Notre Dame pushed to background of Playoff teams h

Look at the dominant storylines heading into Saturday's College Football Playoff matchups at the Capital One Orange and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Cla sic.Theres the between Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. Alabama coach Nick Saban has the chance to pa s legendary coach Bear B.J. Upton Jersey Bryant with a seventh national championship. Clemson might be without 340-pound defensive tackle for the entire Playoff.Somewhere on the back page or in today's age, lost in the scroll on the timeline is 12-0 Notre Dame, which made the College Football Playoff for the first time and is back on the championship stage for the first time since the 42-14 lo s to Alabama in the 2013 BCS championship game.NOTRE DAME ALTERNATE HISTORYThe Irish have a chance to show just how different they are under Brian Kelly this time around. The headlines might not trend toward Notre Dame now, but just wait until after the games.If Notre Dame wins, then the Irish will be on the doorstep of their first national championship since 1988, Bob Feller Jersey and perhaps will have a rematch with the Crimson Tide if the chalk prevails in the Orange Bowl. We'll get to see firsthand how much has changed since that Crimson-covered bloodbath in the last championship game.If the Irish lose, then their Playoff privilege will be questioned by the conferences that were left out, especially if Georgia and Ohio State win their bowl games handily. If Clemson blows out Notre Dame, then those questions about that path as an independent will carry over into the 2019 season.In that sense, Notre Dame has more on the line than the other three teams in this Playoff. Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma have combined for 12 appearances and have dominated their respective conferences. Their credentials aren't questioned now, and won't be questioned next season, win or lose.Notre Dame, meanwhile, is a 12.5-point underdog against a program whose rise to national prominence was illuminated in a 24-22 victory against the Danny Salazar Jersey Irish on Oct. 3, 2015. Everybody remembers Clemson coach Dabo Swinney screaming, Bring your own guts. It's easy to forget Notre Dame had a chance to tie the game with a 2-point conversion with seven seconds remaining.That's our way of saying Notre Dame can make this a game.SPORTING NEWS BEST OF 2018We'll see if Notre Dame can establish a running game with Dexter Williams, who averaged 121.3 rushing yards per game with seven total touchdowns against four ACC opponents. If Lawrence it out, then Williams is who to watch on that side of the ball.We'll see if the Irish's defense, which features SN first-team All-American Julian Love, can handle Clemson's skill-position speed. Travis Etienne averages 8.3 yards per carry, and three other Tigers' running backs Tavien Feaster, Lyn-J Dixon Cody Allen Jersey and Adam Choice all average at least 5.8 yards per carry. Tee Higgins and Justyn Ro s both averaged more than 15.0 yards per catch while combining for 16 touchdowns. If the Irish can't handle that, then the story will write itself.Unle s Ian Book can change the script in the second half. This is a potentially great quarterback battle between Book and Trevor Lawrence, who have 9-0 records as starters. The longer Notre Dame hangs around, the more interesting it will get when you consider Book has 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions in the second half this season. His fourth-quarter quarterback rating is at 235.3. Would that be enough to make a freshman like Lawrence a Jason Kipnis Jersey little skittish?That is the recipe for Notre Dame, and of course, a little luck wouldn't hurt.The Irish have made their own luck by winning five one-score games this season. Clemson hasn't played in a one-score game since September wins against Texas AM and Syracuse.Once again, the Irish can steal a close game here and we're about to find out how close Notre Dame is to one of three schools that has won a national championship in the College Football Playoff era.A victory here, and the Irish will be the top story for the first time in a long time.At least until Jan. 7.