<P> The 2018 Sugar Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinals bowl game that was played on January 1, 2018, at the Mercedes - Benz Superdome in New Orleans . This 84th Sugar Bowl game matched two of the top four teams selected by the Selection Committee to compete for a spot at the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship to be played on January 8, 2018, at Mercedes - Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia . It was one of the 2017--18 bowl games that concluded the 2017 FBS football season . Sponsored by the Allstate insurance company, the game is officially known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl . </P> <P> The contest was televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, with a radio broadcast on ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio, with kickoff at 8: 00 PM CT (9: 00 PM ET). </P> <P> The #1 - ranked Clemson Tigers, champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, faced the #4 - ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, co-champions of the SEC West Division (along with Auburn who won head - to - head over Alabama .) This is the third consecutive year in which Clemson and Alabama have met in the CFPs, though the previous two meetings were in the CFP Championship Game . </P>

Who's playing in the 2018 sugar bowl