Notre Dame vs. Penn State game prediction, pick, Orange Bowl odds, spread, where to watch, TV channel

No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 6 seed Penn State will face off in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night in the first of two College Football Playoff semifinal matchups. On the line is a spot in the College Football Playoff National Championship as both programs are hunting for their first national title in almost 40 years. 

This will be just the 20th meeting all-time between the two teams and the first since 2007. Penn State and Notre Dame did play every year from 1981-92, notably pitting legendary coaches Joe Paterno (Penn State) and Lou Holtz (Notre Dame) against one another. The current record sits at an even 9-9-1, so the result of Thursday’s game will swing things in one team’s favor.

Penn State has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new 12-team College Football Playoff format this season. The Nittany Lions hosted an overmatched SMU team in the first round and then played Boise State in the quarterfinal where they were able to lean on a significant talent advantage to secure a 31-14 victory. That’s not to degrade what Penn State has accomplished this year; the Nittany Lions won 11 games in a tough Big Ten conference and pushed Oregon to the brink in the Big Ten Championship Game. 

Notre Dame, meanwhile, has put an inexplicable early season loss to Northern Illinois far in the rearview mirror by dominating just about every team that has stepped on the field against it since. That includes a pair of impressive playoff wins against Indiana and SEC champion Georgia. 

Notre Dame vs. Penn State: Need to know

Big injuries to keep an eye on: Both teams involved have major injuries worth keeping an eye on as kickoff approaches. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love re-aggravated a knee injury in Notre Dame’s win against Georgia,…

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Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2025-01-07 19:26:00

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