As the days, hours, and minutes begin winding down, leading us to Monday night’s BCS showdown, the nation begins wondering what to do with the remaining time. Too much time on their hands has led to every theory, hypothesis and prediction under the sun involving Notre Dame v. Alabama.

LSU, Mississippi State and Florida soiling themselves in their bowls surely didn’t help. Pundits with SEC…or more accurately, Alabama…fatigue want to find any reason to believe the South’s giant of the gridiron won’t be able to do it again against the fan favorite, the Fighting Irish.

A few myths are out there that give some hope, others cause for concern. But are they legitimate? Or is it more media spin to heap more gasoline on the bonfire of interest in Alabama’s “next” game-of-the-century?

Here are just a few:

1. Myth: Notre Dame’s defense can and will stymie Alabama’s offense.
Why? Because LSU’s defense stymied the Alabama offense. But did it? Giving November 3rd’s game in Baton Rouge another look, it wasn’t LSU’s defense that took Bama to task. It was LSU’s OFFENSE that stymied the Alabama offense.

LSU held the ball an astounding 39:45, unheard of in the Nick Saban era at Alabama. Zach Mettenberger played the game of his life, a staple it seems for quarterbacks when facing the Tide. But Alabama still managed 21 points in just 20 minutes of football. Had the Bama defense gotten the Tigers off the field, Alabama’s point total could and likely would have creeped closer to its per game average.

So before drawing comparisons to LSU’s stout defense and Notre Dame’s, focus on the fact that it was LSU’s offense, not their defense, that nearly won the game for them.

2. Myth: Alabama is not a good passing offense.
In fact, Alabama is fifth in the country in yards per pass attempt (9.1 yards per attempt). Any coach in the land at any level of football would take that. The only reason AJ and company don’t throw for more yards is because they seldom throw the ball in the fourth quarter. Often with large leads, they don’t have to.

3. Myth: Alabama was “exposed” against Texas A&M.
If one watches all 12 of the Aggie games this season, you’ll quickly note that once they settled into their new scheme, they put up about a thousand points on everybody.

Except for Alabama.

Nine points in the final 45 minutes, and 29 total for the game. Manziel’s Aggies had a dang good day against the Bama defense, but nothing anywhere close to what they did from the midway point to everybody else.

Oh, and despite Lou Holtz’s idiotic, slobber-filled, on-camera rants, Everett Golson is no Johnny Manziel.

4. Myth: Alabama is vulnerable to mobile QBs.
First off, the obvious. Pretty much everyone has trouble with mobile quarterbacks, but Bama has less trouble than most. But secondly, the mobile QBs who have beaten Alabama, with Johnny Football being the exception, beat the Tide with their ARM, not their LEGS. Cam had 39 yards rushing in ’10. Tebow converted three third and goals against Bama on PASS PLAYS in ’08. Denard Robinson did jack squat.

Only Manziel ran on the Alabama defense, and even he did more with his arm than his legs (although it was close). Notre Dame’s problem is that Golson can’t throw nearly as well as Johnny Football, and can’t run nearly as well as any of the QBs just mentioned. He may have a solid game, but he certainly hasn’t proven he can beat Alabama all by himself.

5. Myth: The Alabama offense isn’t ultra-impressive.
Alabama is fourth in the country in points per play. Not too shabby. If the Tide didn’t burn clock in the second half most of the season, and if they really wanted to score in the fourth quarter, Alabama would have far more impressive totals. As it is, they are already impressive.

There are more myths out there, but the fact is, you can’t compare anyone on Alabama’s schedule, single out statistics, and point to a reason why Notre Dame will beat the Tide Monday night. Anybody can win on any given Saturday…er…Monday night, but some of the myths that’ve made their way over the airwaves are downright absurd.

But then, when it comes to myths, what would you expect in a game with leprechauns?

(Special thanks to Mike McCrary for contributing to this article.)


(Follow ITK on Twitter for Bama news, commentary and smack.)

17 thoughts on “Debunking a few myths heading into the BCS Title Game”

  2. Congratulations Aggies. Welcome to the SEC. That little exibition had to scare the shit out of NostraDamus. RTR!

  4. Fact – Southern Cal ran it down ND’s throat off tackle…even the young lady on Lead Off CBS Sports Network noticed SoCal went up and down the field in general and was not impressed with ND D

  5. Yes Irish fans this is not a Navy team you will be playing,,Please Coach Saban let the dogs loose.I have a lot of money on you.ROLL TIDE////

  6. Keep living in your dream world. You were annihilated by A&M. They got to the 10 yard line at least once and didn’t score due to a penalty.

