A pair of long touchdown passes by Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to Justyn Ross in the second quarter have been the big difference through one half of play in the College Football Playoff semifinal game being played in the Cotton Bowl. No. 2 Clemson leads No. 3 Notre Dame 23-3 at the half in Arlington as the Irish are in desperate search of a spark on offense to make things interesting in the second half.
With Clemson playing without star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, Notre Dame went attacking on the ground right away with a designed run with Dexter Williams picking up 11 yards to open the game.