Alabama Crimson Tide

1 – Alabama’s class rank. Every year that head coach Nick Saban has had a full season to recruit (since 2008), the Crimson Tide have had a top-three class. No other school has even had a top-10 class each of the past six years. Alabama received commitments from three of the top-10 running backs, plus Derrick Henry (No. 9 in ESPN 300, No. 1 Athlete), the leading rusher in high school football history.

3 – Number of Ole Miss’s recruits ranked in the top 20 of the ESPN 300. Since ESPN recruiting rankings were introduced in 2006, Ole Miss had never had a single top-20 recruit. Head coach Hugh Freeze received letters of intent from two of the top five recruits, including the top ranked player in the ESPN 300, DE Robert Nkemdiche.

7 – Number of players since November who have decommitted from USC, and all were in the ESPN 300. USC’s class was ranked No. 1 for more than three months between July and November, but now it's ranked 14th. Two of those decommits, Eldridge Massington (No. 172 in ESPN 300, No. 21 WR) and Kylie Fitts (No. 86 in ESPN 300, No. 8 DE) flipped their commitments to rival UCLA. The Bruins finished the day with the 12th-ranked class, the first time since 2006 they finished ahead of their crosstown rival.

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The final game of the 2012-13 college football season is almost upon us. After more than five weeks of preparation, Alabama and Notre Dame will meet at Sun Life Field in Miami Gardens to battle for the BCS National Championship.

In advance of the game, let's look at five key storylines for the Crimson Tide:

1. The long layoff: UA coach Nick Saban thrives under these types of game situations. When everything is on the line and he has time for extra preparation, he's nearly unbeatable. In fact, he's 7-1 in championship games and he has never lost a national title game. But the layoff was interesting in another respect, too. The time away from the football field was invaluable for three players nursing injuries. Had Barrett Jones not had a full five weeks, who knows if he'd be playing. Linebacker Denzel Devall would not have been able to participate after hurting his knee. And what about wide receiver Kenny Bell? It's a surprise the junior is even on a football field right now after breaking his leg in the Iron Bowl.

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Editor's note: Every day from now until kickoff in Miami, TideNation will break down the match-ups position-by-position. Today we'll look at the battle of the coaches.

Alabama: Coach Nick Saban has been here before. So has defensive coordinator and AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year Kirby Smart, linebackers coach Lance Thompson, defensive line coach Chris Rumph and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Simply put, Alabama's coaching staff does not lack for championship experience heading into the Jan. 7 showdown with Notre Dame.

Saban is familiar with the BCS terrain having taken Alabama to the title game in two of the last three seasons. He's won all three of these games he's played, dating back to LSU's win over Oklahoma in 2003. He knows how to handle the time off and how to manage the pressure facing his players. He also knows better than most that the championship game is not a place to try out new tricks.

"Why do you have to come up with something new?" Saban said of incorporating new wrinkles against Notre Dame with so much time off. "Lots of people do. They think they have a lot of time to practice, so we can come up with a lot of tricks and different things like that. I don't necessarily think that's the way we've done it in the past. I think you technically do what you think you need to do to be able to attack the other team, doing things your players know how to do. If you try to do too many things they don't know how to do, they have a better chance of messing them up."

Notre Dame: What Brian Kelly has done in three short years at Notre Dame is nothing short of remarkable. It wasn't that long ago that the Fighting Irish were agonizing over a pair of failed coaches in Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis. It was starting to look like the problems in South Bend were systematic, that the winning ways of Touchdown Jesus and the Golden Domers had run their course.

That, of course, was proven untrue. Kelly built his brand steadily, winning eight games in his first year and eight games the next. It all came together this season as Kelly brought what SEC fans recognize as a thoroughly Southern flair to his team. In other words, he brought smash-mouth, defensive football to another part of the country.

"I think it's very, very comparable," UA offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said. "This is as good a front seven as we've seen. They do a great job jumping in and out of their odd defense and going from an odd to a four-down front, and they've got big, physical, fast players. They run well on the back end, very well coached. They're just a really, really good defense."

Final Verdict: For all that Kelly has done, he hasn't reached the promised land yet. This is his first time on the big stage and how he handles it is still to be determined. For Saban, that question doesn't exist. He has a track record and is working on the D-word at Alabama -- a dynasty. One could go on and on about Saban, but the quality of the UA coaching staff goes beyond the head coach. Smart is one of the hottest commodities in the profession and Nussmeier is making a name for himself after helping quarterback AJ McCarron to a school-record 26 passing touchdowns this season and producing the school's first tandem of 1,000-yard tailbacks.

