As I feverishly attempt to edit my prediction for the BCS championship game, Alabama is looking to put this game away for good before halftime.
The No. 2 Tide had about as dominating a first quarter as it’s had all season against No. 1 Notre Dame. To put it another way, about the only thing that went the Irish’s way was time running out as Alabama bulldozed its way to within a few feet of the goal line.
Eddie Lacy already has 72 yards and a touchdown. A.J. McCarron has another score -- a short completion to Michael Williams. The Tide have been able to what it wants when it wants because of fantastic offensive line play combined with superb play-calling and execution. Everything is working for Alabama. Nothing is working for Notre Dame.
The Tide are even getting some calls to go their way too. Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert had what looked like a sideline catch ruled incomplete and official review upheld the call. Eifert looked like he had the ball, but it wiggled just enough as he pulled it in out-of-bounds that the call wasn’t able to be overturned. On the next play, a Notre Dame punt, Christion Jones bobbled the ball and the Irish recovered. However, Notre Dame was hit with a kick catching interference call that was... interesting.
The good news for Notre Dame? At least it crossed midfield. It’s going to need a lot more than that to get back in this game, though. The Irish looked stunned.
Alabama leads 21-0 in the second.