Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/98978
Game Preview: Alabama Just Another Day At The Office? While Notre Dame and Alabama match up fairly evenly on offense and defense, the Crimson Tide appears to have at least one intangible advantage. This will be the third time in four years Alabama head coach Nick Saban���s program is in the BCS national championship contest, while Notre Dame is playing in a BCS bowl for the first time since the 2006 campaign. Alabama���s recent experience and success on football���s biggest stage with the brightest lights could matter ��� to a degree. ���If the moment is too big for us, it���s an advantage for them,��� Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly acknowledged. ���I don���t know if the moment will be too big. We played at the [Los Angeles] Coliseum, we played at Oklahoma, we played at a great venue last year in Michigan, and at Michigan State this September.��� According to Kelly, Notre Dame is used to being constantly in the spotlight, and it���s become indigenous with the program to realize the opponent will almost always play its best game against it. Alabama won���t be any different ��� just more talented than anyone else the Irish encountered. ���What they have is a great football team,��� Kelly said. ���I���m not as concerned about [BCS inexperience] as I am making sure our team is prepared on that one day being the best team in that stadium.��� ��� Lou Somogyi Alabama head coach Nick Saban���s program is gunning for its third BCS national championship in four seasons. photo courtesy alabama