"If this was a prize fight they would have called it off"

Brent Musberger couldn't have said it better after Alabama scored at one point in the second half. The Crimson Tide rolled all over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in route to their third title in four years. It's a dynasty that hasn't been seen since the Nebraska teams of the late 90's and the scary thing is that like Kirk Herbstreit said, they might only be in the middle of it.

It was over after the first quarter as Bama led 21-0 and at halftime Brian Kelly seemed to be searching for answers just like the rest of America during an interview with Heather Cox. The reality seems to be if you give Nick Saban over a month to prepare for a game then he will make sure his team is ready and they will dominate the competition. We have seen it two years in a row and there's little reason to think that it won't continue.


The SEC has won the last seven national titles and they have a choke hold on the college football scene. Has their ever been a run this impressive by one conference in any sport? It would be tough to think of one. The idea that the SEC championship is the national championship has never seemed truer. It's also never seemed more obvious that a playoff system is needed in college football.

However, don't take that last statement as a slight to Notre Dame. The Irish deserved to be in the championship game after an undefeated season and people who argue that Oregon or Kansas State should have been in the title game must remember that no matter the schedules, those teams cost themselves the chance. They didn't do what was necessary to be in the title game and Notre Dame did. That said, it's still a better idea to do a playoff and thankfully college football has one coming soon.

I would imagine the television ratings plummeted in the second half as the Tide clearly had the game wrapped up. Fans complain that there hasn't been a good national title game in a few years and while a playoff won't be fool proof it certainly will put two teams in the championship that have won their way there in a playoff fashion that we are accustomed to in America.

When the playoff system is implemented don't be surprised if these two teams go head-to-head again. Both schools bring in remarkable recruiting classes and Notre Dame is still in the process of coming back on the national scene. This year, despite the blowout, will no doubt help the recruiting as the Irish finished undefeated in the regular season and Manti Te'o finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Hate on ND or Bama all you want, but the reality is that the game is better when both of them are good. They are the traditional titans of college football and they bring in the money for the sport. Their simultaneous greatness will help the sport as times do seem tumultuous with conference realignment and other money-hungry issues dominating the headlines.

With a playoff system on the brink, we can hope that routine beatdowns in the national title game are in the rear view mirror, but with the way Alabama looked Monday night in Miami, maybe that's not a sure thing.