( CNN ) -- Alabama rode the tide of a commanding halftime lead to beat Notre Dame 42 to 14 to win the BCS National Championship game at Miami Gardens , Florida . The No . 2 Crimson Tide scored on drives of 82 , 61 and 80 yards against the top-ranked and undefeated Irish in its first three drives of the game . They added a 71-yard scoring drive with 31 seconds left in the half to take a dominating 28-0 lead . By that time , despite the fact that the half of the game was yet to be played , many commenters on Twitter were jokingly wondering if Notre Dame would come out of the locker room for the second half . The Irish did , but it did not get much better for them . In fact , one of the biggest hits of the game on Alabama 's quarterback A.J . McCarron came from his own teammate Barrett Jones . The two teammates disagreed on a play call and had to call a timeout to get it cleared up . McCarron got in his lineman 's face and Jones pushed him some three yards back , a feat that Notre Dame could never do throughout the game . Notre Dame also could n't stop Alabama 's running game . Crimson Tide runners Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon both ran for more than 100 yards . Alabama has now won three national titles in the last four years , which had some calling them a dynasty . `` You can call us whatever you want but this was a total team effort , '' McCarron said after the game . Alabama coach Nick Saban did not shy away from the D- word . Saban said it was the team 's work ethic that has brought so many victories . `` Because we have a great team we have been able to have a significant amount of success , '' Saban said . The last team to win three national championships in four years was Nebraska in 1994 , 1995 , and 1997 . The '97 championship was split with Michigan . Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly said his team will learn from the loss . `` We are not there yet , '' Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said . `` Alabama showed us that in the way they played the game . We got a lot of work left to do to get back here . '' Bleacher Report coverage of the national title game .
Alabama scored on its first three drives . Tailbacks Eddie Lacy and Eddie Lacy both rush from some three yards . Notre Dame was ranked three ; Alabama was No . No.1 .