2013 BCS National Championship Game The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game that took place on Monday , January 7 , 2013 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens , Florida . It featured the No . 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No . 2 Alabama Crimson Tide . The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 42 – 14 for the national championship and took home the Championship Trophy . Alabama was the defending champion and represented the Southeastern Conference , which had participated in and emerged victorious from every standalone BCS Championship Game ( since the format was introduced in the 2006 – 2007 season ) . In addition , the Southeastern Conference has never lost a BSC National Championship game to a non SEC opponent ( The 2012 BCS game was a matchup between an at - large Alabama and LSU representing the SEC as champion ) since the format ' s inception in the 1998 - 1999 season . Notre Dame did not belong to a conference and was the first independent team to play in the National Championship game since the start of the BCS . The National Championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame was anticipated as an historical matchup with a rich tradition in college football . Going into the holiday season after Alabama was assured a spot in the National Championship after beating Georgia in the SEC Championship , sportscasters from both sides weighed in on who was most likely to win . Despite the historical record of , at the time , 5 - 1 in favor of Notre Dame many sports betting centers had Alabama as a heavy favorite with point spreads favoring Alabama as high as ten points over Notre Dame . Many prominent sports writers predicted Notre Dame to win based on several factors including strong overall defense , an inconsistent Alabama team ( often cited as being " exposed " against LSU and Texas A & M ) , and various , intangibles such a destiny and generalized fatigue from the dominant performances of the Southeastern Conference . In the aftermath of an Alabama 42 to 14 victory ( with the score being 35 to 0 at one point in the game ) , the BCS National Championship game was considered by " Sports Illustrated " ' s Michael Rosenberg to have failed to live up to its hype despite dominating television ratings . Mark Schlabach of ESPN expressed the wish that a playoff system had been in place wherein Oregon or Florida would have played against Alabama . Tom Coyne of " The Huffington Post " concluded that Alabama was more talented and physical with better preparation and execution of its game plan than Notre Dame . Specifically , inconsistent tackling , blown coverages , and porous defense were cited by Aaron Ellis of " Forbes . com " as major detriments to Notre Dame ' s efforts . With the win , Alabama won their second straight BCS championship , their third championship in four years , and their ninth AP championship overall . Point spread . While Notre Dame came into the game undefeated and ranked No . 1 in the country , as of January 3 , 2013 , the point spread on the game according to leading Las Vegas casinos projected Alabama to win by between 9 . 5 and 10 points . Two billion dollars were expected to be wagered on the game . Teams . Alabama and Notre Dame met for the seventh time , first since 1987 . Prior to the game , Notre Dame led 5 - 1 - 0 in the series , which includes two games in postseason . The two teams met first in the 1973 Sugar Bowl for the 1973 season national title . The Irish defeated the Crimson Tide 24 - 23 and became the winner of the Associated Press National Championship . Alabama . During the regular season , Alabama led the nation in total defense , giving up 246 . 00 yards per game , and in rushing defense by allowing 79 . 77 yards per game . The team also led the SEC in scoring defense ( 10 . 7 points per game ) and rushing defense ( 79 . 9 yards per game ) , was second in scoring offense ( 38 . 5 points per game ) and rushing offense ( 224 . 62 yards per game ) . Key players for the Crimson Tide are quarterback A . J . McCarron , who led the nation in passing efficiency with a 173 . 08 rating ; cornerback Dee Milliner , a Nagurski Award finalist ; linebacker C . J . Mosley , a finalist in the Butkus Award ; and center Barrett Jones , the National Football Foundation Scholar - Athlete / William V . Campbell Trophy recipient and the Rimington Trophy winner . McCarron has gained 5 , 655 yards for Alabama , which include 5 , 692 passing yards and losing 37 rushing yards . Alabama averaged 224 . 6 rushing yards per game without a sack this season . Notre Dame . During the regular season , Notre Dame was the national leader in scoring defense ( 10 . 3 points per game ) and sixth in total defense ( 286 . 83 yards per game ) . Key players for the Fighting Irish are freshman quarterback Everett Golson , who passed for 2 , 135 yards for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 305 yards for five touchdowns ; senior linebacker and Heisman trophy finalist Manti Te ' o , who had 103 tackles and seven interceptions , his third - straight 100 - plus tackle season for a career 427 tackles ; defensive end Stephon Tuitt , who ranks seventh with others in sacks / game ( 1 . 00 ) and needs two sacks to become the school ' s single - season record holder ; guard Mike Golic Jr . , who helped the team averaging more than 200 yards per game in both passing and rushing ; and tight end Tyler Eifert , the John Mackey Award winner who caught 44 passes for 624 yards and four touchdowns .