FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It hasn’t always been pretty this season, but they get the job done.

The 2012 Alabama defense has been overshadowed by the offense during this run to the BCS National Championship, due to the loss of talent from the 2011 championship and one of the most prolific offensive seasons in Crimson Tide history.

Gone are the household names – Dont’a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick and Mark Barron to name a few.

“This group has probably been one of my most favorite to coach since I’ve been at Alabama because of the expectations,” said defensive coordinator Kirby Smart on Friday. “They didn’t have bad expectations, but a lot of the media, you guys, had bad expectations for this group. I never was worried about their competitive character.”

But this defense is a fine tuned symphony, orchestrated by Smart, with head coach Nick Saban as the overseer.

When instruments are removed due to leaving early for the NFL Draft, graduation or injury, a new part is inserted and expected to perform to the same standards set by its predecessors.

“This defense had a big chip on their shoulders because all everybody talked about was what they lost, but nobody mentioned who they had coming back,” said Chris Low, who cover the SEC for ESPN.com “They were pretty hell bent on proving that the standard defensively never changes. You might lose great players, but defensively the standard remains the same.”

The standard is consistently having one of the top defenses in the nation. The new crop of defensive standouts has Alabama ranked in the top six of every major defensive statistic – No. 1 in total defense allowing 246 yards per game, No. 1 in rushing defense allowing 79.77 yards per game at 2.46 yards per carry, No. 6 in passing defense allowing 162.23 yards per game, and No. 2 in scoring defense allowing 10.69 points per game.

But what goes into creating a culture of winning and being able to sustain a standard of excellence even when players move on?

“The most important thing is that Alabama has been so good at evaluating talent and bringing in guys who are willing to compete and wait their turn,” Low said.

The biggest example of guys “waiting their turn” is junior linebacker C.J. Mosley. Despite being an All-American and the team’s most productive player, Mosley isn’t technically a starter. He backs up senior Nico Johnson, another guy who “waited his turn” behind former Tide standouts such as Hightower and Courtney Upshaw.

Mosley leads the team with 99 tackles. He has seven tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, two pass breakups, one recovered fumble and a forced fumble. Mosley’s three career interception returns for touchdowns also tie an Alabama record.

Mosley is one of many Tide players who have sacrificed personal statistics and accolades. That comes from Saban, Smart and the other coaches who have emphasized process over results.

The two of them combine for a dynamic duo of creating schemes and recruiting talent. But not just any talent. It has to be talent that fits a certain criteria the team uses to ensure it is getting high character athletes.

Smart is one of the most sought after coordinators at the college level and NFL franchises have come knocking at Saban’s door in attempt to bring the three-time national championship coach back to the league. The two show no signs of leaving or slowing down anytime soon.

“It helps to have Saban and Smart, that combo,” Low said. “I just don’t see with those two guys being there, them ever being bad on defense.”

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Sitting on the sidelines of the field that will host their titanic matchup in just two days’ time, Irish coach Brian Kelly and Alabama coach Nick Saban held court in front of hordes of reporters today at the BCS National Championship Game media day. Each swatted away NFL rumors and talk of his own place in history, instead preferring to talk about the players surrounding them and the dynamics of the game ahead.

Saban, sitting on the field on which he coached the Miami Dolphins for two seasons, emphatically denied he might return to the NFL with six head coaching vacancies still open.

“I don’t have any unfinished business in the NFL,” he said. “I want to be a college coach. I’m not looking for new challenges.

“I know myself. I know the best path for me … [My family is] happy with the path that we’re on, so there’s really nothing to talk about.”

A short while later, Kelly — who has spent his entire career in collegiate athletics — said he had no intention of coaching anywhere but Notre Dame.

“When I took the job at Notre Dame, I think I said it was a dream job. But I never went around day to day anything about being the Notre Dame head coach, because the job that I had in hand was what I was thinking about,” he said. “I think that’s the same thing with the NFL. I think from my perspective I’ve got the best job in the country, NFL, college, high school, whatever. I just look at the place that I’m at and thankful for the opportunity that I have.”

Kelly said he was not aware if any serious offers had been made.

