Manti Te'o Recounts 2013 National Championship Game Blowout Loss to Alabama

The 2012 Heisman Trophy runner-up from Notre Dame details how the Fighting Irish felt about the Crimson Tide even before kickoff.

Jan 7, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Manti Te'o (5) in action during the second half of the 2013 BCS Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Many college football National Championship games have had thrilling and all-time great close battles over the years, but that wasn't the case on Jan. 7, 2013.

On that night, the then-12-0 and No. 1-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell to the then-12-1 and No. 2-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide by a blowout score of 42-14 in the BCS National Championship Game.

Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, who was the runner-up for the esteemed Heisman Trophy a couple of weeks before the game, recently spoke about that night at Hard Rock Stadium against Alabama on Good Morning Football, starting with what he and his teammates saw as the Crimson Tide brushed by them and ran out of the tunnel.

"Thanks for bringing up a very dark moment in my history," Te'o said. "My (teammates) are hyped, they're getting their loud, they're doing their thing, and when I'm in Game Day mode I'm kind of just in my own little zone. Alabama's locker room door opens and they start running out. My soon-to-be teammate, D.J. Fluker, and Chance Warmack come running out of the locker room with their big bellies out and they have their fours (fingers on both hands) up. I vividly remember D.J. going by and saying 'WA-WA WA-WA.'"

"I remember the silence behind me, and I kind of glanced back at my teammates, and the eyes on them were so large. I knew at that time, I was like, 'Alright, this is going to be a long day.' To my guys' credit, they never flinched. But let me tell you guys, when we played the Alabama team in 2013, there was a difference. There was a difference with those Bama boys. Obviously, the game didn't end the way we wanted it to, we got hammered and I try to erase it from my mind."

"When we ran out of the tunnel (after Alabama) in 2013, there was definitely a pregame intimidation factor. I wasn't used to being on that end of that factor, I was used to being the intimidator. But that day was a little different."

This is the last thing that Notre Dame can remember from January 7, 2013. pic.twitter.com/b81ylQ0OYa

— Bryant-Denny Stadium (@BryantDenny_UA) August 17, 2024

As for the game itself, similar to the tunnel run-outs, Te'o and Notre Dame learned quickly that Alabama was much different than the typical college football team.

"There's a difference between a Nick Saban team during the season and a Nick Saban team that has three weeks to prepare for you," Te'o said. "I remember going into that game and hearing McCarron 'check.' It was almost like when I played Peyton Manning, he was checking every single play based on our front. I kind of figured it out by the end of the third quarter, but by then the game was already over."

Te'o explained that he knew Alabama would run an outside or inside zone and that Notre Dame ran a 4-3 defense with a zero technique, as the nose guard was right in front of the center. The Fighting Irish also had two four techniques where Stephon Tuitt and Kapron Lewis-Moore were opposite Alabama's tackles. This formation worked throughout the season but it was "different" against the Crimson Tide.

"Alabama had a first-round pick named Chance Warmack, who went to Tennessee, who was their guard," Te'o said. "Behind him was Eddie Lacy, who went to the Green Bay Packers. TJ Yeldon was the one who would come in and spare him. So it was literally an Oklahoma drill for 60 minutes. It was not fun with that."

Nevertheless, Te'o was still "proud" of his team that night "because they didn't flinch." That said, the aforementioned AJ McCarron recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to verify this but also said something a bit surprising.

"He is RIGHT about that," McCarron wrote. "They never flinched or even got started. They stayed completely still, while we came flying off the starting line. Manti was one hell of a player and ND had some great players. I'm not bashing them but that Notre Dame team as a whole was WEAK."

While McCarron's words were relatively mild, the same can't exactly be said for former Alabama defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix's.

"We want all the smoke!!!! It was really your fault!! I won’t get into details though. #ROLLTIDEROLL," Clinton-Dix posted on X.