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Alabama's road to an 18th national championship will run through the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide earned the No. 1 seed in this year's College Football Playoff and will face No. 4 Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. CT. No. 2 Clemson will take on No. Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl later that day at 7:45 p.m.

The winners of the two semifinals will meet Jan. 11 for the national championship game in Miami.

This year's Rose Bowl has been moved from Pasadena, Calif to Dallas due to COVID-19 complications. According to College Football Playoff committee chair Gary Barta, the decision to put Alabama in the Rose Bowl came down to allowing more fans to attend the game. The Rose Bowl will feature 16,000 fans while the Sugar Bowl will allow 3,000.

Alabama and Notre Dame last met in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game in Miami as the Tide dismantled the Irish, 42-14 en route to its 15th national title. Notre Dame holds a 5-2 advantage in the team’s previous seven meetings.

This year’s Notre Dame team is led by redshirt senior quarterback Ian book who has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,601yards and 15 touchdowns with two touchdowns while adding 430 yards and eight more scores with his feet. The Irish also feature a solid defense that ranks No. 14 in the nation allowing 18.6 points per game.

Notre Dame is coming off a 34-10 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. The Irish are the first team to loses its conference championship game and make the playoff.

This will be Alabama’s seventh appearance in the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide is 4-1-1 in the bowl.