The 2018 Cotton Bowl is part of the College Football Playoff rotation this year, which will bring No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., for a national semifinal matchup. These squads both have at least partial ties to the ACC, with the Tigers as full members and the Fighting Irish playing a minimum five-game rotating ACC schedule each year. And while that's helped familiarize these programs with one another in general, you can expect nothing to be easy for either side at the 2018 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. ET. The Tigers are 11-point favorites with the total at 57 in the latest Clemson vs. Notre Dame odds. But before you make any Clemson vs. Notre Dame picks of your own, be sure to check out the 2018 Cotton Bowl predictions from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times, and those who have followed it have seen massive returns. Over the past three years, this proprietary computer model has generated a jaw-dropping $4,210 profit for $100 bettors on its top-rated point-spread picks.
The model made some huge calls during Championship Week, including Ohio State (-16.5) against Northwestern and Oklahoma (-9.5) against Texas. And when it comes to all top-rated picks, the model has been red-hot, entering the 2018 college football bowl season on a blistering 45-25 run. This same model has also nailed almost 70 percent of bowl picks straight-up over the past three years. Anybody who has followed it is way, way up.
Now, the model has evaluated the latest 2018 Cotton Bowl odds and simulated every possible play for Clemson vs. Notre Dame. We can tell you it is leaning toward the under, but it also says one side of the spread cashes in over 60 percent of simulations. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
As both teams set their sights on Cotton Bowl 2018, Notre Dame will hope to use the added precision of having Ian Book at quarterback combined with imposing size on the outside to create mismatches against Clemson.
The Tigers rank second in the nation in scoring defense and their defensive line, even without Dexter Lawrence (suspension), is still arguably the best in college football. But if Notre Dame can protect Book long enough, he's going to have opportunities throwing outside to jumbo wide receivers Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool. The pair both stand at 6-foot-4 and weigh in at 228 and 227 pounds respectively, which could be hard on Clemson cornerbacks.
A.J. Terrell and Trayvon Mullen both have nice size at 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2, respectively, but both will be giving up a couple inches and nearly 40 pounds to Boykin and Claypool. With Book's impressive ball placement all season (he completed over 70 percent of his passes), he should be able to put the football in places where they can use those frames as an advantage if given time.
But just because the Irish could have an edge in those matchups, that doesn't mean they'll be able to cover the Notre Dame vs. Clemson spread.
Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence was as good as advertised coming out of high school, and he has been so successful in his freshman season because of the help that he's received from a run game that can be downright dominant. Travis Etienne is one of the most explosive players in the nation, with 1,464 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns this season.
Etienne is also supported by three talented backups who all have rushed for at least 400 yards and five touchdowns. Etienne, Tavien Feaster, Adam Choice and Lyn-J Dixon combined to average 7.9 yards per carry.
So who wins Clemson vs. Notre Dame? And which side of the spread hits in over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the 2018 Cotton Bowl spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has returned more than $4,000 in profit for $100 bettors, and find out.