“If that did occur, then all that stuff is secondary to this football game. My focus — this is the biggest game that I’ve ever been involved in, so my focus is 100 percent on this football game,” he said. “It’s flattering if there is interest, which I don’t know that there is, but again, that is such a secondary topic for me right now, it’s all about this game.”

Both coaches said history would have no bearing on how they motivate their respective squads.

“As we get into Monday night we’re going to play the game the way we’ve played it all year. We’re going to play fast, we’re going to play aggressive because we don’t carry all those perceived burdens,” Kelly said. “They’re 18 to 21 year olds, they have no idea what that history means. We do, our fan base certainly does, but what I’ve tried hard to do is let our kids go play the game and let their actions speak, and not let all of this outside perceived pressure for the entire Notre Dame nation to weigh heavily on them.”

Saban dismissed the idea that another national title — which would be his third in four years — would put him in the same league as legendary Crimson Tide coach Bear Bryant.

“I don’t think it would be fair at all to Bear Bryant and the tradition that he created and the standard of excellence that he sustained for years and years and years,” he said. “There’s no one that I know that I would say should be even spoken of in the same sort of circumstance at all.”

Saban refused to use the word “dynasty” and said just two days after winning last year’s national title, he met with the 2012 squad and set a new challenge for them.

“The first thing I said to this team was, ‘you guys are not the national champions,’” he said. “’Some of you played on the national championship team, but the challenges that this team has are all in front of you … and what you did last year is not going to have any impact or effect on what you do next year.”

Kelly, however, said Saban had created a consistently successful program he hoped to emulate.

“We’re talking about historic success,” he said. “I’ve said this a number of times, your program is defined in consistency, and Alabama is that model. I concede to that. It’s where we want to be.”

With the countdown to kickoff ticking ever closer to zero, Kelly said he and his squad were anxious for kickoff.

“When you get a chance to go before the media at the venue, it finally hits you that it’s getting close. It’s been a long journey to get to this point for us. Certainly we’re excited to be here. But more importantly, we’re here to win a football game, “he said. “Our kids have enjoyed Miami. … But you can sense and you can feel that they’re ready to play, and I know as a football team we’ll be ready to play Monday night.”

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ole Miss returned to postseason play for the first time since 2010. In front of a BBVA Compass Bowl-record 59,135 fans, the Rebels cruised to a 38-17 win over Pittsburgh to finish the season 7-6, the program’s first winning season since 2009.

It was the program’s fifth-straight bowl win, which is the nation’s longest bowl winning streak, and 22nd overall, which is the 11th-most in the nation all-time.

Ole Miss jumped out early after sophomore cornerback Senquez Golson intercepted Pittsburgh’s Tino Sunseri on the first drive of the game

That interception set the Ole Miss offense up at the Pittsburgh 23-yard line, and sophomore quarterback Bo Wallace hit junior wide receiver Ja-Mes Logan from 14 yards out to put the Rebels up 7-0 early.

On his eighth-straight completion to start the game, Wallace connected with senior Randall Mackey for a 27-yard touchdown. In the second quarter, Wallace threw two bad interceptions, the second of which set up a touchdown for the Panthers to draw within a touchdown.

Ole Miss answered back wtih a 5-play, 48-yard drive, which took only 1:03, capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Wallace to sophomore wide receiver Vince Sanders to push the lead to 21-7.

Both the Rebels and Panthers added field goal late in the second quarter to bring the halftime score to 24-10, which tied the BBVA Compass Bowl for points in a half.

The third quarter failed to produce much action until late. Both teams failed to create many attempts except a 44-yard missed field goal by senior kicker Bryson Rose on the first drive of the half.

However, the Rebels got things on track with four minutes left in the quarter. Ole Miss put together a 10-play, 48-yard drive, which included a fouth-down conversion and capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Barry Brunetti to take a three-touchdown lead into the final quarter.

With nine minutes left in the game, freshman running back I’Tavius Mathers sealed the victory for Ole Miss with a 62-yard touchdown run, a BBVA Compass Bowl record for his first career score.

The Panthers scored a late touchdown, but it was too little too late, at the two minute mark and the Rebels wrapped up a 38-17 win.

