Alabama vs. Georgia: 5 Players Who Would Give Notre Dame Nightmares

The SEC title game seemingly doubles as a national semifinal on a relatively consistent basis.

This year is no different, as the winner of the Georgia Bulldogs-Alabama Crimson Tide battle on Saturday will move on to the BCS National Championship game to take on a 12-0 Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad.

While it is obvious that Alabama and likely even Georgia will be a favorite against Notre Dame, there are a few reasons why.

The Fighting Irish are strong in all facets of the game, but both Alabama and Georgia would pose a huge threat.

That would be due in large part to a few talented players each of these teams possess.

There is no question that it is very difficult to find players who will give Notre Dame trouble, but there are some out there.

Here are five players who would give Notre Dame fits if they met either of these teams in the national championship game.

A.J. McCarron-Alabama

Statistically speaking, Notre Dame is one of the best teams in the country on the defensive side of the ball.

The strength of the team, however, is the front seven. If there is a weakness on the defense, it is in the secondary, as the Fighting Irish are susceptible to the pass.

They do rank 14th in the country with 16 interceptions, but Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron simply does not turn the ball over.

He has only thrown two interceptions all season. The Fighting Irish rank 22nd in the country, having allowed over 2,300 passing yards.

While that is certainly not a terrible number, it is definitely the weakness on a very talented defense.

A.J. McCarron is the perfect guy to further expose the Notre Dame pass defense.

Jarvis Jones-Georgia

For the most part, the Notre Dame offensive line has been solid all season long, but the group has not gone up against somebody with the talent level of Jarvis Jones.

The junior linebacker has a motor unlike many others and even though he missed two games during the regular season, he still managed to come up with 10.5 sacks in 10 games.

Coming up with a game plan to slow down Jones would be one of the biggest challenges facing Notre Dame if Georgia came calling in the national championship game.

Alabama Offensive Line

The best defensive line in the country might reside in South Bend, but the best offensive line in the country can likely be found in Tuscaloosa.

Whether it is opening up running holes or protecting its quarterback, the Alabama offensive line has plenty of NFL talent on it.

With names like Barrett Jones, D.J. Fluker and Chance Warmack, this group is as talented as any.

There is also a lot of experience. There is no question that this group would not back down from Notre Dame and might give the group fits.

Tavarres King-Georgia

Notre Dame has not faced too many teams with talented receivers, but when it has, those players have come up with some big games.

USC stud Robert Woods caught seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown without quarterback Matt Barkley.

Oklahoma receivers Kenny Stills and Jalen Saunders combined for 267 yards on 22 catches.

Georgia receiver Tavarres King would fit into that category. The senior is a big-play receiver who has caught 34 passes for 704 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.

He is averaging over 20 yards a catch, and might be a handful for the Notre Dame secondary.

Christion Jones-Alabama

Alabama does not get a chance to return too many kickoffs on special teams because the Crimson Tide do not give up a lot of points.

When they do, they have one of the best return men in the country in sophomore Christion Jones.

While he has made a minimal impact on offense, as a wide receiver, he has been a solid special teams performer, allowing Alabama to be near the top of the country in starting field position.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, has struggled on kickoffs.

Although a lot of people probably do not know too much about Jones, he has the potential to wreak havoc on Notre Dame in more ways than one.

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