The quick turnaround from Championship weekend to the College Football Playoffs and the subsequent matchup for Notre Dame against Alabama has many of us thinking about their last matchup in 2012. The Crimson Tide handled the Irish to a tune of 42-14, a mark that many Notre Dame fans want to forget.
In the eight years since their last meeting, both sides have made changes. Alabama and Nick Saban used to rely on a devastating defense and a ground-and-pound offense. They’re now a vertical passing offense with a much more athletic defense. The Irish have changed as well, but will it be enough to make a difference this time around?
The South Bend Tribune’s Eric Hansen looked into if the Irish have closed the gap between them and the Tide, and it seems like no school has been able to do it. Hansen noted that the Tide have added championships in 2015 and 2017 since their beating of Notre Dame, with their recruiting making the biggest difference.
Saban continually signs big time prospects, 75 Rivals top 100 players in the time frame since their last meeting, while Kelly has signed just 25. For context, the other two playoff participants, Ohio State and Clemson, have signed 66 and 40 respectively.
Recruiting isn’t an exact science, but it’s a good judge of the kind of talent a team possess. What this shows is that Alabama continues to widen the gap between themselves and the rest of the nation.
But they aren’t unbeatable. Any team that expects compete with the Tide will have to bring their A-game, A+ in fact.
It’s not all about recruiting however, it’s also about developing that talent, something that Notre Dame can hang their hat on. Yes, they haven’t been bringing in the top 100 guys like the other three CFP schools, but what they have done is develop at a high level.
Hansen singles out the latest Butkus Award winner, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramaoh, a signing day flip who was a 3-star out of Virginia. He goes on to note that “Oklahoma and Notre Dame are the two schools that are producing well above their recruiting grades,” a sign that Kelly has been able to take the lower rated players and coach them up.
This year the Irish have been playing above their “recruiting rankings” due to sticking to a very solid game-plan, controlling the ball. They’ll need to get back to their ways after it failed them against Clemson in the ACC Championship game. If an upset against Alabama is in the cards, the Irish will need to keep the Tide’s uber-talented offense on the sidelines.
There is a difference between the two programs since their last meeting on the field. The question still remains, will it be enough for an Irish upset?