Irish Arrive, Ready To Get Down To Business

Grapevine, Texas (Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018) - The Notre Dame Fighting Irish arrived in waves and with little fanfare late Sunday to begin preparing for the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 83rd Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. 

Most of the players traveled on their own individually and arrived at the team hotel throughout the day after having a few days off to go home. Coaches, staff and about a dozen players were among the school travel party that flew from South Bend, Ind., on a charter plane to DFW International Airport on Sunday night and then bussed to the team hotel. 

The Fighting Irish (12-0), who are third in the CFP rankings, will conduct their first on-site practice Monday at AT&T Stadium. The practice is closed to the public with brief media availability. They’re making their first CFP appearance and will play No. 2 Clemson (13-0, 8-0 ACC) on Saturday, Dec. 29. 

This will be Notre Dame’s eighth Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic appearance and it’s first since 1994. 

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic celebrates its 83rd anniversary on Saturday, Dec. 29. Live Coverage on ESPN is set for 3 p.m. CST, with kickoff slated for 3:10 p.m.

This marks the fifth consecutive year for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic to be a part of the ESPN bowl lineup. Sean McDonough and Todd Blackledge are set to provide the call from the booth with Holly Rowe and Tom Rinaldi reporting from the sidelines.

ESPN Radio returns as the Classic's national radio partner for the seventh consecutive year. Bill Rosinski teams with David Norrie in the booth and Ian Fitzsimmons on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.