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FORT LAUDERDALE — It is the clash of the college football titans — Notre Dame, America’s Team, lining up against Alabama, the best team from America’s best conference.
But truth be told, neither the Fighting Irish nor the Crimson Tide expected to be here tonight in the BCS National Championship Game.
No.1 ranked Notre Dame (12-0) was a year away.
“We had some pieces that came together more so in the locker room — leadership, demanding, accountability from others, and things that coaches can’t do by themselves,’’ Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said.
No.2 ranked Alabama
(12-1) was depleted after winning last year’s title.
“To be honest, I think this team has kind of exceeded expectations,’’ Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
Yet here they are: The Irish going for their first national championship since 1988; Alabama trying to become the first team since Nebraska in 1994-95 to repeat as national champion.
It is a matchup for the ages, between two of the most storied programs in history. Notre Dame claims 11 national titles. Alabama claims 14.
It is a showdown for today — Notre Dame trying to snap the SEC’s streak of six straight champions and give the rest of college football a reason to believe.
The teams have some astounding similarities and stark contrasts.
Notre Dame boasts its strong Catholic education and beliefs above anything that happens on the gridiron. The Irish roster is comprised of players from 27 states, none from Alabama.
Alabama, where football is religion, is comprised of a majority of players from in state. There are 14 states represented on the Tide’s roster, with a heavy lean to the Southeast.
Despite those differences, both teams are remarkably similar — built on winning the line of scrimmage, senior leadership and physical football.
“The way this football team is constructed, and I know Nick has talked about it, too, it’s a little bit old fashioned in the sense that this is about the big fellows up front,’’ said Kelly. “It’s not about the crazy receiving numbers or passing yards or rushing yards. This is about the big fellas, and this game will be decided unquestionably up front.’’
Buckle your chinstraps. Hide the women and children.
“I’ll tell you, this group has probably been one of my most favorite to coach since I’ve been at Alabama because of the expectations,’’ said Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. “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. Sure, we lost some good players. … I guess it was four or five draft picks, whatever it was, last year we lost off that team. But we had a lot of good players behind those guys, and this group to me had a little chip on their shoulder and felt slighted that people didn’t think they’d be good.’’
The national perception was that Notre Dame, after two 8-5 seasons and three strong recruiting classes under Kelly was getting better, but a year away from being a serious contender.
Even as the season progressed with wins at Michigan State, over Michigan, over Stanford, at Oklahoma and at USC, the doubts remained and still do.
Las Vegas has made the Irish 9 1/2-point underdogs.
“They’ve been told for 12 weeks that they weren’t good enough to get this far, and somehow we’re sitting in front of you guys answering questions,’’ said Irish offensive coordinator Chuck Martin.
There will be no question after tonight, no doubt about who is the worthy champ. After Alabama beat LSU in last year’s boring title game that alienated the nation because it featured two SEC teams, the nation is expected to tune in and turn on tonight.
It’s Notre Dame vs. Alabama. Game on.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com