The day has finally come where we get to watch the best college football teams in the country again. Today features the semifinal round of the college playoff with Clemson squaring off against Notre Dame, and Alabama facing Oklahoma. For these much anticipated matchups, I will preview both and offer a prediction.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl

#2Clemson vs. #3 Notre Dame

4:00 p.m. ET

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

What a game we have here featuring a couple of unbeaten teams. Clemson’s rise to power in the last several years has been remarkable, and it looks like they’re here to stay with their consistent top recruiting. They come into this game 12-0. I do think the ACC was down this season, and combined with the fact Clemson didn’t play a ranked non-conference team, they weren’t exactly battle tested. Their biggest non-conference win was against Texas A&M (who is now ranked #19), which was by two points. Pretty much every other game was blowouts, except a narrow four-point escape to Syracuse. Clemson has a great defense, which they will rely on in this game to shut down the Irish offense. Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been sensational this year, and doesn’t play like a freshman at all. I’m actually a big fan of Lawrence and believe he has a very special future ahead of him in the NFL. So can the freshman rise to the occasion against this Notre Dame defense and take the Tigers to the title game? Notre Dame also comes into this game 12-0, and are a little more battle tested than the Tigers. Their first game of the season was against the very good Michigan Wolverines, who they beat 24-17. They also beat Stanford, who was ranked #7, 38-17. And the same Syracuse team that Clemson struggled with, the Fighting Irish beat by 33 points. This is a solid all-around team that will come hungry to prove to America that they are ready to get back to a national championship game after being embarrassed in it in 2012. They will lean heavily on running back Dexter Williams in this one, as he will look to get over the 1,000 yard mark on the season. Look for this game to be extremely close, but at the end of the day, I just believe Clemson is the better team and will advance to the championship game.

Prediction: Clemson 29 Notre Dame 27

Capital One Orange Bowl

#1 Alabama vs. #4 Oklahoma

8:00 p.m. ET

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

This one is definitely the game everyone has been waiting for. Enter, Alabama. The Crimson Tide is the biggest powerhouse in college football and has been for some time. What Nick Saban has done with this program is incredible. The Tide are 13-0 on the season, but nothing is considered successful in Tuscaloosa other than a national championship. They have definitely been tested this season playing in the SEC and beating the best competition they had to offer in LSU and Georgia. The most impressive thing, however, is how dominant they were all season long. LSU was supposed to be a great matchup, but the Tide made quick work of them 29-0 in Baton Rouge. They also beat #16 Mississippi State 24-0. Quarterback, and Heisman runner-up, Tua Tagovailoa had a sensational year passing for 3,353 yards and 37 touchdowns. The only question mark around him is his lingering ankle injury. Alabama just has so many playmakers all over the field that it is hard to compete. If a key player goes down, they just replace them with another future NFLer like it’s nothing. Nick Saban always seems to have his squad ready to go, and he certainly will in this one. Oklahoma enters this game with a 12-1 record, their only loss coming to a shootout against rival Texas. If you like offense, look no further. The Sooners have the best offense in the nation. That starts with Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, who passed for a ridiculous 4,053 yards and 40 touchdowns. It’s crazy to think that he will most likely end up playing another sport professionally. There weren’t many games this season the Sooners didn’t score at least 45 points. The problem is they almost have to score so much because their defense is non-existent. They can give up points ALMOST as fast as they can score them. They have gotten by with their stellar offense all year long, but will that be enough against a rock-solid Alabama team? Both of these teams are extremely good, but because Alabama is the more complete team on both sides of the ball, I think they will win this one.

Prediction Alabama 35 Oklahoma 30

Garett

College Football Playoff Semifinal Preview: December 29