The Clemson Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish both put their perfect records on the line as they meet in the Cotton Bowl and College Football Playoff.
Entering the College Football Playoff, there are only four teams in the country that still haven’t suffered a loss on the 2018 season. Of course, with the UCF Knights again not getting enough respect to make it into the Playoff, that means three of the four squads vying for a National Championship remain unbeaten. Two such teams, the Clemson Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, will get the CFP started on Saturday as they square off in the Cotton Bowl.
Both Clemson and Notre Dame have been fueled by major decisions made early in the season regarding the quarterback position. For the Tigers, head coach Dabo Swinney elected to make true freshman Trevor Lawrence the starter over incumbent signal-caller Kelly Bryant, which has turned out to be the right call. As for the Irish, Brian Kelly benched Brandon Wimbush early in the year for Ian Book, another move that looks quite savvy in retrospect.
As critical as the decisions made at quarterback have been for each of these teams though, there’s no question that both thrive off of what their defenses are able to do. Each team has big-time playmakers with NFL potential on that side of the ball and has made a living off of suffocating opposing offenses this season.
WATCH College Football ON ESPN+: Get your free 7-day trial of ESPN+
Of course, before we get into the thick of what this game will look like and what each team needs to do, though, let’s take a look at all of the information you need to know about this Cotton Bowl matchup.
Game Info
Date: Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018
Start Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Arlington, TX
Stadium: AT&T Stadium
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
The line for Saturday afternoon’s game has dropped slightly following the news regarding Lawrence and his suspension. However, the Tigers are still heavy, heavy favorites in this matchup and are in a position where it’d be a shock to see them lose.
Betting Odds (Via Odds Shark)
Point Spread: Clemson -12.5
Moneyline: Clemson -430, Notre Dame +380
Over/Under: 56.5
One team will have a perfect record and a shot at a National Championship after the Cotton Bowl while the other will be a one-loss team sitting at home watching the title game. Let’s look at what each team needs to do to be the former in that scenario, starting with the Fighting Irish.