Mark Schlabach discusses the BCS title game with Alabama's offensive coordinator.

Mark Schlabach discusses the BCS title game with Alabama's defensive coordinator.

Flash back to Nov. 24: USC trailed Notre Dame by nine points and had just four minutes remaining to erase the deficit. USC needed a touchdown.

The Trojans had the ball at Notre Dame's 1 and had just received a new set of downs after Marqise Lee drew a second consecutive pass interference penalty in the end zone.

On first and second down, USC lined up with two tight ends and tried a quarterback sneak with Max Wittek. Notre Dame denied both attempts. On third down, the Trojans went with a handoff to Curtis McNeal. He never made it back to the line of scrimmage. On fourth down they tried play-action, but the pass fell harmlessly to the ground.

It was second time USC had failed to score a touchdown in a goal-to-go situation in the quarter and the 10th time for a Notre Dame opponent this season.

Notre Dame's defense has been great all season when it had its back to the wall. Of the nine offensive touchdowns that its defensive conceded, only five were in goal-to-go situations, the fewest among FBS teams.

The Irish did bend a few times on defense but rarely broke.

They allowed 33 percent of opponents' goal-to-go drives to end with a touchdown, tied with the 2010 Miami Hurricanes for the lowest touchdown percentage for any defense in the past eight seasons. BYU was the only opponent that scored a touchdown on all of its goal-to-go possessions against the Irish this season.

Run defense has been the key. The Irish allowed minus-5 total yards on 39 goal-to-go plays this season, the fewest yards and lowest average in the nation. Against the run, their opponents had minus-28 yards on 24 carries.

Opposing offenses were unable to gain any yards on 14 of those 24 carries (58.3 percent), the highest percentage for any FBS defense this season. Even more impressive, the Irish allowed only one rushing touchdown on a goal-to-go run. Every other team gave up at least three such touchdowns.

Notre Dame’s defense will be challenged by an Alabama offense that leads the SEC with 124 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns in goal-to-go situations.

The Tide have scored at least two goal-to-go rush touchdowns in four straight games, the second-longest active streak in the nation.

They also have had success throwing the ball in these situations: six touchdowns in 13 attempts. Yet two of AJ McCarron’s three interceptions this season were at their opponents' goal line.

(For a visual explanation of Notre Dame's red zone defense, click here.)

Mark Schlabach and Matt Fortuna look at the Notre Dame defense and how Stephon Tuitt is the key to beating Alabama.

Editor's note: Every day from now until kickoff in Miami, TideNation will break down the match-ups position-by-position. Today we'll look at the battle of the special teams.

Alabama: If there's an area Alabama improved the most dramatically from a season ago, it was on special teams in the kicking game. Cade Foster, who was maligned for much of last season for missing three field goals against LSU, showed off a much stronger leg his junior year. He made four of nine field goal attempts, including three of five from 50 or more yards. That confidence bled over to kickoffs, where he had 37 more touchbacks than a season ago. He and short-range specialist Jeremy Shelley, who made all 11 of his field goal attempts, gave Alabama a piece it had previously been missing -- a safety net when the offense couldn't punch the ball in from scoring range.

Punter Cody Mandell experienced a renaissance as well. The junior from Texas increased his yards per punt and went from two punts of 50 or more yards in 2011 to 12 this season. More importantly, he landed six more punts inside the 20-yard line.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- It’s not exactly a revelation that taking care of the ball is critical to winning any football game.

But when it comes to beating Alabama, taking it away from the Crimson Tide is a must.

Over the past four years, Alabama is a combined 48-5. In those five losses, the Crimson Tide are minus-6 in turnover margin and turned the ball over 10 times.

They had three turnovers in their only loss this season, a 29-24 setback to Texas A&M. In fact, the only one of their five losses over the last four years in which they didn’t turn it over at least two times was the 35-21 loss to South Carolina in 2010.

“It’s why we concentrate on us and playing the way we’re supposed to play,” Alabama senior center Barrett Jones said. “If we do that, then everything usually takes care of itself.”

The Crimson Tide are tied for 13^th nationally in turnover margin this season. They’ve forced 28 and lost 15 (plus-13). Notre Dame is tied for 21st. The Irish have forced 23 and lost 14 (plus-9).

