To watch in the semifinals of the college football qualifiers

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Four of college football’s most legendary programs – Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame – still have hopes of winning the championship in one of the most chaotic and uncertain seasons in the history of the sport.

On Friday, the college football playoffs will hold their semifinal games at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and the Rose Bowl in Arlington, Texas. (You read that correctly; the Rose Bowl has been moved from California due to coronavirus cases and public health restrictions.) The winners will advance to the championship game, which takes place Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Gardens, Florida.

The bowl of rose

4 p.m. EST in Arlington, Texas (moved from Pasadena, CA)

The most powerful dynasty in modern college football wants another crown. But coach Nick Saban’s 14th team makes attacking easy, and in that way they’re noticeably different from some of their predecessors.

Players to watch: Three of Alabama’s offensive stars – quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and wide Devonta Smith – finished in the top five for this season’s Heisman Trophy. (The winner will be announced Tuesday.) But don’t forget Patrick Surtain II, a junior cornerback who has allowed 25 yards or less in eight of 11 games this season.

Something Alabama Likes: Alabama is averaging nearly 50 points per game. When Saban won his first championship in Alabama in 2009 that same season, the starting tailback from Alabama won the Heisman Trophy, the Tide having about 32.

Something Alabama Hates: Alabama have lost seven fumbles in this shortened season, nearly double their record from last season.

Alabama Warning Light: Alabama’s narrowest margin of victory this season was 6 points, in a win over Florida, and Notre Dame’s defense is better, allowing less than 19 points per game. Saban said this week that the Fighting Irish would pose “a challenge for our offense to end,” so Alabama fans should be nervous if they see Will Reichard repeatedly heading for field goal attempts. (He’s been excellent so far – 12 for 12 – but hasn’t had as many chances. Notre Dame’s Jonathan Doerer has tried 22 this season.)

Navigating the pandemic: Aside from disclosing Saban’s fight with the virus in November and a previous false positive for the coach, Alabama has said little about the pathogen’s reach in their football schedule. But Alabama hasn’t had any rescheduled games due to its own virus issues.

Additional point: Saban is seeking his sixth national championship as coach of Crimson Tide, a mark that would equal Bear Bryant’s record in Alabama.

Notre Dame’s only playoff outing, a 2018 semi-final game against Clemson, was a debacle: a 30-3 loss. A game against Alabama is one of his best opportunities for grill glory, even though the Fighting Irish are underdogs.

Players to watch: Quarterback Ian Book “kinda ticks them off,” the Alabama defensive coordinator said this week, but he also pointed out Kyren Williams, a second-year fullback, who ran for 1,061 yards. this season. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a 215-pound linebacker, and Kyle Hamilton, a second safety, each had 56 tackles, tied for the team lead.

Something Notre-Dame loves: Book has only thrown two interceptions this season. In the previous 10 seasons that Brian Kelly coached the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame’s quarterback corps averaged a dozen interceptions per year.

Something Notre Dame hates: History, or at least talk about it a lot. Aside from a regular-season win over Clemson in November, Notre-Dame has struggled in high-profile games. There was the 2018 semi-final, but also a 16-point loss to Ohio State to end the 2015 season and the 28-point loss to Alabama in the Bowl Championship Series title game for the 2012 season. .

Luminous witness of Notre Dame: Book was sacked six times in Notre Dame’s loss to Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game. Nearly two-thirds of Alabama’s 32 sacks have come in the last four games. An early penetration from Alabama could signal a grim day ahead for the Fighting Irish, but look for Notre Dame to try and improve on a running game that only gained 44 yards in the title game. ACC.

Navigating the pandemic: A September game against Wake Forest was postponed as Notre-Dame faced an upsurge in cases surrounding its football team. The game was then called off, the ACC said, “to preserve the integrity” of the league championship game.

Additional point: Usually independent in football, Notre Dame played in the ACC for the 2020 season and will become the first team to appear in the playoffs after losing a league title game.