Wallace was named the BBVA Compass Bowl MVP. He finished the game 22-of-32 passing for 151 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Mathers led the way on the ground with 96 yards on six carries, followed by fellow freshman Jaylen Walton with 56 yards on 10 carries. Logan and sophomore wide receiver Donte Moncrief were Wallace’s favorite targets finding them both six times for 36 and 31 yards, respectively.

Defensively, junior linebacker Mike Marry made plays all over the field, finishing the game with seven total tackles, including four for loss, and a sack.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The day Notre Dame fans have been anticipating for 45 days — or 24 years, depending on how you count it up — is finally about to unfold.

No more hype. Just football. By now, Notre Dame fans know intimately those players and coaches who will run out of the tunnel onto the pristine turf of Sun Life Stadium on Monday night.

But they know one player intimately enough to understand that Manti Te’o carries a special weight on his shoulders. The senior linebacker and captain, who has earned a relationship on a first-name basis with Notre Dame nation is playing to cap a personal journey unlike any other.

And if he wins, he will be mentioned with few equals in the annals of Notre Dame history.

“Manti Te’o, what he’s done for us off the field is probably as important as what he’s done on the field,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said in a press conference Sunday. “He’s gotten incredible accolades and awards for what he’s done on the field, but his leadership was in a large degree why we’re here, as well.”

2012 has been a year of tests for Te’o, and they arrived in waves that came almost weekly. But this is his biggest test. He and his teammates will be physically tested and punished by a bruising and relentless Alabama offensive front, and in order to walk off the field victorious Te’o has to win his own battles and lift those around him.

He’s been doing it all season, so what better way for the player who has already built a legendary resume to end his college career?

“Yeah, I think when you go against a team like Alabama, we understand

that they’re the king of the hill.  They’ve been there, they’ve done that, they obviously have been so dominant the past couple years and this season, as well,” Te’o said. “So we understand who we’re going up against.  Like I said, what better way to finish this year but to play in the biggest game in college football and to be going against the best team in college football, and that’s Alabama.”

As Te’o compiled his impressive resume and heaped on accomplishment after accomplishment, many spoke in hushed tones of the implications of the linebacker’s play in historical context: What if he led Notre Dame to an undefeated season? To the national championship? Would that make him one of the all-time greats?

There’s no need for hushed tones anymore — any unanswered questions will be answered between the white lines against Alabama on Monday night. It’s cut and dry — Notre Dame’s senior leader stands to become the latest in a handful of University legends that need no introduction or pretense. The Four Horsemen, Rockne, The Gipper, Hornung and Montana — Manti would belong on that list.

Win or lose, the Notre Dame faithful will be witnessing the final game of a student-athlete who will decades from now be cited as one of, if not the main reason for the on-the-field turnaround in the Notre Dame football program. His final chapter seems ripped straight from a storybook, as he attempts to finally become a champion by defeating the ultimate power in the sport. Regardless of Monday night’s outcome, Te’o’s impact will live on for Irish faithful once the lights dim at Sun Life Stadium.

“At Notre Dame I hope my legacy is just a guy who gave Notre Dame his all, a guy who really committed himself to the school, and I really feel fortunate to play under the Golden Dome and receive an education there,” Te’o said. “Just one who really gave everything he had.”

That legacy already cemented, he will head out of the tunnel tomorrow night to try and bring home a final, unthinkable victory.

After Arizona’s improbable 92-83 overtime win against Colorado (10-3, 0-1 Pac-12) at McKale Center on Thursday night, Arizona’s Kevin Parrom sat alongside Mark Lyons and Nick Johnson for a post-game press conference.

One reporter asked Parrom about, after a winning a game where Arizona trailed by as many as 17 points and by 10 or more for most of it, if he felt something special brewing with this No. 3 Wildcats (13-0, 1-0) squad, which is officially to its best start in 80 years.

Parrom took a deep breath.

“Oh man,” he said. “I’m still trying to catch my breath from the game. I’m in shock.”

And understandably so.

