Notre Dame Football: Can Irish silence doubters with win over Clemson?

Two undefeated teams meet in Arlington hoping to advance to the College Football Playoff title game. Will Clemson or Notre Dame football prevail?

Only four teams made it through the regular season without a loss. Two of them will square off in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic when No. 2 Clemson takes on No. 3 Notre Dame at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. One is guaranteed to still have a perfect record and a spot in the national championship game, while the other will head home from Texas disappointed.

Clemson reached the final four of the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight year. Dabo Swinney and the offensive staff elected to switch from incumbent starter Kelly Bryant to freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, and the machine just kept running smoothly for the hegemonic power in the ACC. The Tigers ranked in the top five nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense, showcasing a deep roster on the way to 13-0.

Like Clemson, Notre Dame also made a midseason switch at quarterback. Opting to bench Brandon Wimbush, the Fighting Irish switched to Ian Book and promptly saw their fortunes rise in the passing game. The defense was the real star of the show in South Bend, though, with the Irish holding opponents to 17.3 points per game. That was the key to going 5-0 in games decided by eight points or less and remaining unbeaten through the regular season.

After bombing out of the College Football Playoff in the semifinals last year, can the Tigers get past Notre Dame and return to the final for the third time in four years? Or will Notre Dame become the first independent to make the CFP national championship game? Here’s how you can watch the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl Classic between No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 29
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Arlington, Texas
Venue: AT&T Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Clemson has been incredibly solid all season long, both on offense and on defense. Special teams, on the other hand, have been a concern for the Tigers. The ACC champions rank 94th in net punting, and they are almost as bad when trying to return other team’s punts. And kicker Greg Heugel connects on less than 70 percent of his field goal attempts. Special teams coordinator Danny Pearman need to get things in order in the third phase of the game to beat Notre Dame.

Whereas Clemson has had issues with punts, both covering their own and returning others, Notre Dame has struggled with coverage on kickoffs. The Fighting Irish are 112th in the country in kick return defense, giving up more than 23 yards per return. A better job of containment would make sure that Clemson doesn’t benefit from shorter fields.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Clemson -13
Over/Under: 55

Prediction

Notre Dame has been an impressive story throughout the season, taking down a series of strong opponents over the course of the year. But while they have been good, Clemson is simply a more complete team that is far more dynamic offensively. Look for Travis Etienne to have a big game on the ground as the Tigers control the clock and pull away from the Irish in the second half.

Final Score: Clemson 41, Notre Dame 21