During the SEC’s streak of six straight national championships, the lowest any of those teams has finished in turnover margin was Florida in 2006. The Gators were 37th nationally with 29 forced turnovers and 24 lost.

Here’s a turnover margin breakdown for the last six national champions:

• 2011 Alabama -- 20 forced and 12 lost (plus-8), tied for 23^rd
• 2010 Auburn -- 22 forced and 17 lost (plus-5), 33^rd
• 2009 Alabama -- 31 forced and 12 lost (plus-19), 4^th
• 2008 Florida -- 35 forced and 13 lost (plus-22), 2^nd
• 2007 LSU -- 36 forced and 16 lost (plus-20), 2^nd
• 2006 Florida – 29 forced and 24 lost (plus-5), 37^th

AJ McCarron and his Alabama Crimson Tide teammates broke the huddle with a fresh set of downs after T.J. Yeldon's 5-yard run on third-and-5 kept the drive alive against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship.

With 3:40 remaining and facing a 3-point deficit, Alabama lined up at Georgia's 45 with two tight ends on the line and two wide receivers set to the same side. It was the same formation the Crimson Tide had used on 20 of their 22 plays after Georgia took an 11-point lead with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.

Twenty of those 22 plays were runs that gained 167 yards and two touchdowns, including Yeldon's drive-sustaining run.

Georgia lined up defensively with one deep safety on this play, leaving one-on-one coverage on the outside for Amari Cooper.

When McCarron took the snap, he faked a handoff to Yeldon, looked left and threw the ball 43 yards in the air to Cooper, who went untouched into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

It was McCarron’s 11th touchdown pass off play-action this season and his ninth such touchdown on first down. In 2011, McCarron had a total of five touchdowns off play-action.

Alabama's running game has set up McCarron all season. He leads FBS in pass efficiency (173.1), and play action has been the key.

McCarron completes nearly 70 percent of his passes thrown after a run fake and is averaging an SEC-best 11.9 yards per attempt. He has not thrown an interception off play-action in 130 attempts, with his last one coming in last season's loss to LSU.

McCarron's average throw after a run fake travels 11.7 yards downfield, and he completes 76 percent of his deep throws that are set up by play-action. On such passes, he has eight touchdowns and no interceptions in 21 attempts.

As he was against Georgia, Cooper has been McCarron’s favorite target on those downfield throws, catching 11 of 14 passes thrown 20 yards or longer when he was the target. Eight of those receptions were off play-action, including four touchdowns.

McCarron will face a Notre Dame Fighting Irish team in the BCS Championship Game that leads the nation in scoring defense (10.3 PPG).

The Irish have given up two touchdown passes on play-action all season, tied for third fewest against an AQ team, and one touchdown on a pass thrown 20 yards or more.

On paper, it will be the biggest test that McCarron has faced this season. A passing grade could give McCarron his second straight BCS Championship, something no quarterback has accomplished.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Discover BCS National Championship stage has a homey feel to it for Alabama’s Nick Saban.

He’s going for his fourth national title in the last 10 years, counting the ring he won at LSU in 2003.

Every year he’s been here, he’s learned a little more about preparing for this game, and in particular, managing the long layoff.

There is no magic formula.

“Trying to get the kids to focus on what they need to do to play well rather than getting soaked up in the magnitude of the consequences of the game is the biggest challenge,” Saban said.

“There’s so much hype around it. It’s so easy to kind of become caught up in the whole dynamic of the importance of the game rather than focusing on what you need to do to play well. It’s always one of the things that concerns you the most.”

Junior linebacker C.J. Mosley said what has enabled Alabama to play so well in championship games under Saban is the way the Tide prepare so meticulously, yet go about their business the same way they would for a regular-season game.

Since losing to Florida in the 2008 SEC championship game, Alabama is 4-0 in championship games -- SEC title in 2009, national title in 2009, national title in 2011 and SEC title in 2012.

“We have our system down and don’t change,” Mosley said. “Nobody makes the game bigger than it is.”

Saban’s message to his players also doesn’t change.

“I always tell them, ‘I don’t want you thinking about winning a national championship. I want you thinking about what you have to do to dominate the guy you’re playing against for 60 minutes in the game and assume that that’s the best player you’ve ever played against,’” Saban said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Alabama All-American offensive guard Chance Warmack didn’t need any outside motivation.