With 4:13 left in the game after a layup from Colorado’s Sabatino Chen, the Wildcats trailed by 10 points at 68-58, and by 10 or more for 20:18 of the 40 minute regulation.

In the next 3:55, Lyons scored 10 points and Arizona outscored the Buffs 20-12, bringing the game back to within two points. Lyons finished with a game-high 24 points.

After a Lyons lay-up, Arizona fouled Colorado’s little-used guard Jeremy Adams.

The crowd was on their feet, and was as raucous as anything Johnson, a sophomore, had ever seen at McKale.

“I’ve never heard it like that,” Johnson said.

Adams missed both free throws, and Colorado fouled Lyons. Putting him at the line with a chance to tie the game and 9.2 seconds on the clock. Which he did, nailing two free throws to knot the game up at 80. It was the first time Arizona was locked up with the Buffs since the score was 6-6 early in the first half.

So, Colorado had another 9.2 seconds to put the now tightly-contested game away. Spencer Dinwiddie brought the ball up the court, and passed it to Chen, who had nowhere to go with the ball and forced up a contested 3-point jumper.

“We denied everybody, so I knew he had to shoot that,” Lyons said.

In theory, Chen might have been the one player Arizona wanted to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line. The senior guard entered the game scoring 4.1 points per game and had made just two of his last 22 3-point attempts dating back to last season.

Well, he banked this one in as time expired, along with two others in scoring a career-high 15 points.

“He looked like Reggie Miller tonight,” Miller said.

Colorado rejoiced. Game over…or not.

After a few minutes of review, the officials controversially ruled that Chen didn’t get the shot off in time, bringing the game to overtime.

“It could have gone either way,” Miller said.

As the officials were reviewing the play, Miller huddled the Wildcats up despite the initial ruling that the shot was good.

“I was sending officials a subliminal message,” Miller said with a smirk. “That I knew the shot was no good. It was all an act.”

There was not a doubt in Lyons’ mind that Arizona would pull the game out from there.

“Everybody in the gym knew that,” said Lyons, who scored five points in the extra period. “If you’re the home team and you rally back and push it to overtime, it’s usually gonna be in your favor.”

Added Parrom: “…once we went into overtime I knew it was our game. When the [regulation] was over, I looked at Mark and he looked at me. We said this was our game.”

Arizona outscored Colorado 12-3 in overtime and improved its record to 24-11 in Pac-12 openers.

Parrom contributed five points in overtime and paced the Wildcats bench with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Despite the unthinkable comeback, Arizona’s struggles for the first 36 minutes of the game didn’t go un-noticed by Miller.

In the first half, Arizona shot 7-of-27 from the field and 3-of-11 from long range, and it’s early-season struggles defending the three were prevalent, as Colorado made 6-of-9 in the first half and 10-of-21 in the game.

Askia Booker led the Buffs with 18 points on 5-of-17 shooting, and Josh Scott added 15 points. Arizona held Andre Roberson to nine points on 3-of-7 shooting.

“We didn’t execute,” Miller said. “For me to say it was all us is not giving Colorado respect, they are a very good defensive team.”

“We would have gotten what we would’ve deserved if we would have lost,” he added.

For the game, Arizona shot 28-of-65, 8-of-23 from beyond the arc, and had six players score in double figures, including 15 from Solomon Hill, 12 from Johnson and 10 from both Tarczewski and Grant Jerrett.

Arizona will continue its Pac-12 slate against Utah on Saturday at 3 p.m. in McKale Center.

NEW ORLEANS— Linebacker Daniel Brown doused coach Charlie Strong with a cooler of yellow Gatorade as quarterback Teddy Bridgewater jumped with the winning football in hand once the clock hit triple zeros.

Chants of “Teddy” filled the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Confetti fell from the ceiling as Bridgewater reveled in the victory.

He arrived in New Orleans as a beloved figure in Louisville, but will leave The Big Easy as a Sugar Bowl most valuable player and an emerging superstar.

The sophomore quarterback from Miami, Fla., carried No. 22 Louisville (11-2, 5-2) to their first-ever BCS bowl victory and validated his coach’s decision to stay at the burgeoning program instead of taking over a higher-profile team.

