BCS Championship 2013: Alabama offense gives Notre Dame defense respect

The Alabama Crimson Tide have no plans to underestimate the Notre Dame defense leading up the BCS National Championship Game on Monday. Several Alabama players and coaches fielded questions on Thursday, and were quick to heap praise on the Irish defense.

Notre Dame was tops in the nation in terms of points allowed, limiting opponents to an average of 10.3 points per game. Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said, "this is as good a front seven as we've seen... They run well on the back end, very well coached. They're just a really, really good defense."

Offensive lineman Chance Warmack complimented Notre Dame's ability to read opposing offenses and called them a "special defense."

Center Barrett Jones said the biggest strength of the Irish defense is their fundamentals. "They rarely ever make mistakes ... They just do all the little things right," Jones said.

Alabama realizes the biggest threat on the Notre Dame defense is linebacker Manti Te'o. Running back Eddie Lacy said, "If you can somehow get him out of his game or something like that, I think we have a pretty good chance of being successful." Of course, no one has managed to take Te'o out of his game so far this season.