Notre Dame football: Biggest underdog matchups in the Brian Kelly era

2013 BCS National Championship Game: Alabama (-10) 42 vs. Notre Dame football 14

Despite being the unbeaten team coming into the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, the Irish were big underdogs to Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama’s only loss was a surprise to Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel, but otherwise, the Crimson Tide had dominated all season long, with four shutouts and seven games where they scored 40 or more points.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, hadn’t lost but had a bunch of close calls, including games against Purdue, BYU, Stanford, and Pitt. Alabama had also been on this stage before, while this was Notre Dame’s first time since the Lou Holtz era.

It was clear from the start that Alabama could overwhelm Notre Dame based on their strength and speed alone. They blew an elite Notre Dame defense, littered with NFL talent in the front seven, off the ball. Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te’o couldn’t do anything to help, as Eddie Lacy took what he wanted from the Irish defense.

On the day, Alabama would rush for 265 yards, while Notre Dame had 32. It was like a public school bully saw a prep school kid who wanted to play in the pick-up game, and they beat them up all game long because they could.

With the score 28-0 at the half, the game was already over.

In many ways, this is where Notre Dame’s recent perception of not being able to compete with college football’s elites comes from. Nearing a decade ago Notre Dame wasn’t able to compete with an elite Alabama team, and the perception is that nothing has changed significantly in that dynamic.