No. 1 Alabama (11-0, SEC) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (10-1, ACC), Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN LOCATION: Arlington, Texas TOP PLAYERS Notre Dame: RB Kyren Williams, 1,061 yards and 12 rushing TDs, 282 receiving yards and 1 receiving TD. Alabama: QB Mac Jones, 3,739 yards passing, 32 TDs, 4 interceptions. NOTABLE Notre Dame: The ACC title game loss to Clemson snapped the Irish's 16-game winning streak, longest in the FBS. ... QB Ian Book has more completions (701) than any quarterback in school history except Jimmy Clausen. ... Michael Mayer's 35 receptions are the most in school history by a true freshman tight end. Alabama: The Tide are two wins away from Nick Saban's sixth national championship. ... Saban's teams are 12-5 in postseason games. ... The Tide are back in the four-team playoff after missing it for the first time last year. ... Held off Florida 52-46 to win Alabama's 28th SEC title. ... RB Najee Harris led the SEC with 1,262 yards rushing, and WR DeVonta Smith led the conference with 1,511 yards receiving. ... LB Will Anderson Jr. led the SEC with seven sacks. LAST TIME Alabama beat Notre Dame 42-14 in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7, 2013. BOWL HISTORY Notre Dame: Second appearance in a College Football Playoff game, 38th bowl appearance in school history. Alabama: Ninth appearance in a College Football Playoff game, 72nd bowl appearance in school history. --- More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and http://twitter.com/ap-top25
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