Texas Football: Primer for the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinals

Previews and predictions for both games

We’ll start this off with the Cotton Bowl showdown between Notre Dame and Clemson. With Notre Dame coming into this game with less injuries and suspensions on both sides of the ball, it could gain an early leg up that it needs to take advantage of. The biggest key to success for the Irish is jumping on Clemson early and often and forcing the young quarterback in orange and white to play from behind in the second half.

The big news for the Tigers in the past week leading up to kick-off for this College Football Playoff Semifinal game was the suspension of All-American defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. That will be a big gap in the defensive line for the Tigers against an underrated Notre Dame ground game, led by senior running back Dexter Williams. This will also be a lot of pressure for true freshman Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to have on his shoulders on Dec. 29.

Cotton Bowl Score Prediction:

Clemson 31, Notre Dame 27

Shifting the focus to the Orange Bowl largely boils down to one key matchup that everyone is keen to follow. The battle between the two Heisman finalist quarterbacks is going to be awesome and should lead to a high-scoring affair in the later College Football Playoff Semifinal game. The over/under for this game is set at 81 total points, which shows the expectation for how much of an offensive shootout this could become.

Alabama sophomore standout quarterback Tua Tagovailoa fell short of Oklahoma junior quarterback Kyler Murray in the race to win the Heisman Trophy when it was all said and done. Murray will lead an explosive Oklahoma offense to put a scare into undefeated Alabama, but that vaunted defense is going to win out when it’s all said and done.

Orange Bowl Score Prediction:

Alabama 48, Oklahoma 40