FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Brian Kelly walked off the tarmac, hopped aboard one of Notre Dame’s team buses that bore his image on the side and grinned broadly as he sat in the driver’s seat.

Soon, the Notre Dame coach will know if his team – or Alabama – will finish college football’s season in that proverbial spot.

The top-ranked Fighting Irish landed in South Florida on Wednesday, not long before the arrival of the second-ranked Crimson Tide. The teams meet Monday night to decide the BCS championship, a matchup that was set more than a month ago, the hype growing with each day.