Notre Dame football: 3 biggest wins all-time against Alabama

1980: Notre Dame, 7 Alabama 0

Coming into their meeting with Alabama, Notre Dame was unbeaten during the 1980 college football season. They were also coming off their worst performance all season long, a 3-3 tie against Georgia Tech that dropped them from No. 1 in the country to No. 6.

It would be Dan Devine’s last season on the sidelines for Notre Dame. Alabama, coached by the legend Bear Bryant, was No. 5 in the country despite a loss two weeks before Mississippi State. However, the Crimson Tide had won the National Championship in the previous two seasons.

The winner of the game would be in the driver’s seat to go to the Sugar Bowl, which Notre Dame eventually went to, to play Georgia. Had Notre Dame not lost to USC, it would have been a game against Georgia for the National Championship.

Alabama, at this point, had never beaten the Irish, with Bear Bryant the losing coach in three previous meetings. Bryant never would beat the Irish, not on the field, or in the 1966 polls, which he loudly lamented. 

This time, in a top-six matchup with huge postseason implications, Notre Dame and Alabama played a defensive battle. Alabama, due to injuries, was reliant on a freshman quarterback named Walter Lewis. That contributed to how forgettable the offense was, but give credit to the Notre Dame defense who had nine points in the previous four games too.

A series of exchanged fumbles gave Notre Dame the ball on Alabama’s four-yard line, setting up a Phil Carter touchdown. It would be the only scoring in the game and would lead Notre Dame to victory.

Bryant desperately wanted to beat Notre Dame, but never did, saying after the game, “I am kind of numb. I wasted an afternoon. I wasted four years. That’s how long I have known about this game.”