Fourteen college football bowl games already were in the books prior to Christmas, and the rest of the week leading to New Year's offers plenty more (California-TCU in the Cheez-It Bowl, anyone?). But the eyes of the sports world are on Saturday, Dec. 29 -- the marquee matchups in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame play in the Cotton Bowl (at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas) at 4 p.m. ET, followed by No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl (at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.) at 8 p.m. ET.
The winners meet in the national championship game Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, Calif., at Levi's Stadium.
Notre Dame (12-0) had its first undefeated regular season since 2012, when the Irish were 12-0 before losing 42-14 to Alabama in the BCS national championship game. It comes just two seasons after Notre Dame finished 4-8, a turnaround that earned Brian Kelly honors as AP Coach of the Year. Notre Dame is the first independent team (without a conference affiliation) to make the four-team version of the College Football Playoff; the Irish posted 10 wins this season over teams from the Power Five conferences.
Clemson (13-0), champion of the ACC, is in football's final four for the fourth season in a row. The Tigers made the championship game in 2015 and 2016, losing to Alabama the first time before beating the Crimson Tide two years ago.
"They have been a model of consistency. We'll have a great challenge but one that we're excited about," Kelly said. "We've been on a journey here the last couple years to put our football team back in this position. So we're certainly excited for the challenge that's in front of us."
The quarterback matchup: Clemson true freshman Trevor Lawrence versus Notre Dame junior Ian Book.
Clemson-Notre Dame is slotted into the Cotton Bowl by default. It was decided Alabama-Oklahoma could not be played at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys because it would have been too much of a home game for Oklahoma.
So the Crimson Tide and the Sooners will meet in the Orange Bowl in South Florida. Alabama (13-0) has won 15 consecutive games, starting with its two wins in last season's playoff. The only defeat for Oklahoma (12-1) this season was to Texas, a 48-45 game on a neutral field — and the Sooners won the rematch in the Big 12 title game.
The primetime game is headlined by the high-wattage quarterback showdown between Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray of Oklahoma and runner-up Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama. Murray (205.72) and Tagovailoa (202.30) are each on pace to break the record for passer efficiency rating set by former Sooners quarterback and current NFL rookie sensation Baker Mayfield (198.92) last season.
Perennial title favorite Alabama is listed by oddsmakers as an approximate two-touchdown favorite.
"We've got a lot of respect for the team that we're getting ready to play, no question about that," Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley said. "But we've got a formula that we believe in and we've got a program that's used to winning and players that are used to winning. We know it's going to be a great challenge, but we're going to go prepare like we do and our goal will be for us to be at our very best."
By Jonathan Lehman with AP
