An A-plus effort by Alabama

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Alabama's win over Notre Dame in Monday night's BCS National Championship Game featured a dominating performance from both its offense, which scored 28 points in the first half, and its defense, which handled Everett Golson and the Fighting Irish with ease. Here are position-by-position grades from the championship game for both the Crimson Tide and Fighting Irish.

Alabama

Quarterback: A. AJ McCarron was his typically consistent self in directing the Tide to an early offensive explosion.

Running back: A+. Junior Eddie Lacy and true freshman T.J. Yeldon simply ran over the Notre Dame defense.

Wide receivers: A. The Crimson Tide's receivers took advantage of Notre Dame's secondary, doing something no other team could during the regular season.

Offensive line: A. The line had very few issues with the Irish's defensive front.

Defensive line: A. Notre Dame never even tried to run against Jesse Williams, Ed Stinson and Damion Sqaure.

Linebackers: A. C.J. Mosley, Adrian Hubbard and the rest of the Tide's linebackers kept Notre Dame's quarterback and running backs from getting to the corner.

Secondary: A-. Notre Dame got open at times, but the defensive backs had a strong game. HaHa Clinton-Dix's interception was one of the highlights of the game.

Special teams: A-. This was the quietest group on Alabama's roster. Of course, they were rarely never needed.

Notre Dame

Quarterback: C. Everett Golson has a bright future, but he wasn't ready to carry the entire load offensively against the Tide.

Running back: D. Or incomplete. The Irish never tried to get the running game going during the first half.

Wide receivers: C+. The receivers got deep a few times, but they were no match for Alabama's secondary.

Offensive line: D. The running game was nonexistent. Golson was under pressure throughout the game against Alabama's pass rush.

Defensive line: D+. After a banner season, the Irish couldn't get off of blocks against Alabama's ferocious offensive line.

Linebackers: D. Missed tackle after missed tackle against Alabama's running backs – and not even Manti Te'o was immune.

Secondary: D-. After playing above expectations during the regular season, Notre Dame's defensive backs couldn't hang with McCarron's targets in the passing game.

Special teams: C-. A costly interference penalty on a punt return, whether justified or no, was the beginning of the end for the Irish.