Posted by: Chris Vannini on January 9, 2013

Jerome Bettis wasn't going to try to spin it.

The former Notre Dame running back knows the Irish were physically manhandled by Alabama in Monday's national championship, clearly proving who the better team was.

But should more have expected that outcome? Looking back, Bettis thinks so, as he said on The Tim Brando Show.

"It was a disappointing performance, but it was probably expected to some degree," he said. "It's hard to jump to that caliber of a football team in one year. To not have been on a national stage and now you play arguably the toughest team in the country, it's really hard to make that jump. You saw a game that was played the way it was supposed to be played. Alabama was just a more physical and dominating team offensively and defensively, and it showed in the game.

"That was the disappointing part, but the good part was that Notre Dame is back relevant again. We've got the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, which says these kids are starting to think about Notre Dame as school they can go and play for."

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com