Notre Dame Football: Predicting the College Football Playoff

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleader waves a flag during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against the Clemson Tigers at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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Trevor Lawrence and company dominated Notre Dame on Saturday. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

2. Clemson

With only one loss to a highly-ranked Notre Dame team without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and half their defense in South Bend, Clemson has assured a spot in the College Football Playoff too. At full strength, the Tigers are arguably better than any team in the country, though they do have a loss, which limits their ability to jump to the one seed this season.

The Tigers excel because of their two-headed offensive attack. Trevor Lawrence can put the ball on a line anywhere on the field, but if you open the field up to cover all corners then they will run it down your throat with Travis Etienne. It’s a deadly combo, and they scored 46 points per game during the regular season because of it.

Of course, everyone knows about Clemson’s aggressive defense as well, which loves to spend the game in their opponent’s backfields.

It’s sometimes difficult to judge how good Clemson is based on their stats alone because they beat teams so bad that starters rarely play into the second half. However, it’s obvious to anyone who has watched them play that they earned this spot.

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