ARLINGTON, Texas — The Notre Dame football team awoke Christmas morning to continue preparations for the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl.
Christmas Eve was first, as both the Irish and Tigers ventured to The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility in Frisco, Texas, for a welcome party featuring a barbecue spread and a performance from Jay Pharoah, a former cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
With the contest against second-ranked Clemson set for Saturday, Dec. 29, the Irish are able to mirror the weekly preparation of a regular season week and Tuesday brought meetings and a full practice. On Christmas morning, the team held their meetings at the hotel before 17 periods of practice on the turf at AT&T.
The Irish will return to the hotel for some downtime, followed by Christmas mass and festive dinner for the entire Notre Dame travel party.
Wednesday brings another full practice at AT&T Stadium, while the media machine will kick into full gear in the morning as coordinators Chip Long (John and Bobbie Arlotta Family Offensive Coordinator) and Clark Lea (Bob Hinton Defensive Coordinator) will have interviews at the media hotel, along with six Irish student-athletes.
As always, stay tuned to @NDFootball and @CottonBowlGame on Twitter to follow the Irish in North Texas.
Tweet of the Day
We may not be home for Christmas this year, but the guys had the chance to celebrate an early Christmas with their families last week.#GoIrish #BeatTigers pic.twitter.com/2aEHYSZzGO
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 25, 2018