Clemson is headed back to another National Championship Game.

The No. 2 Tigers took care of business in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium by destroying No. 3 Notre Dame 30-3 in the Cotton Bowl. Clemson is now set to face the winner of Orange Bowl national semifinal between No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma.

If Alabama advances to the title game, as expected, Clemson will meet the Crimson Tide for the fourth consecutive season in the College Football Playoff. Last season, Alabama knocked the Tigers off in the national semifinal after both programs met, and split, national championship appearances in the two seasons prior to their semifinal matchup.

The 2018 ACC Champions proved to be far too athletic for Notre Dame to handle after the Irish came out strong and held the Tigers to only three points in the first quarter. While the first quarter may have felt like a win for Notre Dame despite the game being tied at three, Clemson’s explosive offense took control in the second quarter, as the Tigers scored 20 points during the stanza. That blitzkrieg turned out to be the deciding factor in the game.

Credit Clemson’s incredible defense for living up to their hype and showing why Brent Venables is such a lauded defensive coach as his unit completely shut down Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. The Irish failed to rush for 100 yards in the game and that was without star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who was suspended for a failed drug test leading up to the game.

It may not have been accurate to call Trevor Lawrence a question mark entering this game, but how the true freshman would perform in the biggest game of his entire football career was something many were eager to see leading up to the Cotton Bowl. Clearly, the young Clemson signal caller passed the test with flying colors. Notre Dame attempted to rattle Lawrence early and often with a mix of pressures and blitz and even got some hits on the freshman — not all were legal — but it didn’t seem to matter.

Lawrence’s final stat line: 27 of 39 for 327 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover. He even rushed the ball when on several read-option plays early in the game that kept the Irish defense honest when they attempted to key on running back Travis Etienne. That defensive plan was working for a while but Etienne finished the game with 109 yards on only 14 carries and added a big touchdown on a 62-yard score.

Of Clemson’s outstanding receiving corp, Alabama native Justyn Ross led the way, catching six passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter Renfrow chipped in four catches for 62 yards.

Thanks to this outstanding individual effort by Tee Higgins right before halftime, Clemson really took the wind out of the Irish just before the midway point in the game. This catch was so unbelievable that the play had to be reviewed, however, the call on the field stood upon further examination.

After taking a 23-3 lead into halftime, Notre Dame was never able to muster much of a fight in the second half. Two Irish turnovers certainly didn’t help matter and sealed the fate of Notre Dame’s comeback attempt. Notre Dame QB Ian Book finished the game completing 17 of 34 passes for 160 yards and one interception.

Notre Dame finishes the season with a 12-1 mark, while Clemson advances to 14-0 on the year. The Tigers now advance to the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. The contest will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on January 7, 2019.