It didn’t take much searching to find the matchup everyone was talking about ahead of Alabama’s national championship game clash with Notre Dame.
How would the Crimson Tide’s offensive line fare against the vaunted front seven of the Fighting Irish?
From the opening kickoff, where Notre Dame deferred to Alabama’s offense, this was answered emphatically.
The Crimson Tide ran the ball almost at will in Monday’s 42-14 victory as Alabama’s terrifying offensive line took one last curtain call before some of them head for the NFL, paving the way for 265 rushing yards. 140 of those yards came from running back Eddie Lacy, the game’s offensive MVP.
“We knew we had to be physical up front, and we did,” guard Chance Warmack said. “It paid off tonight.”
Lacy, a junior, is expected to declare for the NFL draft as well.
What may be the last two games of his college career were most certainly his best. After playing in the shadows of Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram and Heisman finalist Trent Richardson, Lacy stepped into the spotlight and proved he deserved to be mentioned in the conversation of great Alabama running backs.
“Having that type of confidence,” right tackle D.J. Fluker said, “he’ll probably go down as one of the greatest running backs in history.”
Lacy’s road to Monday night was not the most ideal for a running back, however.
He spent much of the offseason nursing a turf toe injury that kept him out for spring practice and parts of fall camp.
Lacy opened the season still hobbled by the setback, not ever appearing 100 percent. Alabama leaned heavily on freshman T.J. Yeldon after further attrition struck the running back position with injuries to Dee Hart and Jalston Fowler.
Yeldon was more than reliable, picking up where Lacy left off, but there was still a feeling that Lacy hadn’t fully taken over like he knew he could.
Enter Monday night.
Fluker challenged Lacy before the game on the team bus as the Crimson Tide rode to Sun Life Stadium.
“I said, ‘If you can get two or three touchdowns, we’ll win the game,’” Fluker recalled. “He said, ‘All right. As long as you give me good blocking, we’re going to get it.’”
And get it they did.
His first score came on the first drive of the game. Lacy took a hand-off from quarterback AJ McCarron, gashing through the gaping hole his line had made for him, cutting around an Irish defender and sprinting 20 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
“It makes you look a whole lot better than what you really are,” tight end Michael William said about blocking for Lacy.
His second score may have been the most spectacular of his Crimson Tide career.
This time, Lacy took a screen pass from McCarron, cut up field and executed a spectacular spin, his signature move, to make two Irish defenders miss and walk into the end zone.
“That’s why he’s called circle button,” guard Chance Warmack said. “Because he makes those spin moves at crucial times.”
Once Lacy hit the circle button, Notre Dame got up and turned off the Playstation.
“I think the thing that probably I appreciate most about Eddie is Eddie has probably had to overcome a lot more adversity, have a lot more resiliency, be a little more patient,” head coach Nick Saban said. “You know, he’s had to overcome, battle a lot of injuries. But he’s never, ever lost sight of the focus, the goal of what he wanted to accomplish and what he wanted to do— continue to improve and get better.”
