Roll Tide! No. 1 Alabama beats Notre Dame 31-14 in Rose Bowl
(AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)ARLINGTON, Texas โ A truly untraditional Rose Bowl setting, a very common result for Alabama in the College Football Playoff. 4 Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal Rose Bowl played inside about 1,400 miles from Pasadena, California. โI don't think thereโs anything quite like the Rose Bowl, the tradition, the setting, the mountains. 3 Ohio State, which beat Clemson 49-28 in the other CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. PERFECT AT COWS HOMEAlabama is 5-0 at AT&T Stadium, with a pair of convincing CFP semifinal wins there.
No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Notre Dame move CFP clash to Texas
(AP Photo/Michael Woods)ARLINGTON, Texas โ Playing a Rose Bowl game deep in the heart of Texas is anything but normal. Top-ranked Alabama being in a College Football Playoff semifinal game is nothing new. We don't listen to the narratives about what Notre Dame can and can't do,โ Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly said Thursday. When the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium was a semifinal two years ago, Notre Dame lost 30-3 to eventual national champion Clemson in its only previous CFP appearance. FRIENDLY FOESAlabama RB Harris and Notre Dame QB Book, who grew up 90 miles from each other in Northern California, once were 7-on-7 teammates for TMP of Sacramento.
Book leads No. 2 Irish past Syracuse 45-21; Clemson next up
It was Bookโs 30th victory as a starter, the most ever for a Notre Dame quarterback. โItโs a dream come true to be able to attend Notre Dame and have a good career,โ Book said. Notre Dame started its run thanks to a roughing the passer by Syracuse that Book later turned into a 28-yard TD run. Book finished with 348 total yards, becoming only the second Irish player to move past 10,000 yards (10,008) in total offense. Notre Dame: The Irish have an extra week to rest up for Clemson after the conference adjusted the schedules earlier this week, canceling their last game.
No. 4 Notre Dame sacks No. 1 Clemson 47-40 in overtime
4 Notre Dame shut down top-ranked Clemson with a couple of sacks to seal a 47-40 win Saturday night. 1 for the first time since taking down Florida State in 1993 at Notre Dame Stadium. Uiagalelei, starting in place of Trevor Lawrence for a second straight week, passed for 439 yards, the most ever by a Notre Dame opponent. Notre Dame: Avery Davis came to South Bend as a quarterback and he has been moved to running back, receiver and defensive back. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are at Boston College, which might bring back some bad memories for Notre Dame fans.
No. 3 Notre Dame rides big plays to 45-3 win over Pitt
Notre Dame wide receiver Ben Skowronek (11) celebrates as he goes in the end zone past Pittsburgh defensive back A.J. 3 Notre Dame (5-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no such issues while handling the Panthers (3-4, 2-4) their fourth consecutive loss. The Fighting Irish effectively ended any hope Pitt โ which has developed a reputation in recent years of being the occasional giant killer โ might have had late in the second quarter. Three Pitt plays went nowhere and Irish sophomore defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey raced in untouched to block Kirk Christodoulouโs punt. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi called Notre Dame โas good a team we saw on the football field in six years.โโI thought we'd stack up better," Narduzzi said.
Book's TD run helps No. 4 Irish avert upset bid by Cardinals
โ When it came time to deliver, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book stopped beating himself up and kept the No. Notre Dame controlled the clock for 36:15 including a game-ending 14-play drive that burned the final 7:55. A 2-point conversion pass failed but Notre Dame led 12-7 going into the final quarter. 4 Notre Dame could take a short tumble after its lowest scoring output of the season. Notre Dame: Irish on road for first time at Pittsburgh on Saturday.