AJ McCarron (AP)
(AP (2))
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — AJ McCarron, Alabama’s ridiculously efficient quarterback, was asked earlier this week what he hoped his legacy would be.
Everett Golson, Notre Dame’s dual-threat playmaker, was asked what it was like to play on the scout team last season.
When tomorrow night’s BCS National Championship game kicks off in Sun Life Stadium, the outcome may very well be decided by the difference under center.
McCarron already has a national championship on his resumé. Golson was pulled in three games this season.
McCarron can run when threatened. Golson is a threat to run.
Some say McCarron’s experience gives the Tide a huge advantage. Others say Golson’s mobility, like that of Heisman-winner Johnny Manziel, who led Texas A&M to the only win over Alabama this season, gives Notre Dame the edge.
McCarron is living a charmed life, especially considering he almost lost his life in a jet ski accident when he was 5 years old.
He has won 24 of 26 games as a starter. He is dating Katherine Webb, Miss Alabama, an impressive feat once you have seen her, and considering she attends rival Auburn.
He could become the first Bama quarterback to win two national championships. Legacy? Move over Broadway Joe.
“Legacy, I never really — I’m not the type of guy to really think into it,’’ McCarron said. “But hopefully at the end of the day they can at least say I was a winner, that the team I was part of was a winner.’’
Golson, a member of the scout team last season, is 11-0 as a starter, even though he didn’t finish the Purdue, Michigan and Stanford games. Tommy Rees was expected to be the starter this season until his arrest after an off-campus melee.
Enter Golson, a soft-spoken soul from South Carolina, who has a chance to become the first freshman quarterback since Oklahoma’s Jamelle Holieway in 1985 to win the national title.
“Well, it is a big stage, but I think just the person that I am doesn’t really‑‑ I don’t ride the wave too much,’’ Golson said. “[I] can’t really focus on everything that’s off the field because that’s out of my control.’’
Golson said the light went on for him in the fifth game of the season against Miami, a 41-3 win. But his staff and teammates point to the Oklahoma game on Oct. 27, a 30-13 win in which Golson had 241 yards in total offense.
His pedestrian passer efficiency rating of 131.7 pales in comparison to the 6-foot-4, 210-pound McCarron’s nation’s best 173.1 rating with 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
But the 6-foot, 190-pound Golson finished the season with 2,440 yards in total offense, 16 touchdowns and the respect of his team.
“I’d say just for him,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chuck Martin said, “first-ever college game in Dublin, Ireland, first‑ever home game against Purdue, road game primetime Michigan State, night game at Notre Dame against Michigan, on the road at Oklahoma, on the road at USC… coming off the bench, doing all the things that he’s been through — he’s about as battle tested — take any other quarterback this year and try to figure out if they’ve gone through as much as Everett Golson.’’
“To me it’s not even close. Not even close.’’
McCarron has been so efficient he has been slapped with the tag of “game manager,” which clearly irks him.
“That’s kind of funny to me,’’ McCarron said. “I think ‘game manager’ can be so many different things, and I think people try to label it as a guy that doesn’t really do much for his offense, just kind of takes care of everything, takes care of the ball and tries to get everybody in their right position and get the team in the right position on plays.
“But that’s my personal outlook on that label.’’
It’s unfair to label either player.
Golson’s team is ranked No. 1, one of just two unbeaten teams in the country. McCarron’s squad is 12-1 with a chance to become the first team since Nebraska in 1994-95 to win consecutive consensus national titles.
What happened in the past or what is said in the future is irrelevant. All that matters is which quarterback plays best tomorrow night.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com