The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 7, 2013 at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida.
“We are very excited about coming to South Florida and I congratulate Notre Dame and Coach Kelly and his players on an undefeated season and their number one ranking,” said Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. “They are a fantastic team and it’s always a special occasion to play against Notre Dame, and especially for the national championship.”
“We are very excited about coming to South Florida and I congratulate Notre Dame and Coach Kelly and his players on an undefeated season and their number one ranking,” said Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. “They are a fantastic team and it’s always a special occasion to play against Notre Dame, and especially for the national championship.”
Alabama (12-1 overall) and Notre Dame (12-0) have met six times in their storied histories, but will be meeting for the first time since 1987. Notre Dame owns a 5-1-0 series lead over the Crimson Tide with two of the games taking place in the postseason.
The teams first met in the 1973 Sugar Bowl when the Irish won a memorable 24-23 verdict over the Crimson Tide in a game that decided that season’s national championship. The squads matched up again following the next season with Notre Dame squeaking past Alabama, 13-11, in the 1975 Orange Bowl game to cap the 1974 season. Alabama and Notre Dame met in regular season contests in 1976 (a 21-18 Notre Dame win at South Bend, Ind.), 1980 (a 7-0 Notre Dame win at Birmingham, Ala.), 1986 (a 28-10 Alabama victory in Birmingham) and 1987 (a 37-6 Notre Dame win at South Bend).
The Crimson Tide will be making its third appearance in the BCS National Championship Game in the last four seasons. Alabama defeated Texas, 37-21, in the 2010 contest played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and then defeated LSU, 21-0, in the 2012 title game played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La. Notre Dame is making its first appearance in the BCS National Championship Game.
“The opportunity to play in our second straight BCS Championship Game is special,” said linebacker C.J. Mosley. “One of the goals that we set for this team at the beginning of each season is to play for a national championship. It has not been easy this season and there are several different times we could have let the opportunity slip away, but we pulled together, fought through adversity and found a way to make it to Miami.”
“I could not be more excited about the chance to end my Alabama career playing in the BCS National Championship Game against a talented Notre Dame team,” said offensive lineman Barrett Jones. “This team has worked hard and overcame a lot for this opportunity, but we know that we have a lot of work ahead of us and a very difficult challenge.”
The Crimson Tide is making its fifth BCS bowl appearance and fourth in the last five seasons under Saban. The Crimson Tide also played in the 2009 Sugar Bowl (2008 season – a 31-17 loss to Utah), the 2010 BCS National Championship Game (2009 season – a 37-21 victory over Texas), and the 2012 BCS National Championship Game (2011 season – a 21-0 victory over LSU). Alabama also appeared in the 2000 Orange Bowl (a 35-34 loss to Michigan in overtime).
Alabama will be playing a post-season game at Sun Life Stadium in Miami for the third time in school history, with this upcoming matchup, the 2000 Orange Bowl and the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl against Colorado. Overall, this will be Alabama’s 10th bowl game appearance in the city of Miami. Prior to the 2000 Orange Bowl, Alabama also participated in the Orange Bowl Classic in 1944 (a 37-21 win over Boston College), 1953 (a 61-6 win over Syracuse), 1963 (a 17-0 win over Oklahoma), 1965 (a 21-17 loss to Texas), 1966 (a 39-28 win over Nebraska), 1972 (a 38-6 loss to Nebraska), 1975 (a 13-11 loss to Notre Dame) and the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl (a 30-25 win over Colorado).
Alabama has played in more bowl games (60, not counting one vacated appearance and including the 2013 BCS Championship Game) and earned more bowl wins (33) than any school in college football history. The Crimson Tide has posted a 33-22-3 all-time bowl record. The Crimson Tide is making its sixth consecutive bowl appearance under head coach Nick Saban and the ninth straight overall for the school. Saban is 4-1 in bowl games at Alabama, defeating LSU in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, defeating Michigan State in the 2011 Capital One Bowl, defeating Texas in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game and defeating Colorado in the 2007 Independence Bowl. The Tide’s bowl loss under Saban came in the 2009 Sugar Bowl against Utah.
Alabama Crimson Tide will play Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game on Monday January 7, 2013 at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida.
