In a college football season, unlike any other, there is still some familiarity in the college football playoffs.
Alabama, Clemson and Ohio are back in the PCP semifinals. At least two of these three schools have played in every CFP since the start of the playoffs in 2015.
Next to the three stalwarts in the semifinals is Notre Dame. The Irish (10-1) lose their only loss of the season to Clemson in the ACC championship match. Notre Dame, traditionally independent of football, competed as an ACC team for the first time this season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Alabama and Notre Dame will meet in The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One on January 1 at 4:00 PM ET, followed by Clemson and Ohio State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 8:00 PM Both games will air on ESPN.
In the history of the college football playoffs, no single-loss SEC team has ever been ruled out – until this year.
Texas A&M is looking outside, despite an 8-1 season that saw Aggies’ only loss to Alabama in the second week of the season.
“Seven consecutive SEC wins,” coach Jimbo Fisher said 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 pick the top four teams, we’re one of them.”
Selection committee chairman Gary Barta, Iowa’s athletic director, said Notre Dame’s additional victory over a ranked opponent pushed the Irish to the top.
Instead, Aggies ranked 5th ahead of champion no. 6 and the Big 12 champion from Oklahoma. The Sooners (8-2) jumped from Cincinnati (8-0) undefeated in the American Athletic Conference.
While the Crimson Sea and Fighting Irish will play in the Rose Bowl Game, they will not be heading to California this year. This game was 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 of players’ families and coaches to participate. due to state restrictions during the pandemic.
“We are so excited that everyone involved understands how important this has been and we are grateful to the Rose Bowl for making this change,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly told ESPN. “I know it was difficult. … I am very grateful that everyone managed to sit down, to think about it [and decide] that this made sense to bring families into play. It wasn’t about the fans, because our boys did well without the fans, but that was really about the families. “
Tide (-17.5) and Tigers (-6.5) opened as favorites at William Hill’s Caesars Sportsbook in the two semifinal games.
“We understand that if we don’t play to our standard, we could be defeated pretty badly,” Kelly told ESPN. “Our boys recognize what they will have to do in terms of mental preparation to play a great football team in Alabama. Now we are much better prepared than we were in 2012 in terms of physicality on both lines. I think we have the ability to move football, for sure … We were humiliated by the way we played, and this team always came back with a resistance and an advantage over them. “
Alabama had the easiest way to the playoffs. The Crimson Sea went 11-0 and won another SEC championship. Alabama have only canceled one game this season, although coach Nick Saban has tested positive for COVID-19 and had to miss the 42-13 Iron Bowl victory over Auburn.
Clemson is 10-1, with only one loss coming to Notre Dame in a game that the Tigers played without defender Trevor Lawrence after testing positive for COVID-19. Clemson managed to avenge this loss, as a healthy Lawrence led the Tigers to an ACC title game, which hit the Irish in Saturday’s rematch.
And then there were the Buckeyes, whose season didn’t start until October 24, because the Big Ten reversed their decision not to play football at all. Despite the fact that three games were canceled due to COVID-19 problems, Ohio State was dominant throughout the season, scoring less than 38 points once on its way to a 6-0 season that led to another Big Ten championship.
The National College Football Championship, presented by AT&T, will be played on January 11 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.