Alabama vs. Notre Dame: 3 players to watch in Rose Bowl semifinal
Three players to watch as Alabama and Notre Dame square off in the Rose Bowl with a spot in the National Championship Game on the line.
Befitting the odd 2020 college football season, Alabama and Notre Dame face off in the Rose Bowl…… in Arlington, Texas. Due to the state of California’s stringent COVID-19 restrictions, no fans were going to be allowed inside the Granddaddy of them all for this national semifinal matchup. Without the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Rose Bowl loses its aesthetic viewing pleasure, but the stakes remain the same when the Crimson Tide and the Irish clash at Jerry World.
After a one year reprieve, Alabama is back in the College Football Playoff for the sixth time in the seven year history of the event. The Crimson Tide got here by way of a perfect 11-0 season against SEC opponents. After dominating its regular season competition, Florida put a scare into Alabama in the SEC Championship, but Nick Saban’s crew prevailed in a 52-46 shootout to clinch the No. 1 seed.
Notre Dame is making its second appearance in the College Football Playoff after a 10-1 season. The Irish earned an overtime victory over Clemson in the regular season that highlighted a perfect 10-0 mark, but Dabo Swinney’s Tigers earned revenge in Charlotte with a 34-10 shellacking for the ACC crown. On the strength of that regular season win, however, Notre Dame still backed into the playoff as the No. 4 seed, face-to-face against a familiar opponent.
Most will point to the national title matchup at the conclusion of the 2012 season to prove the Irish are overmatched. Alabama steamrolled Notre Dame 42-14 in Miami to capture the title, but Brian Kelly has used that game as the motivating tool in recruiting and game planning to get his team back near the mountaintop. That game eight years ago was a mismatch at the line of scrimmage; that won’t be the case this go around.
Alabama and Notre Dame last made playoff appearances in 2018, and both saw itself on the wrong end of a shellacking by Trevor Lawrence’s Tigers. Both teams are eager to get another crack at them in Miami, assuming Clemson gets past Ohio State first.
Typically these matchups between highly ranked opponents comes down to a few players making plays in key moments. Here’s three players who, while not the names that may be mentioned in the headlines, will be key in determining which team earns that coveted spot in Miami on January 11.