Alabama Poised To Thwart Irish Offense

My dad is probably the most boring sports fan I’ve ever met. In baseball, he’s a Yankees fan. In college basketball, he likes UCLA. And in college football, he’s a fan of Notre Dame.

In those three sports, we’re talking about arguably the three most popular brands that exist.

Then you flip it over to me, and I’m a fan of the Rangers (in MLB) and Virginia Tech (in NCAAF), two teams that have never won anything, and, in fact, have only participated in three total championships, combined.

At this stage, I feel like I’m lightyears more deserving of one of my teams doing something truly great, because pops has already experienced what it’s like to have his team be at the top of the mountain. I don’t hate him for that; it just means I get to poke extra fun at him when his teams suck.

That said, in tonight’s final game of the 2012-2013 football season, I’ll be rooting extremely hard for Notre Dame to beat Alabama. Do I think it’s going to happen? Hell no. But as I might have another 30-40 years to see one of my favorite teams win the sport’s ultimate prize, I know my dad probably isn’t afforded the same luxury.

Notre Dame has had a remarkable season, one that I think had them pegged for only 8-9 wins. They’ve been fortunate in some (Stanford, Pittsburgh), and surprisingly dominant in upset fashion in others (Oklahoma), but none of that matters at this point, because they’re here. Or, there — however you say it.

Many have labeled this Irish unit as “A Team Of Destiny,” which is really just a cute way of saying “I don’t know how they got here; they overachieved.” That’s nice and all, but destiny is only as good as the strength of your defense, how well your redshirt freshman quarterback performs, and if any of that is even going to matter going against the most powerhouse of all powerhouse SEC schools, Alabama.

Both teams play with an exacerbating offensive style that’s slow, methodical, and run-oriented. They are equally strong upfront on their defensive lines and with their linebackers, with Alabama wielding a more talented, more athletic secondary. I have a hard time seeing how Notre Dame can consistently move the ball.

I’m expecting a relatively low scoring 1st half, maybe 7-3 or 14-10, Alabama, with the Tide rolling over Notre Dame in the 2nd half. If there were sabermetrics for football, now’s the time I would inject a little justification, but football is a man’s sport, so it’s best if I just go with my gut.

I’ve got Alabama winning 28-10.

Oh yeah, now’s the point in the article where I mention the Rangers.