He did just fine motivating himself.

“I always told myself that I was average,” Warmack said. “When I was in high school, I just wanted to get a scholarship. When I came to Alabama, I wanted to be All-SEC.

“There’s a big difference in being a good player and being a great player. This is Alabama. Everybody’s great here. That’s something I’m still chasing, probably something I’ll always be chasing. I like playing with a chip on my shoulder.”

Warmack, a 6-foot-3, 320-pound senior, is a textbook example of the way players develop at Alabama under Nick Saban.

Having played his high school football in Atlanta at Westlake High, Warmack wasn’t offered by Georgia until the last minute. He’d already locked in on Alabama by then and won the starting left guard job by his sophomore season.

A year ago, Warmack might have been the most underrated offensive lineman in college football. He wasn’t even a first-team All-SEC selection by the coaches.

One of his biggest fans is the guy he plays next to, senior center Barrett Jones, who just happens to be one of the most decorated offensive linemen in Alabama history.

“I’ve been trying to promote Chance for a long time,” Jones said. “It’s all going to pay off for him in April when he’s drafted about 20 picks higher than anybody else.”

Indeed, Warmack is rated by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2013 NFL draft and has established himself as the top interior offensive lineman in the college game.

“He just mashes people and is like having a big tractor clearing the way for you,” said Eddie Lacy, one of two Alabama running backs (along with freshman T.J. Yeldon) to rush for 1,000 yards this season.

It’s the first time in Alabama’s storied history that it’s had two running backs rush for 1,000 yards in the same season, and the first time it’s happened in the SEC since Darren McFadden and Felix Jones both did it at Arkansas in 2007.

“I guess we’re doing something right,” beamed Warmack, who doesn’t allow himself too many pats on the back.

Warmack’s value to the team this season has gone much deeper than just being a road-grader up front. He’s also become a more demonstrative leader.

“He doesn’t talk much. But when he does, everybody listens,” Lacy said.

Jones pulled his blocking mate aside a year ago and challenged him to be more of a leader.

“I just told him if we were going to have success that we needed him to step up and be a leader because we were losing a lot of leaders on our team,” Jones recounted. “In this past year, I’ve seen him become a whole new guy and grow and mature. He was named captain, which was really cool.”

Saban had a similar conversation with Warmack coming into this season.

“Chance has been a good player for a long time, but he was awful quiet,” Saban said. “He was one of those guys focused on doing his job. One day, I said to him, ‘This is your job, affecting other people and being a leader. You’re a senior now. That’s part of your job.’

“I don’t think he ever thought of it that way, but he’s responded like I hoped he would. Sometimes, it’s just the language with guys. They get into a comfort zone and don’t really realize how they can impact other people.”

Jones, who won the Outland Trophy in 2011, was pushing hard for Warmack to win the award this season as college football’s top interior lineman. When the three finalists were announced, Warmack wasn’t one of them, and Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel ended up winning the award.

Jones won the Rimington Award as the top center in college football.

“Barrett had talked to me about how cool it would be if I won the Outland and he won the Rimington,” Warmack said. “But when you look at everything and how it turned out, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m at a great institution, a great program with great coaches and players who care.

“The most important thing to me is what’s in front of us.”

Warmack said the Notre Dame front seven will be as stiff a challenge as Alabama’s offensive line has faced all season.

“They play smashmouth football and I can’t wait,” Warmack said. “It’s an exciting feeling to play a physical opponent who really doesn’t disguise anything.”

It’s also a chance to collect a third national championship ring and make a little history along the way.

Not bad for a guy who started this unforgettable ride with very modest expectations.

“We’ve hoisted that crystal ball up twice, and I’ve seen the work that’s gone into doing that,” Warmack said. “I’ve been blessed enough to be a part of something special that will be even more special when this is all over.

“The thing I want to do is make sure we finish it off the right way.”

Editor's note: Every day from now until kickoff in Miami, TideNation will break down the match-ups position-by-position. Today we'll look at the battle of the defensive line.

Alabama: There's not a whole lot of flash to the Alabama defensive line. Jesse Williams, the formerly mohawked Monstar, doesn't lack personality and neither does the oft-grinning Damion Square. But their play on the field, as a result of coach Nick Saban's 3-4 scheme, is usually understated. Square, Williams and Co. are there to take on blocks and free up the linebackers and defensive backs to make plays.

