In a college football season like no other, there is still some fame in the College Football Playoff.
Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are all back in the semifinals of the CFP. At least two of those three schools have played in every CFP since the start of the playoffs in 2015.
Notre Dame joins the three stalwarts in the semi-finals. The Irish (10-1) come off their only loss of the season against Clemson in the ACC Championship game. Notre Dame, traditionally independent football, took part as an ACC team for the first time this season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Alabama and Notre Dame meet in The Rose Bowl Game hosted by Capital One on Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. ET, followed by Clemson and Ohio State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 8 p.m. Both games are broadcast on ESPN.
In the history of the College Football Playoff, not a single single loss SEC team was ever shut out – until this year.
Texas A&M looks in on the outside despite an 8-1 season that saw the Aggies’ only loss to Alabama in the second week of the season.
“Seven consecutive SEC wins,” said coach Jimbo Fisher after Saturday’s win over Tennessee. ‘Some schools don’t even play seven games.
‘I don’t care what league you’re in. If you’re going to pick the best four teams, we’ll be one of them. ‘
Selection committee chair Gary Barta, the athletics director of Iowa, said Notre Dame’s additional victory against a ranked opponent pushed the Irish over the top.
Instead, the Aggies ranked No. 5 ahead of No. 6 and Big 12 champion Oklahoma. The Sooners (8-2) jumped unbeaten Cincinnati (8-0) from the American Athletic Conference.
While the Crimson Tide and Fighting Irish will play in the Rose Bowl Game, they won’t be heading to California this year. That game has been moved from Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California, along with the inability for the families of players and coaches to attend. due to state restrictions during the pandemic.
“Just so excited that everyone involved understands how important that was, and we are grateful to the Rose Bowl for making that change,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly told ESPN. ‘I know it was hard … I’m just so grateful that everyone could sit down and think about it [and decide] that this made sense to get the families involved. It wasn’t really about the fans as our boys did just fine without fans, but this was really about the families. “
The Tide (-17.5) and Tigers (-6.5) have been opened as favorites at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill in the two semi-final matches.
“We understand that if we don’t play to our standard, we can get pretty knocked out,” Kelly told ESPN. “Our guys know what they need to do in terms of mental preparation to play a great soccer team in Alabama. Now we are much better prepared than we were in 2012 in terms of physicality on both lines. I think we did. the ability to move football, certainly… We are humbled with the way we play, and this team has always come back with a resilience and an edge. ”
Alabama had the easiest path to the playoffs. The Crimson Tide went 11-0 and won another SEC championship. Alabama had only canceled one game this season, although coach Nick Saban tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the team’s 42-13 Iron Bowl win over Auburn.
Clemson is 10-1, with his one loss to Notre Dame in a game the Tigers played without quarterback Trevor Lawrence after testing positive for COVID-19. Clemson was able to avenge that loss, as a healthy Lawrence led the Tigers to an ACC title game romp about the Irish in Saturday’s rematch.
And then there were the Buckeyes, whose season only started on October 24 when the Big Ten reversed their decision not to play football at all. Despite three games being canceled due to COVID-19 problems, Ohio State was dominant throughout the season, scoring less than 38 points only once en route to a 6-0 season that resulted in another Big Ten championship.
The College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 11.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.