The Sugar Bowl

8:00 p.m. Eastern Time in New Orleans

Defeated in last season’s title match in the Superdome, the very building they will play in Friday night, Clemson and coach Dabo Swinney are back in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season and will face an enemy they have beaten in two previous series. Games. Last season, Clemson outlived the Buckeyes, 29-23.

Players to watch: As always with Clemson these days, quarterback Trevor Lawrence is the star: a Heisman Trophy finalist, the screened top pick in the NFL Draft and a figure like few in Clemson history . But Lawrence was quick to spread the credit, his offense bolstered by running back Travis Etienne, who set a Football Bowl subdivision record for most games with a touchdown (42) while playing against Boston. College in October. He is the only tailback in the college game with over 500 receiving yards.

Something Clemson Likes: Both sides of the ball. Under Swinney, who played wide receiver in Alabama, Clemson this season is scoring almost 45 points per game, the sport’s third best. And the defense likes to swarm, averaging four sacks per game – a potential recipe for misery for Justin Fields, the Ohio State caller who fell three times in the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern.

Something Clemson hates: Third-order conversions. The Tigers’ percentage is the worst on the field of the playoffs after Clemson had 78 of 167 attempts.

Clemson warning light: Ohio state’s pass defense was the Big Ten’s worst. If Lawrence, who did not play in November’s double overtime loss to Notre Dame because he tested positive for the virus, cannot succeed against his defense, Clemson is almost certain to be in serious danger. .

Navigate the pandemic: Clemson announced on Wednesday that its offensive coordinator Tony Elliott will not make the semi-finals due to virus-related protocols, and the university said at least 222 people associated with its athletics department, including Lawrence, have tested positive for the virus since June. The school hasn’t released a sport-by-sport breakdown, but Swinney was furious when a game against Florida State was called off due to issues in the Seminoles’ schedule.

Additional point: Let the smack do the talking. Swinney ranked Ohio State No.11 in that game and didn’t deviate, saying this week he hasn’t put any team in his top 10 if they haven’t played at least nine games. “I could probably run for governor of Michigan and have a good chance,” he said. But he also conceded that Ohio State had a shot as good as any of the four title teams.

In its fourth playoff appearance, Ohio State, which last won the college football title in the 2014 season, is hoping to make up for lost time and boast of the pandemic.

Players to watchQ: Quarterback Justin Fields will look to solidify his place as the first draft pick after having had so few chances to show his strength this season. His winning percentage exceeds Lawrence’s, but he threw just 15 touchdown passes and rushed for five more. Wyatt Davis, a 315-pound inside lineman, will be crucial in creating a running game, and even with a season shortened, cornerback Shaun Wade has recorded nearly half of his career interceptions. Chris Olave, a wide receiver who missed the Big Ten title game, is expected to be back.

Something the State of Ohio loves: Possession time, which should come in handy while trying to contain Clemson’s ability to score. The state of Ohio typically controls the ball for more than 33 minutes per game.

Something Ohio State Hates: Pass defense is a glaring problem, but it’s just one part of a defense that has eroded from last season when it was the best in the Big Ten. In 2019, when the defense was loaded with players like Chase Young and Jeff Okudah, the second and third pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Ohio State gave up just 248 total yards per game. This year? 358.

Ohio State Warning Light: The Buckeyes wheezed in the Big Ten Championship game, which they only reached because the league changed a crucial eligibility rule. They took control when they found a rushed attack that had 305 yards in the second half. They are unlikely to have that much luxury of time this time around. Coach Ryan Day said he would seek a balance between passing and running, but, he said, “Whenever you start not to call aggressively, that’s where bad things happen.

Navigate the pandemic: The Buckeyes canceled a game at Illinois due to cases in their schedule, and clashes against Maryland and Michigan were also called off due to the pandemic.

Additional point: In his second season atop the state of Ohio, Day is undefeated – except for last season’s playoff loss to Clemson. Woody Hayes was 10-6-2 in his first two seasons at Columbus, while Urban Meyer was 24-2. Jim Tressel won a national championship to end his second season when Ohio State went 14-0.

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