For the past week-and-a-half, Notre Dame has wondered how it can beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl and College Football Playoff Semifinal. A good start would be to exploit two of its obvious strengths over the Crimson Tide, which are defending on third downs and keeping the ball for as long as possible. The Irish also can boast being significantly more disciplined and having a slightly better defense, both of which were Tide advantages the last time these teams met. Sometimes, you just have to go with the obvious to pull out a victory.
Whatever level of football you’re talking about these days, the very best teams always have strong offenses, and that’s the Tide in a nutshell. Not only is it very good in general, but it’s timely in picking up first and converting on both third downs and in the red zone. It doesn’t matter how well that plays because the offense has the ability to bail it out if it somehow falls short. Quite simply, this is a team that can beat you in a lot of different ways, and it’s why few expect it not to go all the way.