College Football Playoff preview, Cotton Bowl: Clemson vs. Notre Dame first look

The College Football Playoff Committee announced Clemson and Notre Dame will meet in the Cotton Bowl for this year’s semifinal.

The wait is over. Selection Sunday is here and the field is set for this year’s College Football Playoff. One semifinal matchup is No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The last time this bowl hosted a semifinal was in 2015. No. 2 Alabama shutout No. 3 Michigan State 38-0 on their way to winning the national championship.

For Clemson, this was a given. A 13-0 record and fourth consecutive ACC Championship was all the Tigers needed for their résumé to secure a spot in the playoff for the fourth straight year. Notre Dame is also undefeated at 12-0 and will play in the playoff for the first time in program history, a far cry from the 4-8 team Brian Kelly had two years ago.

While these are two of the most storied programs in college football history, they have only met three times. They first met in 1977 where Notre Dame won 21-17. After a Clemson victory two years later, the teams did not meet again until 2015. In a matchup of two top-15 teams, Deshaun Watson outplayed DeShone Kizer in a 24-22 Tiger win. The game three years ago might have been great early season non-conference drama, but this meeting means much more.

The Tigers come in with one of the country’s best defenses led by Christian Wilkins and other future pros. The Fighting Irish are led by quarterback Ian Book, who fortunately has returned from injury and is back to his old form. Clemson opened as 11.5-point favorites for their Cotton Bowl showdown with Notre Dame.

It’s still a few weeks away, but these are the most important takeaways for each team’s preparation.

Key for Clemson: Make Ian Book uncomfortable

Whenever your defense is facing a good passer, especially in the College Football Playoff, you have to keep him off-balance. Ian Book has been a difference-maker for the Irish this season and is a big reason why they are here. Book has passed for 2,468 yards and has thrown 19 touchdowns to six interceptions so far. When he is at his best, Book does not turn the ball over.

Book has thrown interceptions in his last two games against Syracuse and USC. Against the Trojans in their finale, the Irish offense and Book stumbled early, but fought back to win but only by seven. Clemson is seventh in the country in total defense, only allowing an average of 282.3 yards per game. In addition, the Tigers are second in sacks with 43 on the year and averaging 3.6 a game. If they can get a few on Book, it will be hard for this offense to get a lot going.

Key for Notre Dame: Make Trevor Lawrence look like a true freshman

Trevor Lawrence is one of the better surprises of this season. Lawrence and Kelly Bryant competed in fall camp for the starting quarterback job which Bryant initially won. However, Lawrence outplayed him early in the season, convincing Dabo Swinney to name him the starter for the rest of the season. After this decision, Bryant opted to transfer.

The top-rated quarterback recruit might be a true freshman but has played for this season like a Heisman candidate. Lawrence has passed for 2,606 yards along with 24 touchdowns and only has four interceptions on the season. While Lawrence does have a 1,000-yard running back in Travis Etienne and good receivers in Tee Higgins and Hunter Renfrow, he takes care of the football which is a reason for Clemson’s success this year.

Every true freshman needs to have “crash back to Earth” game. Who is to say that cannot happen in the College Football Playoff? The Irish are 11th in scoring defense, only surrendering 17.3 points per game. If they can limit Lawrence’s weapon and make him have to be the main reason Clemson wins, they might have a shot in this one late.

The Orange Bowl is on Saturday, Dec. 29 and will be broadcast on ESPN at 4 p.m. ET.