Despite being headed by Clemson in its final game, Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish will fight for the national title.
The Irish lost 34-10 in the ACC Championship on Saturday, but their otherwise strong track record and national following (yes, that counts) gave them the edge. The games will
Notre Dame takes on Alabama No. 1 in the Rose Bowl preliminary rounds, while Clemson takes on Ohio State No. 2, number 3 in the nation, in the Sugar Bowl. The game is a rematch of last year’s Fiesta Bowl and shows what the top two candidates for the NFL draft in Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, Ohio, could be. Both games take place on January 1st.
The National Championship will take place on January 11th in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.
“In the end, the committee felt that Notre Dame deserved its way there based on a full résumé analysis, and that likely resulted in an additional win over a ranked team,” said Gary Barta, chair of the College Football Playoffs. Committees, at ESPN.
Texas A&M fans were the losers in the selection. They finished fifth, followed by Oklahoma in sixth and Big 12. Undefeated Cincinnati was an afterthought thanks to its poor schedule.
“The committee decided the state of Ohio should be in the field because they are undefeated. They defeated two ranking teams including (Saturday) night and they won the Big Ten championship,” Barta said of the 6-0 win. Buckeyes. “Of course we talked a lot about the fact that there would be a difference in the games played.”
If Alabama and Clemson prevail in the semi-finals as expected, it will be the fourth time in five years that the two will meet for the title. The Tigers win two of their last three encounters.
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