For the most part, Notre Dame still can’t figure out how to stop Alabama’s offense in the Rose Bowl and College Football Playoff Semifinal. At least it’s been able to move the ball itself. That was expected since the Tide don’t have quite the dominant defense they’ve had in the past. But that doesn’t make trailing, 21-7, at halftime any easier.
The start of the second quarter saw the Irish’s offense pick up where it left out to end the first. Ian Book and Kyren Williams did everything in their power to move across the red zone. It appeared Book scored the Irish’s first touchdown on a short run, but he was ruled down at the 1-yard line. Facing fourth-and-goal, Book gave the ball back to Williams, who got the Irish on the board.
The Tide barely batted a eye at that, however. After picking their first first down on their next drive, they showed what they could do once again. Mac Jones completed three consecutive passes of no less than 15 yards. The last of those was his second touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, this one for 34 yards.
The Irish got the ball back and didn’t get very far, forcing a Jay Bramblett punt. Surprisingly, the Tide also had an unproductive possession that ended in a punt. Though 37 seconds remained, it was enough time for Book to run 20 yards and then hit Ben Skowronek for a 20-yard reception. Ultimately, there only was enough time for a 51-yard field-goal attempt from Jonathan Doerer, but it fell short, so the Irish aren’t in any better of spot than they were when the first quarter concluded.