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Article updated: 1/3/2013 5:58 AM

Notre Dame vs Alabama a championship classic

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Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian is carried off the field by his victorious players after the Irish beat Texas 24-11 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. At a time when college football was generally considered the domain of eastern blue bloods, Notre Dame and Alabama were upstart teams that gave blue collar fans a chance to tweak the elite. About 90 years later, the Fighting Irish and Crimson Tide are the elite — two of college football's signature programs, set to play a national championship next Monday in Miami that could break records for television viewership.

Associated Press/Jan. 1, 1971

Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant gets a ride on the shoulders of his team after Alabama beat Nebraska 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Associated Press/Jan. 2, 1967

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No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 1 Notre Dame. Even casual sports fans understand this is a college football classic. "I think it's basically because they've won more national championships than anybody else, and they've been doing it since the `20s," said Dan Jenkins, an award-winning sports writer and author who is also the historian for the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

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