USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg previews the two upcoming College Football Playoff matchups and explains why Oklahoma was awarded the final spot. USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame named Ian Book its starting quarterback on Sept. 22. Two days later, Clemson made a similar call in promoting Trevor Lawrence into the starting role, ahead of an established starter fresh off an Atlantic Coast Conference championship and berth in the College Football Playoff.
The most obvious theme that binds together the Irish and Tigers in advance of the Cotton Bowl is the difficult choice each coaching staff made at the game's most crucial position: At a moment when both could've stayed the course under center, Brian Kelly and Dabo Swinney opted to roll the dice behind unproven backups before the end of the season's opening month.