Clemson preview

Irish & Tigers Clash In Cotton Bowl With Title Trip On The Line

College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 83rd Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
WHO:
 #3/3 Notre Dame (12-0) vs. #2 Clemson (13-0, 8-0 ACC)
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 29 | 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT
WHERE: AT&T Stadium | Arlington, TX
WATCH: ESPN (Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe & Tom Rinaldi) | WatchESPN
LISTEN: Notre Dame Radio Network (Paul Burmeister, Ryan Harris & Jack Nolan) | 101.5 FM & 960 AM (South Bend) | SiriusXM 129 | Find Your Station

  • 1925 Notre Dame appeared in its first bowl game on Jan. 1, 1925, a 27-10 win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl Game. The Irish claimed the first consensus national championship in program history in 1924.
  • 70.4 Ian Book ranks fifth among all quarterbacks in the FBS this season with a 70.4 completion percentage over his nine games played under center.
  • 17 Notre Dame enters the 2018 Cotton Bowl Classic with *17 official bowl wins to its credit in program history.
  • 10th Notre Dame is the 10th different program to qualify for the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff since it was introduced during the 2014 season.
  • 9 Notre Dame reached nine consecutive January bowl games under head coach Lou Holtz from the 1988 Cotton Bowl Classic through the 1996 Orange Bowl.
  • 8 Notre Dame makes its eighth appearance in the Cotton Bowl Classic, the most common bowl game that the Irish have competed in since making their bowl debut in the 1925 Rose Bowl. Notre Dame is 5-2 in prior trips to the Cotton Bowl Classic.
  • 7 Notre Dame held USC to just seven points in the second half on Nov. 24, and ultimately outscored the Trojans 24-7 over the game’s final 42-plus minutes.
  • 6 Chase Claypool has logged six different games this season in which he has made at least four receptions and gained at least 50 receiving yards.
  • 5 Dexter Williams had a career-high five catches for 54 yards out of the Notre Dame backfield in the 24-17 win at USC on Nov. 24.
  • 4th Notre Dame and Clemson are set to meet for the fourth time in series history when they collide at the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Tigers lead the all-time series 2-1.
  • 3 Notre Dame is the only team in the FBS with three different 200-yard rushers over the past two seasons (Brandon Wimbush, Josh Adams – 2017; Dexter Williams – 2018).
  • 2 Ian Book has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of his first eight starts in 2018 entering the Cotton Bowl Classic.
  • 1 Notre Dame finished the regular season as the lone undefeated team nationally to exclusively face FBS competition. Clemson is the 13th different Irish FBS foe (11th from a Power Five conference).
  • 0 The Irish completed an undefeated season at Notre Dame Stadium for the second time in four seasons (2015, also 6-0). From 1990-2011, only the 1998 campaign (6-0) saw a perfect Notre Dame home slate.