The Rose Bowl will be played between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Alabama Crimson Tide on Jan. 1, 2021. The game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
It will serve as a College Football Playoff semifinal game with the winner going to the national championship to face the winner of the other semifinal between Ohio State and Clemson.
It’s the first time since World War II that the game is being played in a state other than California. The game was moved from Pasadena, Calif. to Arlington, Texas, due to coronavirus restrictions barring fans, and specifically parents, from the venue. Coaches Brian Kelly, Dabo Swinney and Ryan Day were among those vocal about having parents in the stands.
Notre Dame is the No. 4 seed in this game. They have one loss – against Clemson in the ACC championship. Ian Book has put together a solid season with 2,601 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes. Kyren Williams has 1,061 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Javon McKinley leads receivers with 40 catches for 679 yards and three touchdowns.
The focus for Notre Dame will be on the defense as they battle a three-headed monster in Mac Jones, Najee Harris and Devonta Smith. Adetokunbo Ogundeji has 6.5 sacks and will be tasked with keeping Harris at bay. The team only has seven total interceptions. Kyle Hamilton leads the Irish secondary and will have to find a way to do a good job covering Smith.
Alabama has one of the best offenses in football. The team has put up at least 41 points in 10 straight games and at least 52 points in three straight games. Jones has 3,739 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes this season. Harris has 1,262 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground. Smith has 98 catches for 1,511 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Notre Dame is 2-1 in their last three bowl games. The team played Alabama in the BCS Championship game in 2013 and lost 42-14.
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Alabama has won two college football national championships since the playoff started. They didn’t make the playoff last season, instead winning the Citrus Bowl.
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ROSE BOWL INFO
Sponsor: Capital One
Date: Jan. 1
Time (EST): 4 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Location: Arlington, Texas
Stadium: AT&T Stadium
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ROSE BOWL RECENT WINNERS
2020: Oregon
2019: Ohio State
2018: Georgia
2017: USC
2016: Stanford
