AJ MCCARRON THREW for 264 yards and four touchdowns as the University of Alabama steamrolled top-ranked Notre Dame 42-14 last night to win a second straight US collegiate American football national title.
With the victory, McCarron became the first quarterback to win back-to-back national championships.
Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban earned his fourth title overall and third in the past four seasons. The Bowl Championship Series title game triumph was the seventh in a row by a team from the Southeastern Conference.
Eddie Lacy rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown for Alabama, and also caught a touchdown pass.
T.J. Yeldon ran for 108 yards and a touchdown, and McCarron connected with Amari Cooper on two scoring passes as Alabama turned a highly anticipated match-up of two storied collegiate programmes into a rout.
Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish hadn’t surrendered a touchdown drive of more than 75 yards all season, but Alabama opened the contest with an 82-yard drive capped by Lacy’s 20-yard touchdown run.
Ahead 28-0 at halftime, the Crimson Tide stretched their lead to 35-0 in the third quarter before Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson scored on a two-yard touchdown run.
Golson completed 21-of-36 passes for 270 yards with a touchdown and an interception as the Fighting Irish were denied their first undefeated season since 1988.
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It was a bitter end to a campaign that saw Notre Dame become the first team in the Bowl Championship Series era to reach the title game after starting the season unranked.
Notre Dame entered the game averaging 202.5 rushing yards per game. But Golson, Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood combined for just 32 yards on the ground.
“Congratulations to Alabama. They were the better team today,” Notre Dame linebacker and Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te’o said.