And by that measure, Alabama's defensive line has been one of the best in college football. Take sacks and tackles for loss -- the traditional measurements -- out of the equation and look at the bigger picture: UA ranks in the top five in passing, rushing and total defense. The Crimson Tide have given up the second fewest points per game in the country, trailing only Notre Dame. Creating negative plays is nice, but winning all four downs is what matters.

Williams is the anchor of the unit at nose guard. The converted defensive lineman has held the point well this season, rotating with Brandon Ivory depending on down, distance and general fatigue. Square and Ed Stinson have served as the primary defensive ends, but Quinton Dial, Jeoffrey Pagan and D.J. Pettway have all played significant snaps. The key for the unit as a whole is size and gap discipline. All three starters come in at more than 280 pounds and have at least three years experience.

Notre Dame: The Golden Domers may operate the same 3-4 scheme as Alabama, but they get different results. Coach Brian Kelly's defense has produced a pair of stars on the defensive line in end Stephon Truitt and nose guard Louis Nix III.

"He’s a high-energy player," UA left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio said of Truitt, who comes in at 6-foot-6, 303 pounds. "He’s talented, of course, and it will be an honor to play against him."

With starting defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, Notre Dame averages 311.6 pounds across the front.

Said UA guard Chance Warmack: "They're just really physical, really big up front."

Defensive ends Sheldon Day (6-foot-2, 286 pounds) and Tony Springmann (6-foot-6, 300 pounds) figure into the rotation, along with nose guard Kona Schwenke (6-foot-4, 290 pounds).

Final Verdict: The defensive line may be one of Alabama's biggest weakness as their inability to generate a consistent pass rush has allowed quarterbacks like Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger and Johnny Manziel to run wild. Meanwhile, Notre Dame's d-line is arguably its biggest asset. Truitt, Nix and Lewis-Moore have combined for 20 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. By comparison, Alabama has 33 total sacks, 7.5 coming from Williams, Square and Stinson. While the ability to rush the passer is not the end all be all, it could be one of the keys to the outcome of the game.

Editor's note: Every day from now until kickoff in Miami, TideNation will break down the matchups position-by-position. Today we'll look at the battle of the offensive line.

Alabama: There's little doubt that Alabama has the most talented offensive line in the country. If there was, it was likely erased when the Crimson Tide bullied their way to an SEC title game record 350 yards rushing against Georgia. It was a display of just how dominant the front five can be -- D.J. Fluker bowling over defenders, Chance Warmack bursting to the next level for a key block, Barrett Jones orchestrating the action from center.

But Alabama's line hasn't been without its flaws. In the same display of dominance in Atlanta was a show of weakness. In the first half, Georgia attacked the line and had good success rushing the passer. AJ McCarron was harassed and rattled early on, forcing a number of errant passes that would force offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier to turn almost exclusively to the running game.

While Georgia had one of the best pass rushers in the country in Jarvis Jones and a front seven that's arguably more athletic than Notre Dame's, the worry of a repeat exists. The Fighting Irish are balanced up front and can attack the offensive line in a number of ways. Brian Kelly's squad ranks in the top 25 in passing defense, rushing defense, sacks and red zone defense.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish might not have Barrett Jones, but they have the next best thing in Braxston Cave. The 6-foot-3, 304-pound senior was a candidate for the Outland and Lombardi awards, as well as a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, an award for the top center in the country which Jones just so happened to have won.

Notre Dame's line might not come in with the hype of Alabama's, but their effectiveness is without question. It starts with their experience as all five linemen are juniors or seniors. And all five linemen are big. The unit averages 304.4 pounds with right guard Mike Golic Jr. the smallest at a mere 295 pounds.

"They're a pretty good group," UA defensive end Damion Square said. "The center is a big, physical guy. All those guys have great size on them, great height. They protect (quarterback Everett Golson) back there pretty well. It's definitely a game we're going to have to strap it up and come to play. It's power football."

Final Verdict: Fawn over the skill players and pass rushers all you want, but this game will be decided by what happens in the trenches. Both Alabama and Notre Dame are built on the simple premise that if you win the line of scrimmage, you'll likely win the game. And while both schools have big, powerful offensive lines, there's none more overwhelming and physical than Alabama's. When Jones, Warmack and Fluker get going, there's no stopping them. Every coach that has witnessed the Bama o-line has come away with the same impression. Said Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze: "That’s why they are where they’re ranked now and why they’re in the national championship hunt."