Alabama won it's third national championship in four years Monday night after pounding Notre Dame 42-14. With all the drama leading up to the epic matchup of two historic football schools, it evaporated after the opening kickoff.

A clear sign of things to come, the Crimson Tide marched 82 yards down the field on only 5 plays to take a 7-0 lead. The drive was capped off with a 20 yard touchdown run by Louisiana native Eddie Lacy (pictured).Lacy led a Tide rushing attack that flourished from start to finish. As a team, Alabama churned out 265 rushing yards. Lacy led the way with 140, while T.J. Yeldon had 108. Notre Dame rushed for 32 yards.

Before the Irish fans could catch their breath, they found their team down 21-0 four seconds into the second quarter. Simply put, Bama dominated in the trenches, out of the trenches, on the sidelines, and everywhere else in Sun Life Stadium.

By the time Everett Golson scored on a 2 yard touchdown run for Notre Dame, Irish fans seemed to forcefully cheer their team, celebrating the fact they wouldn't be shutout on college football's biggest stage. Being down by double-digits early, the Irish had to throw the ball quite a bit. As a result, Golson finished with 270 yards passing and a touchdown. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron tossed 4 touchdowns on 264 yards passing.

The victory gives Alabama head coach Nick Saban his 4th National Championship (2003 [LSU], 2009, 2011, 2012), tying him with Frank Leahy and John McKay for second most all-time. Legendary Tide coach Bear Bryant is the all-time leader with 6. The win also makes Saban the first coach to win back-to-back titles in the BCS era.

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