to equalize or take the lead. Even after a long, slow drive to score a touchdown on their own, the Irish defense immediately returned another touchdown. It was a shift in speed on the outside and a shift in talent in the quarterback.
“They made the plays today,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said. “They made them on the perimeter. Their talented players showed up today, as they have done all year. We just haven’t made enough games.
Kelly was as bristly as a wire brush after the game when questions from the media hinted at Notre Dame’s repeated shortcomings in the face of elite competition. He had to know that the questions were coming and he was ready to forcefully push the first two of them away.
“The margin is not the problem,” Kelly said. “To lose is to lose. I don’t really know what the deduction is. This football team fought. And they made a few other plays on the perimeter. I don’t really know what the question is. When you lose soccer matches, you know you have a few more games to play.
“We had the opportunity. You watched the game. I watched the game. … It wasn’t about getting knocked down or not having enough players to face Alabama. … And I’m sorry if you don’t like it or the national media don’t like it, but we’ll get back to work. We will continue to recruit and we will get back to this position.
We all watched the game. And it was more than just a few pieces here and there. Alabama just have much better and much faster players at playmaker positions. Where Notre Dame barely tried to throw the ball to her pedestrian receivers, Jones was targeting the best spread in years and a whole lot. heaps of other safe athletic monsters in the open space.
“We thought we could go out and box a little better,” Kelly said of the defensive game plan. “And that didn’t happen. … We were a little hesitant. We close our feet. And you can’t do that against highly skilled players. You have to be aggressive and attack these skillful players in space. If you close your feet for a second, they’re gone.
This is what happens when the other team recruits at a higher level. Notre Dame players are good; Alabama players are better. This certainly includes the quarterback position, where Ian Book has had a very good career but had no chance to match the throws Jones is capable of making.
And so that result, combined with being beaten 34-10 by Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game, definitely says Notre Dame remains a cut below the best. But while killing the Irish might sound good for much of America, it also overlooks the bigger picture – whoever came in fourth in the college football playoff standings was going to get smoked in this game.
Kevin Jairaj / USA TODAY Sports
The first team in that four-team field was Texas A&M, and the Aggies were also blown away by Alabama. The score of that one: 52–24. Want to see a revenge for this?
Should Cincinnati feel aggrieved? Absolutely. The Bearcats deserved a lot more respect and consideration than they received from the selection committee and did well in the Peach Bowl despite losing many of their most important players. But let’s face it, does anyone think Cincinnati wouldn’t be pummeled by this Alabama team too?
Oklahoma? The Sooners were much improved at the end of the season, but losing two games – one to a Kansas State team that finished 4–6 – knocked them out of serious consideration. And it should have.
The point is, it’s still a three-team sport. It’s a serious and chronic problem that has undermined part of the national interest – far too many programs have no legitimate hope of competing for a national title, or even a playoff berth. Lack of diversity and depth creates boredom.
But in 2020, it could ultimately be a one-team sport. Alabama just might be a cut above everyone else. The Tide will be solidly favored in the National Championship game on January 11.
By then, one of the Alabama players could well win the Heisman Trophy – Smith and Jones are two of four finalists for the award, which will be presented next Tuesday. A reporter asked them if they would take time in the next few days to work on the acceptance speeches, and Jones gave an answer that was to warm Saban’s super-focused soul.
“It’s all about rat poison,” Jones said, echoing Saban’s term for media praise that can create complacency.
Jones went on to say that Alabama’s offensive goal is to “score one more point than the other team.” But honestly, it has never been so close for this group. The SEC Championship was a six-point game against Florida, but the Gators never had a realistic chance of winning after falling 18 behind at halftime. Bama’s average margin of victory was 30 points heading into this game.
Thus, the Irish surpassed the average opponent of Alabama and also exceeded the expectations of punters. It was a 20-point gap, the biggest in PSC history, and Notre Dame managed to score a late touchdown to cover that. Compared to many Fighting Irish flops in recent years it was a better performance.
That doesn’t mean it was a close and competitive game. It was not a game situation here, a game there. It was Alabama that was much better than Notre Dame, and now the Tide is one more win to roll to an undefeated national championship. Maybe they’ll finally have to sweat a close game in the final – but maybe not.
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