Cotton Bowl 2018: Final Odds and Prediction for Notre Dame vs. Clemson

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Clemson Tigers are set to face off in the 2018 Cotton Bowl Classic in a battle of undefeated teams with a berth in the College Football Playoff championship game on the line.

Notre Dame (12-0) is making its first CFP appearance and is looking to win the storied program's first national title since 1988. Clemson (13-0) has qualified for the college football playoffs each of the past three seasons, taking home the championship two years ago.

Let's check out all of the important details for Saturday's semifinal clash. That's followed by a game preview and a prediction for which team will advance.

Cotton Bowl Viewing Information

Where: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

When: Saturday, Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Odds: Clemson -12 (via OddsShark)

Game Preview

Clemson was downright dominant after a couple close calls early in the regular season.

The Tigers narrowly escaped upset bids by the Texas A&M (28-26) and Syracuse (27-23) in September. All of their victories were by at least 20 points over the final two months, including a 68-14 cumulative score against two ranked opponents during that stretch (NC State and Boston College).

Giving freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence the full-time reins of the offense after he split time with senior Kelly Bryant early in the year proved a smart decision. He enters the Cotton Bowl with a 65 percent completion rate and 24 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

The high-powered Clemson attack, which also features running back Travis Etienne (22 total touchdowns) and wide receiver Tee Higgins (10 TDs), will be tested by a Notre Dame defense that ranks ninth in the country in points allowed per game.

Meanwhile, the Irish didn't look like a team primed for an unbeaten run when they opened the year with three consecutive one-score wins.

Although the season-opening triumph over Michigan was impressive, especially considering the Wolverines' performance the rest of the way before their loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, the same couldn't be said for near disasters against Ball State and Vanderbilt.

Notre Dame got progressively better during the course of the campaign, however, and won its last three games against ranked opponents (Stanford, Virginia Tech and Syracuse) by a combined score of 119-43.

The Fighting Irish feature one of the nation's balanced offenses with 27 rushing scores, led by Dexter Williams with 12, and 23 passing scores. Junior quarterback Ian Book has completed 70.4 percent of his throws in his first season leading the unit full time.

But the ground game will be particularly important to neutralize the athletic Tigers defense, including linemen Clelin Ferrell and Christian Wilkins. Clemson's front seven with be without Dexter Lawrence, who's one of three Tigers players suspended for the contest because of failed drug tests.

What makes this game extra difficult to forecast is the lack of similar games on the teams' schedules.

Clemson hasn't faced an opponent ranked better than No. 18 in ESPN's Football Power Index this season, while Notre Dame's best FPI win since the aforementioned defeat of Michigan (No. 4) was 20th-rated Stanford back in late September.

So it's hard to know exactly how either side will respond to facing an elite opponent at this stage of the year. But it has all the makings of a game that comes right down to the final possession.

Prediction: 34-28 Clemson