January 7, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - ESPN is apologizing for some of the commentary from Brent Musburger during last night's telecast of the college football championship game, won by Alabama over Notre Dame.
As ESPN's cameras repeatedly focused on spectator Katherine Webb, who is Miss Alabama USA and the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, Musburger kept commenting about how attractive she is. He said, "Wow, I'm telling you quarterbacks: You get all the good-looking women."
ESPN has released a statement saying that the commentary "went too far" -- and that Musburger "understands that."
Meanwhile, Webb has picked up more than 140,000 new Twitter followers.
Among those who noticed Webb was Arizona Cardinals defensive end Darnell Dockett. He tweeted her his telephone number and suggested that they meet after the game. He later tweeted that he meant to message her privately.
McCarron responded after the game, telling Dockett on Twitter to "keep dreaming."
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - It might have been the hardest hit Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron absorbed all night.
With the play clock down to zero and just a few minutes before the confetti started raining down, McCarron expressed displeasure with All-America center Barrett Jones after an essentially meaningless delay of game penalty. Jones gave him a good shove, and then the Crimson Tide went back to dispatching Notre Dame 42-14 Monday night to claim the program's second straight national title and third in four years.
Both parties and coach Nick Saban dismissed the incident as no big deal.
Feisty, competitive and hardly lacking in confidence, McCarron was once again on target and well-protected in a BCS championship game.
The nation's leader in passing efficiency completed 20 of 28 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns in a game that might have even been better than his MVP performance against LSU a year ago.
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - Manti Te'o missed one tackle in the opening minutes, then another. And so began a most frustrating night for Notre Dame's defensive leader.
He was never a factor in Monday's BCS title game.
For that matter, the same could be said about the Fighting Irish.
Te'o was dominated by Alabama's offensive front all night, setting the tone for another national title for the Crimson Tide. Alabama lost the coin flip and nothing else, rolling to a one-sided 42-14 win and its third national championship in four years.
For Notre Dame, the fantasy scenario — unranked to start the season, undisputed to end it — fell apart in plenty of ways. Most notably, the Irish were just overwhelmed up front by the Tide.
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - Alabama rolled to its second consecutive BCS championship, and third in four seasons, beating No. 1 Notre Dame 42-14 in a BCS championship game that was no classic after all.
AJ McCarron threw four touchdown passes and Eddie Lacy ran for 140 yards and scored twice for the second-ranked Crimson Tide, which scored on its first three drives and cruised from there.
Alabama (13-1) became the third team to win three national titles in four seasons since polls started being used to crown champions in 1936, and the first since Nebraska from 1994-97.
Tide coach Nick Saban now has won four national championships. Only Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant, with six, has more.
The Fighting Irish (12-1) didn't score until they were down 35-0 late in the third quarter.
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MIAMI (AP) - Alabama has turned the BCS championship game into a rout.
The second-ranked Crimson Tide held a 28-0 lead over No. 1 Notre Dame early in the third quarter as Alabama tries to win its second consecutive national championship and third in four years. Eddie Lacy put the Tide ahead with a 20-yard touchdown run just 2:57 into the game before grabbing an 11-yard scoring pass from A.J. McCarron late in the first half.
McCarron threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes for the Tide.
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - One of the most anticipated BCS championship games began with Alabama getting the ball and driving it down the field for a touchdown against No. 1 Notre Dame's vaunted defense.
Sun Life Stadium was packed and raucous for the kickoff Monday night.
The Fighting Irish won the coin toss, decided to kickoff and the Crimson Tide marched down the field with ease, driving 82 yards on five plays to take a 7-0 lead on Eddie Lacy's 20-yard touchdown run up the middle with 12:03 left in the first quarter.
It was only the third rushing touchdown Notre Dame has allowed this season.
MIAMI (AP) - Which team do you like, Notre Dame or Alabama?
The battle lines are drawn for tonight's BCS Championship at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. Notre Dame, the top-ranked team with a 12-0 mark, has the distinction of being a fairly heavy underdog against 12-1 Alabama. Oddsmakers are rating the Crimson Tide about a 9-point favorite, largely based on Alabama's team speed and swarming defense.
Alabama is going for its third national championship in four years and trying to become the first school to win back-to-back BCS titles. Notre Dame is seeking its first national championship since 1988.
Notre Dame's strength is its stifling defense, which has allowed only two rushing touchdowns all season. The Crimson Tide has a pair of 1,000 yards rushers in Eddie Lacy and freshman T.J. Yeldon, who combined for 334 yards in a 32-28 victory over Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Notre Dame has surrendered only 92.4 yards per game on the ground, and just two players rushed for more than 100 yards against the Irish. LB Manti Te'o (MAN'-ty TAY'-ow) leads the team in tackles (103) and interceptions (seven).
This game matches two of the most storied programs in college grid history. The teams first met in the 1973 Sugar Bowl, a classic matchup in which Notre Dame claimed its second national title under coach Ara Parseghian with a 24-23 victory over Bear Bryant and the Crimson Tide. Their last meeting was in 1987, when Notre Dame romped to a 37-6 victory in South Bend.
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By PAUL NEWBERRY
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - Nearly four decades ago, on a dreary night in New Orleans, two titans of college football met for the first time.
It was a time of jarring social and political turmoil in America: the pain of the civil rights movement was still fresh and U.S. troops were finally home from an unpopular war in Vietnam.
Against that backdrop, Notre Dame and Alabama played for the national title in the 1973 Sugar Bowl. It was North vs. South.
The teams didn't just live up the hype, they blew it away.
The game of the year became a game for the ages - and Notre Dame won, 24-23.
On Monday night, the teams meet again, with another national title on the line.
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That's been the theme for the Irish this season: Two running backs - and sometimes three - are better than one. That approach has served Notre Dame pretty much since training camp, and the top-ranked Irish (12-0) are hoping it holds true Monday night against No. 2 Alabama (12-1).
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