Matchup of former title hopefuls has star power

No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Notre Dame, 11 a. m. on ESPN

GLENDALE, ARIZ. » Ohio State and Notre Dame entered the season with legitimate national championship hopes and were still in the mix for the College Football Playoff late in the year.

To have those hopes dashed, particularly after coming so close, was a huge disappointment for both programs.

It worked out pretty well for the Fiesta Bowl, which has amarquee matchup that’s as good as any outside of the three playoff games.

And, despite falling short of their main objectives, the seventhranked Buckeyes and eighthranked Fighting Irish insist they’re excited to be in the desert.

“It’s going to be a great bowl game,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. “Two traditional powers, Notre Dame and Ohio State, that are a couple plays away from playing for a national championship. There is no place better than to play it than in Glendale.”

Ohio State ( 11- 1) was the defending national champion and spent the season’s first 10weeks at No. 1 in The Associated Press top 25 despite inconsistent play by its quarterbacks.

The Buckeyes were still in the coveted top four of the CFP rankings despite dropping behind Clemson in the poll, but lost to Michigan State on a last- second field goal in their penultimate game. All the teams ahead of them won on the final weekend, leaving them behind fellow one- loss teams Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan State in the playoff pecking order.