The College Football Playoff semifinals are now set and there were no real surprises after the selection committee named Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Notre Dame in the top 4 of the final rankings on Sunday.
College Football Playoff National Championship
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
Jan. 11: 8 p.m. on ESPN, WatchESPN.com and the ESPN App
College Football Playoff Semifinal at The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Jan. 1: 4 p.m. on ESPN, WatchESPN.com and the ESPN App
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State
Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans)
Jan. 1: 8 p.m. on ESPN, WatchESPN.com and the ESPN App
As expected, SEC Championship winner Alabama returns as the No. 1 team in the rankings with ACC Championship title holders Clemson jumping over Notre Dame into the No. 2 position after flogging the Fighting Irish on Saturday.
Big Ten champion Ohio State moved up one spot to No. 3 after a hard-fought victory over Northwestern on Saturday. Notre Dame slipped two spots to fourth after the 34-10 defeat against the Tigers in the ACC championship.
After their exploits over the weekend, the Tide (-17.5) and Tigers (-6.5) have opened as the early favorites at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill in the two semifinal games.
The Irish (10-1), who were suffering their first defeat of the season in the title game this weekend, have booked a date with the inform all-rounded Crimson Tide (11-0) in The Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One on Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. ET, which will take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on New Year’s Day.
College Football Championship Week Top 25 Scores, Video Highlights – Dec. 20
No. 2 Clemson (10-1) and No. 3 Ohio State (6-0) will clash in the second semifinal, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 8 p.m – at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
The Tigers and Buckeyes are meeting for the third time in a College Football Playoff semifinal game. Clemson won the previous two, including last year’s 29-23 victory.
Ohio State secured a playoff berth despite playing only six games. The Buckeyes had nine games scheduled, but three of those fixtures were canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.
The College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T will take place at the AT&T Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Jan. 11 at 8 p.m.
ESPN, WatchESPN.com and the ESPN App will provide the live television and live streaming coverage of both semifinals and national championship games.
