Cotton Bowl 2018: Updated Odds and Comments for Clemson vs. Notre Dame
No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame have been locked into the Cotton Bowl matchup for over 10 days, but they just recently returned to the field to prepare for the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Notre Dame began its on-field preparations for the December 29 clash at AT&T Stadium Saturday, while Clemson took to the practice field for the first time Wednesday.
Since the matchup was announced, the Tigers were considered an overwhelming favorite by the oddsmakers, and they are currently an 11-point favorite, per OddsShark.
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Despite defense being the strength of both teams, the over/under is set at 55 points, which is a number Clemson's offense is capable of hitting on its own if it performs to the best of its abilities.
The matchup between the 13-0 Tigers and 12-0 Fighting Irish is the first meeting of undefeated teams in the Cotton Bowl since 1948, according to the bowl game's official Twitter account.
Although the two sides have met just once since head coaches Dabo Swinney and Brian Kelly have been in charge, there's plenty of mutual respect between the two parties, especially from the Notre Dame side, as Kelly noted during Saturday's practice, per Pete Sampson of The Athletic.
"Yeah, the consistency he's shown has been amazing," Kelly said. "He's built a really strong culture of success and winning."
Both programs boast experienced coaches, but Clemson carries a distinct advantage on the gridiron, as the majority of its players have been a part of at least one playoff game in their careers.
Swinney noted the previous playoff appearances as something that will help the Tigers prepare for the Cotton Bowl, per Scott Keepfer of the Greenville News.
"They have a clear vision in their head," Swinney said. "It helps when you can draw on something and your past experiences—that really helps you a ton.
"Those (veteran) guys can in turn help those guys who haven't been there. When you get to the site, it's different—a lot more going on. Understanding that is important from a routine standpoint."
One of the few inexperienced stars on the Clemson roster is freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who took the starting job from Kelly Bryant in September.
Even though he's a true freshman, Swinney's been more than impressed with the skill set Lawrence contains, per Austin Hough of The Goshen News.
"Trevor's done an amazing job," Swinney said. "We've scored more touchdowns than ever before in school history, and he's been a big reason for that. All we can do is play the best player."
One of Lawrence's top protectors didn't practice Wednesday, as offensive lineman Mitch Hyatt sat out, but Swinney was quick to quash any concerns about Hyatt, according to Grace Raynor of the Post and Courier.
Clemson and Notre Dame are different in many ways, but just like Lawrence, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book took over as the starter in the middle of the regular season.
In order to challenge for a berth in the National Championship, Kelly needs Book to perform at a high level, per Douglas Farmer of NBCSports.com.
"He's still evolving as a young quarterback, and there's going to be a couple games where he's not at his best each and every week, but his 'B' game is pretty good," Kelly said. "We're just going to need his 'A' game for a couple weeks."
Book has one of the toughest tests of bowl season on his hands, as he faces a Clemson team that's tied for second in FBS scoring defense at 13.7 points per game.
Even though the Fighting Irish are a considerable underdog, they're more than capable of limiting the big-play potential of the Tigers, as they rank ninth in scoring defense at 17.3 points per game.
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