Cotton Bowl 2018: Clemson vs. Notre Dame TV Schedule and Live Stream

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic  at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will feature No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame in the first of two College Football Playoff semifinal games on Saturday.

College football history has been made before kickoff. First, this is Notre Dame's first College Football Playoff berth. On top of that, Clemson (13-0) and Notre Dame (12-0) will be the first two undefeated teams to face off in the College Football Playoff. However, these two undefeateds are not viewed as equal.

Clemson is a double-digit favorite and generally expected to make quick work of the Fighting Irish. 

Below is all the information you need to watch the game.

TV Schedule and Live-Stream

Date: Saturday, December 29

Time: 4 p.m. ET 

TV: ESPN 

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Odds (via OddsShark): Clemson -12; O/U 57

Preview

Lance King/Getty Images

The biggest development heading into the Cotton Bowl is the suspension of three Clemson Tigers. Star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, tight end Braden Galloway and offensive lineman Zach Giella failed drug tests and will miss the game.

In Lawrence's place will be senior Albert Huggins, a former 247Sports 4-star recruit in his own right. This season, Huggins has 24 tackles, 11 quarterback pressures and 3.5 tackles for loss, per Scott Keeper of the Anderson Independent-Mail. This not only speaks to the depth of Clemson but, more than that, the star power within that depth—reason enough for the Tigers reaching the College Football Playoff for the fourth time in its five-year history.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, will play for a national championship for the first time since its loss to Alabama in 2012. 

At quarterback for both teams are former benchwarmers. To start this season, Clemson freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence sat behind now-transferred Kelly Bryant. 

Notre Dame junior Ian Book was in senior Brandon Wimbush's shadow. In his place, Book has thrown for 2,468 yards, 19 touchdowns and six interceptions—similar to Lawrence's 2,606 yards, 24 touchdowns and four picks. 

The difference between these two offenses is the run game. Clemson sophomore running back Travis Etienne is the man to watch. On the year, he has broken off 1,463 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground. Notre Dame will be the highest-ranked defense (No. 20) that Etienne has faced in 2018, but he should still have a significant edge on Notre Dame senior back Dexter Williams, who has to face Clemson's fourth-ranked defense.

Overall, the Tigers need Etienne to produce in order to compensate for any potential freshman jitters Lawrence might have on his biggest stage to date. 

For his part, Book explained Notre Dame's underdog mindset to ESPN's Marty Smith on Thursday: "We know that people don't think we belong here. We're just controlling what we can control—just gonna do what we've done this whole entire season, and it's a chip on our shoulder." 

Howard Simmons/Associated Press

Head coach Brian Kelly added that what separates this team from his previous championship-caliber squads is "balance." 

The Fighting Irish need for Book to keep his poise and their defense to keep them in the game, as Clemson has averaged 45.4 points per game to Notre Dame's 33.8.

While Notre Dame is an independent and didn't have to play a conference championship, the Irish arguably played a tougher schedule than Clemson—beating No. 14 Michigan, No. 7 Stanford, No. 24 Virginia Tech and No. 12 Syracuse to Clemson's two wins against ranked opponents (No. 16 NC State and No. 17 Boston College).

In other words, anything can happen at Jerry World.