    Notre Dame shouldn’t be a problem. Just be honest when you get beat, oh wait you are a Bamer fan, can’t be objective.

    1. Actually what a&m did to auburn was an annihalation. The interception on 4th and goal is what cost Bama game. A&M caught Bama at the right time, after the emotional LSU game. But A&M annihilated Bama? Really, you are an idiot. Bama hasn’t been ‘annihilated’ by anyone in over five years and counting. Learn the definition, and you will find that it would be a more accurate description of auburn against its biggest rivals the past two seasons.

    2. Annihilated? In the first quarter we sure were. But tell me what other team held them to 9 points in three quarter span. They caught us flat just like Utah did, not an excuse just a fact. But I think annihilated is a reach.

  7. ND scored 20 vs Purdue. Purdue gives up 29 a game. They score 22 on USC. They give up 25 a game. They only manage 21 on Boston College late in the year and they give up 30 a game. With only the exceptions of their Miami and Navy games, all their other games followed this same pattern. With each passing bowl game, some of ND’s opponents and ND’s performance against them, is looking weaker and weaker.

  8. The media cares about nothing but money. They are busting their asses trrying to make this the greatest matchup in 40 years. They are inventing things about ND that will give Bama problems. It’s all bullshit to hype the game. ND has played no one near as good as Bama or Georgia or A&M or LSU or So Carolina or Florida. Their 2 signature wins were over Stanford who lost to a Washington team LSU beat down by 39 and an Oklahoma team A&M beat down by 28. They needed the officials to steal the game from Stanford. As for Oklahoma the 17 points was bullshit. OU got to the ND 1 and the half ran out on them. It was 13-13 with 5 minutes left in the game. ND punched in a td and OU lost their composure and threw a quickk interception at their 45 which ND used to kick a field goal with. Then with 2 minutes left OU went on 4th down from their own 20 where ND took over and intentionally ran up the score with the game already out of reach. Then you have USC whi almost beat them with a frst time QB and the list gies on. If Bama plays like they did last January it will be the beatdown of the century. If ND wins it will be the upset of the century. RTR!

  9. Good point Crimson and Izzy Gould is about as corrupt as any of them. Old Izzy would lie through his teeth to be seen and heard. He is a pathetic little leech…an insignificant little man small in stature with an ego the size of Texas.

  10. i have no problem with anybody hyping the game and saying nd has a chance everybody has a chance….million to one is still a chance

  11. Hate Smurf, the Dumb Fucking ‘Tard, how did A&M annihilate Bama? Please tell!! Alabama should have won the game, but they chose to pass on 3 chances inside the 6 yd line

  12. You have to excuse the inbred tards. They have wallowed in misery for 2 years and have at keat 2 more coming before they can compete again. It’s understandable that they are fuked up, confused and miserable. Have you noticed the mas exodus of Corndog players, even the ones who won’t go in the first round. Kind of tells you what they expect next year. God forbid we fuk around and lose this game. It would be a Barnturd, Corndog and Vile fantasy come true. May as well shut down all the blogs if that happens. RTR!

  13. I have heard too much from Lou Holtz. I usually side with Mark May, but I respect Lou Holtz because he’s earned it and he’s so committed to his opinions.

    But after listening to the way he’s high on ND and their new QB in particular, I don’t like Lou Holtz at all anymore. I want to. It’s not like he’s coming off TV anytime soon. Only now I’m afraid what he’s going to sound like when he talks about Alabama after Notre Dame loses the national title game.

    Manziel made no mistakes while Alabama made eight thousand, and in week 5 of a brutal stretch during the regular season. The fact that the Tide has had more time to rest before Notre Dame than weekly-consecutive games leading up to the Texas A&M alone should be significant to anyone trying to use the TAMU game as the litmus test for how to beat Alabama.

    Want to beat Alabama? Here’s the secret exposed by A&M; play them after 4 conference opponents and two rivals, then run hurry-up and trick plays with one of the most prolific athletes in college football history, then rely on Alabama having more turnovers in your game than the entire rest of the season, and finally make sure to rely on Alabama making play-call mistakes on offense that make no sense, especially at the goal line. Success is virtually Notre Dame’s for the taking, eh?

    I don’t think Notre Dame will win. But they might. Regardless, I’ve been making a point to fans of both sides to enjoy it. This game is a gift for fans and as good a matchup as you’re going to get in the title game. Alabama vs Notre Dame, come on, it’s brilliant. Enjoy it. Savor it, because it’s literally history in the making. Roll Tide.

  14. They have now seen the yellow & the hammer!!

    ‘Yellow Hammer’

    For some reason I just like saying that – makes me feel all good inside…

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