Crimson Tide advanced the top seed to the National College Football Playoff match, defeating the number four Fighting Irish 31-14 in the Rose Bowl semi-finals on Friday.
Alabama (12-0) will face either No. 2 Clemson (10-1) or No. 3 Ohio State (6-0) in the championship match. Clemson and Ohio play their other semi-final, Sugar Bowl, in New Orleans.
“We’ve played here (at AT&T) before,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban. “I think this is one of the best stadiums in college football. I don’t think there’s anything quite like a Rose Bowl stadium. Traditions, settings, mountains, it’s just an exceptional experience to play at Rose Bowl. I hope our players have this opportunity, but in At the same time, these people did a great job getting from Rose Bowl to here. “
Notre Dame (10-2) finished the season with lopsided losing streak, the other coming to Clemson in the ACC game.
Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly apparently didn’t enjoy the questioning line from reporters after losing again in the college football match. Notre Dame lost 30-3 to Clemson in the semi-finals two seasons ago.
“We’re not going away,” Kelly said. “Great year. It wasn’t the place we wanted. We wanted to win a national championship. But Notre Dame, you can get some sleep, recharge your battery, and we’ll get ourselves back into that position again. You don’t need to jump off a bridge or a building. We’ll keep working.” We’ll rededicate ourselves in the off-season, go back to the weight room, and hopefully, go back here in Dallas directly in a year. “
The national championship match is scheduled to take place on January 11th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.