Bridgewater dominated the nation’s fifth-ranked defense with 226 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Florida’s defenders, with supposed “Southeastern Conference” speed, looked a step too slow against Bridgewater and his receivers who hail from the maligned Big East.

A nearly flawless performance put the sophomore in the national spotlight.

“I wouldn’t be in this situation right now and this predicament without my teammates,” Bridgewater said. “The Heisman campaign may start, but I’m just enjoying this moment.”

No. 4 Florida (11-2, 7-2) already faced one Heisman winner in Johnny Manziel, but allowed the most passing yards Wednesday since giving up 236 yards to Missouri quarterback James Franklin on Nov. 3.

Although Bridgewater threw a harmless third-quarter interception, he took advantage of a soft secondary that couldn’t solve the quick passing attack.

“Of all the quarterbacks we played, he was the best one,” Gators defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd said. “He had the best accuracy. Manziel don’t compare to him.”

Louisville entered the game as a double-digit underdog. They lost to Connecticut and Syracuse earlier in the season and Bridgewater wasn’t 100 percent in New Orleans after dealing with a number of injuries throughout the year.

Yet, the quarterback who wears gloves on both hands and stores Bazooka bubble gum in his socks during games surprised the Gators with his complete performance.

“I didn’t think he was that good until he showed us different,” defensive tackle Dominique Easley said.

Bridgewater converted 9-for-14 third down opportunities, which include three of four from longer than 10 yards out. He went 7-for-11 passing on third down.

Florida, the nation’s 12^th-ranked third-down defense at 31 percent, couldn’t get Bridgewater off the field.

Strong almost didn’t get the opportunity to coach this game-changing quarterback who already has 23 starts and a BCS bowl victory in his two-year career.

Bridgewater, a standout at football superpower Northwestern High School, was committed to the hometown Miami Hurricanes until he switched to Louisville following the firing of former Miami coach Randy Shannon.

He exhibited toughness and restraint against Florida, especially when linebacker Jon Bostic drilled him and knocked off his helmet in the first quarter.

“I give it all to Teddy Bridgewater,” Easley said. “He is a great quarterback. He knows how to execute and take control of his team. He broke us apart. That is what happened.”

The irony in Louisville’s victory isn’t the ineptitude of the Florida passing attack, but the poor outing from the Florida defense.

Redshirt senior defensive tackle Omar Hunter found a silver lining in a game with not much to cheer about for Florida.

“Defense didn’t execute the way we wanted it to, but this team will learn from it going forward next year and will be that much better because of it,” he said.

NEW ORLEANS — Louisville wanted to be here.

The Cardinals were excited to play in the Sugar Bowl. After winning this year’s Big East Conference crown, a trip to the French Quarter was icing on a damn delicious cake.

A reward.

Louisville earned a chance to spar with a superpower from the almighty Southeastern Conference. An opportunity to shut up the annoying “S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!” chants.

For a program climbing to the top, the Cardinals seized the moment.

“I believe we made our statement for the upcoming season,” Louisville wide receiver Eli Rogers said after his squad’s dominant upset victory. “Versus a team like Florida, this means everything for our program going forward.”

The Gators didn’t want to be here.

After a magical 11-1 season, Florida watched two other one-loss SEC teams battle for the league title. Alabama and Georgia fought over a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. The Gators boasted the best resume in college football, but that wasn’t enough to earn them a shot at the national title. They were shut out.

The Sugar Bowl was a consolation prize. Nothing more.

What was in store for Florida had it proved victorious in New Orleans? They don’t make rings for 12-win seasons.

At least not the ones people remember.

When was the last time someone asked Jim Kelly to see his four AFC title rings?

Some Gators dreamed of the NFL. Others blew off curfew and partied through the night on Bourbon Street. The Sugar Bowl was nice, but Florida dreamed of Miami.

Notre Dame. The crystal football.

They didn’t care about a silly exhibition game. There was nothing more to accomplish. Their season was already over.

Why bother?

That was the Gator Nation’s attitude, too. Times are tough. The economy is bad. Why blow a lot of money to watch a football game that doesn’t even matter?

