2013 BCS National Championship Game

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. 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 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 as 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.com expressed the wish that a playoff system had been in place wherein Oregon or Florida would have played against Alabama. 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. 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. 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.