Stacking Up: Notre Dame Defense vs. Alabama Offense
Notre Dame is almost a three-touchdown underdog to No. 1 Alabama, and a big reason is how good the Crimson Tide have been on offense this season.
Up until the last two games, the Fighting Irish defense was arguably the best in the Power 5. To have any chance at pulling off an upset, the Notre Dame defense must be at its best.
Let's take a look at how the Notre Dame defense stacks up on paper against the Alabama offense.
Notre Dame Scoring Defense vs. Alabama Scoring Offense
Advantage: Alabama
Going into the Dec. 5 matchup against Syracuse, the Fighting Irish ranked 10th in scoring defense, 10th in total defense and 18th in yards per play. Back-to-back poor performances has dropped Notre Dame in the rankings, but for much of the season this was the unit that carried the Irish to an undefeated regular season.
Notre Dame held four offenses to single digits in points, and five opponents were held to 13 or fewer points. Notre Dame also held five of its 11 opponents to less than 300 yards of total offense.
While Notre Dame's overall red zone defense doesn't look good, the fact the Irish are so good at keeping teams out of the end zone and the overall low number of red zone trips it allowed makes this an outstanding red zone defense.
Notre Dame has been an outstanding third-down defense throughout the 2020 season, but Alabama has the nation's best third-down offense.
Alabama has scored at least 35 points in 24 straight games, and it has gone below 40 points just once in the 2020 season. Alabama moves the ball and scores on everyone, and in its two losses in 2019 the Crimson Tide still topped 40 points in each game.
Alabama ranks among the nation's best in every area, and its combination of explosiveness and efficiency makes it incredibly hard to stop.
Notre Dame Rush Defense vs. Alabama Rush Offense
Advantage: Notre Dame
Notre Dame has had back-to-back poor performances on the ground as well, but it still has a significant statistical advantage over Alabama's rush offense.
Notre Dame ranks 15th in rushing yards allowed per game, and there was a stretch that began with a 12-7 win over Louisville and ended with a 31-17 win at North Carolina in which the Irish held each opponent (six games) to less than 100 yards.
In the win over the Cardinals the Irish defense held elite running back Javian Hawkins to just 51 rushing yards. North Carolina had a pair of 1,000-yard running backs this season, but Notre Dame held the Tar Heels to just 87 rushing yards.
Notre Dame has a highly disruptive run defense, ranking 13th nationally in tackles for loss per game.
Alabama ran the ball much better in the second half of the season than it did the first half. The Tide were held to less than 150 yards on the ground in three of its first four games but just once in the final seven.
Alabama averaged 207.5 rushing yards in its final six games after star wideout Jaylen Waddle went down with a season-ending injury. The Tide were forced to be more balanced after losing Waddle, and it made the offense more efficient and effective.
Tide running back Najee Harris rushed for 1,262 yards and led the nation with 24 rushing touchdowns. The matchup of Harris against Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah - the Butkus Award winner - should be fun to watch.
A stat that could have a big impact is 332.2 to 276.0, which is the average weight of the Alabama offensive line compared to the Notre Dame defensive line.
Notre Dame Pass Defense vs. Alabama Pass Offense
Advantage: Alabama
This is by far the biggest mismatch of the game. Alabama is a truly elite pass offense that is led by a precision passer in Mac Jones and the nation's best wideout - and arguably the best offensive player - in DeVonta Smith.
Alabama's depth of weapons hasn't been as a good since it lost Waddle in the fifth game, but no one has been able to figure out how to slow down Smith without exposing itself to bad matchups in other situations.
Notre Dame's pass defense has been shaky for much of the season, and the defense benefitted from playing a lot of below average pass offenses. The Irish were impressive in holding North Carolina's high-octane offense to just 211 yards in the air, but it was shredded by Clemson in both games.
The Irish defense has also been prone to giving up big plays in the pass game this season after thriving in that department in the previous three seasons.
Notre Dame's pass rush against the Alabama pass blockers will be a very important matchup to watch.
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