Watching the action in high definition from your couch was the preferred option, optimizing two sacred American values: cheapness and comfort.

The 54,178 fans that attended the Sugar Bowl marked the lowest turnout for this game since 1939.

Those who made the trip came to party. The Sugar Bowl was merely an excuse to ring in the New Year in style.

And they serve alcohol at bowl games, so “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” Go Gators!

Florida didn’t care about this game. Neither did its fans. Not really.

And who can blame them?

Schools like Louisville dream of the BCS. But until the Sugar Bowl becomes part of a playoff bracket in college football, don’t expect the big boys to play their hearts out.

It’s wrong. It’s lazy. You would expect a sense of pride to be at stake, but maybe that is too ideal. Maybe it is too much to ask when a system as flawed as the BCS is in place.

The Cardinals wanted to be here, and they acted like it. Good for them. They are a promising team headed in the right direction — quickly.

As for the Gators, they fell short of the ultimate prize. And no bowl victory was going to satisfy that that hunger. So why bother?

Notre Dame and Alabama. The matchup alone boasts a ring to it unlike any previous BCS National Championship Game, even the epic Texas-USC duel following the 2005 season.

The two universities are the most famous in college football lore, but which program is perched atop the sport’s pecking order?

If you simply look at how many national championships the two schools claim, you’d say Alabama. But that’s by no means an accurate measure.

First off, the Tide claim 14 and the Irish 11. Alabama, however, has taken heat from fans and college football historians for its methods of claiming championships. Essentially, any time any poll thinks Alabama is the nation’s top team, the Crimson Tide claim it. A couple examples:

Wallace Wade’s 1925 Alabama squad finished 9-0-0, but the two polls the Tide use to justify their claimed championship didn’t exist until years later, giving them a retroactive championship.

In 1973, Notre Dame finished 11-0 after a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. But the Tide, who finished fourth in the Associated Press poll, claim a championship from 1973 because the UPI poll rated them No. 1 heading into the bowl games and did not release a post-bowl ranking. That’s enough for Alabama.

Advantage: It’s a wash. They’re the two best programs, and it’s hard to make a distinction for one over the other.

When you look at individual achievements, amazingly, Alabama has only won one Heisman trophy in program history (Mark Ingram in 2009). Notre Dame has won seven, though none since Tim Brown in 1987.

Advantage: Notre Dame

As far as iconic coaching legends go, the names “Rockne” and “Bear” say it all. Knute Rockne is responsible for the growth of college football and revolutionized the game on and off the field. Paul “Bear” Bryant won six national championships and 13 conference titles in 25 seasons at Alabama, a stretch that won’t be matched anytime soon, though Nick Saban could make a run at it if he stayed with the Tide long-term.

It’s when you continue down the list of Alabama and Notre Dame coaches that you see the depth the Irish boast: Leahy. Parseghian. Devine. Holtz. (Kelly?) For Alabama, Nick Saban, Gene Stallings and Wade all won championships in Tuscaloosa but, outside of Saban, the names aren’t as iconic as Notre Dame’s.

Advantage: Notre Dame

In national name recognition, it’s game over. Notre Dame has earned a national following matched by no other program.

No one is more qualified to talk about that than Ara Parseghian, who coached at Miami (Ohio) and Northwestern before taking the Notre Dame job.

“The magnitude of its recognition nationally [separates the program],” he said. “I had been in the Big Ten for years and when you got outside of a radius of 500 miles, the interest and knowledge of Northwestern diminished. I came to Notre Dame and it was coast-to-coast, North, South, East and West. It was remarkable.”

Notre Dame sits aside the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers on the mantle of iconic teams. When the Irish play, people watch.

November’s classic between then-No. 1 Alabama and then-No. 5 LSU — a national championship rematch — drew an impressive 7.0 overnight rating. Three weeks later it was blown out of the water when No. 1 Notre Dame beat unranked USC to clinch its berth in the BCS National Championship Game with a 10.3 overnight rating. More viewers watched that game than last year’s Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.

No other program can claim the national footprint, sustained success and iconic coaches and players the Irish can.

Alabama is a college football behemoth, but Notre Dame is college football.