Bowl Games 2018-19: Full Schedule and Predictions for College Football Playoff

The elite teams in college football are preparing to meet December 29 for the right to play for college football's championship.

The College Football Playoffs are the semifinals of the tournament, and it was fairly easy to pencil in two of the teams even before the first football was kicked off this season.

Nick Saban and Alabama are one of the most dominant teams college football has ever seen, and Dabo Swinney has taken Clemson and built a spectacular program. Alabama and Clemson come into the CFP as the two top-ranked teams.

Third-ranked Notre Dame has enjoyed a spectacular season, taking a challenging schedule and passing every test. Oklahoma features Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Kyler Murray and one of the most explosive offensive teams in the nation.

Oklahoma is the only one of the four teams to suffer a loss this season, but they avenged that defeat by beating Texas in the Big 12 championship game.

College Football Playoff Semifinals (All times Eastern)

Saturday, December 29

Cotton Bowl (Playoff Semifinal): No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Clemson (-13) (4 p.m., ESPN), Notre Dame 28, Clemson 27 

Orange Bowl (Playoff Semifinal): No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Alabama (-14) (8 p.m., ESPN), Alabama 45, Oklahoma 28    

Odds via OddsShark

Cotton Bowl

Notre Dame vs. Clemson

These are two undefeated teams, and while Notre Dame (12-0) has several impressive victories on its resume over Michigan, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Syracuse and USC, the oddsmakers have made Clemson (13-0) a huge favorite.

The reason for that is Clemson's defense. The Tigers are tough, nasty and physical, and while Notre Dame wants to establish a balanced offense, there are questions about how well Dexter Williams can run the ball against the Clemson front seven.

Williams is a good runner who has gained 941 yards and scored 12 touchdowns with a 6.6 yards per carry average. However, Williams and the Fighting Irish have not seen a defense as good as Clemson's this season. The Notre Dame running game is going to have to be quite a bit better than good to be effective here.

Clemson is going to come at Notre Dame with defensive tackles Christian Wilkins, defensive end Austin Bryant and linebacker Tre Lamar. Wilkins and Bryant excel at dominating their matchups, and that will give Lamar and the Clemson linebacking crew the opportunity to make big hits.

If the Fighting Irish can't run, that will allow the Clemson defense to concentrate on stopping quarterback Ian Book and his passing game. Book has completed 197 of 280 passes for 2,468 yards with 19 TDs and just six interceptions.

His top two receivers are Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool. They have combined for 102 receptions, 1,434 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Clemson has a powerful offense with Trevor Lawrence calling signals and Travis Etienne running the ball. Lawrence has a smooth motion and he throws a beautiful ball. He has completed 212 of 326 passes for 2,606 yards with 24 touchdowns.

As effective as Lawrence is, Etienne may be even better. He has had a spectacular year, running for 1,463 yards while averaging 8.3 yards per carry.

Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers are the Tigers' most productive receivers. Higgins has caught 52 passes for 802 yards and 10 scores, while Rodgers has 47 receptions for 519 yards and four scores.

Just as Clemson doesn't want to see Williams break free with the ground game, Notre Dame must do something to slow down Etienne.

The Fighting Irish appear to have the more difficult assignment in that matchup, but Notre Dame linebacker Te'Von Coney and safety Jalen Elliott are both hard hitters who are going to attempt to punish Etienne. Coney has 107 tackles and 9.0 tackles for loss, while Elliott has 63 stops in addition to four pickoffs.

Clemson knows it belongs in the College Football Playoffs, and Notre Dame has proved itself this year as well.

However, there may be some deference early on to the Tigers. If the Fighting Irish can play on even terms in the first quarter, that should provide the confidence they need to show they can play with Clemson for 60 minutes.

If that happens, look for Notre Dame to get better as the game moves along and emerge with the major upset and close victory. 

Orange Bowl

Oklahoma vs. Alabama

While a strong case can be made for the underdog in the Cotton Bowl, we don't think the same can be said for the Orange Bowl.

The problem for Oklahoma is obvious. Alabama is powerful and explosive on both sides of the ball, while Oklahoma believes in its big-play offense so much that it may or may not put 11 players in uniform on defense.

Well, it's not quite that bad, but the 12-1 Sooners ranked 91st on defense this season, and that is simply not going to get the job done against Alabama.

Alabama ranks second in the nation on defense, and that means they should be able to put up a good fight against Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray and the Sooners offense.

Middle linebacker Mack Wilson may have the toughest job on the field of any player. As the anchor of the Crimson Tide defense, he has to make sure all of his teammates are positioned correctly throughout the game and he also has to find a way to slow down Murray when he takes off with the ball. 

Murray has run for 892 yards and scored 11 touchdowns this season, and he averages 7.3 yards per carry. He can clearly get the job done as a passer, completing 241 of 340 passes for 4,053 yards with 40 touchdowns.

Murray has plenty of help from Oklahoma's skill-position players. Kennedy Brooks has 1,021 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, while Trey Sermon is nearly as productive with 928 yards and another dozen scores.

Marquise Brown is a game-changing receiver with 75 catches for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns. 

The big question for Alabama will be the health of Heisman runner-up Tua Tagovailoa. He was the favorite for that award throughout the majority of the season, but he injured an ankle in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia and had to be replaced by backup Jalen Hurts.

If Tagovailoa is ready to play his best game, the Crimson Tide may turn this game into a runaway. He has completed 199 of 294 passes with 3,353 yards with 37 touchdowns and four interceptions.

While the numbers are brilliant, he has all the tools to get the job done on an every-week basis. He has the arm strength, accuracy, touch and the ability to read defenses.

Damien Harris, Najee Harris and Josh Jacobs give Alabama a dominant ground game. Damien Harris has 771 rushing yards and Najee Harris has 679 yards. Jacobs is more of the power runner with 495 yards.

Jerry Jeudy is Alabama's most productive receiver with 59 receptions for 1,103 yards and 12 TDs. He gets plenty of help from fellow wideouts Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs III and Irv Smith Jr. That trio has caught 121 passes for 1,114 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Oklahoma has a strong team, but the Crimson Tide defeated every opponent with the exception of Georgia by 22 points or more.

The only thing that will stop Alabama is a turnover differential of -3 or worse. It's nearly impossible to see that happening against Oklahoma's vulnerable defense.

Alabama wins with ease and will once again compete in the national title game.