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And then there were four.
The 2024-25 College Football Playoff is down to four teams, all of which are seeded No. 5-8. While No. 5 Texas and No. 8 Ohio State will battle Friday night in the Cotton Bowl, the first spot in the national championship game will be decided Thursday in Miami Gardens, Florida, when No. 7 Notre Dame (13-1) faces No. 6 Penn State (13-2) in the Orange Bowl (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
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It’s two historic programs meeting up in the Irish and Nittany Lions, with Notre Dame having won 11 national titles and Penn State two. The last for the Irish was 1988 and the Lions 1986, though, leaving two fan bases starving to end those respective droughts.
What will decide the titanic clash with a spot in Jan. 20th’s championship game on the line? Here are three keys, plus game predictions from the South Bend Tribune staff.
How Notre Dame defends Tyler Warren
While Penn State has a great running back duo in Kaytron Allen (1,026 rush yards, eight touchdowns) and Nick Singleton (1,015 rush yards, nine touchdowns), the proverbial straw that stirs the drink for the Nittany Lions’ offense is tight end Tyler Warren.
The winner of the Mackey Award for best tight end in college football, Warren has 98 receptions, 1,158 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. He also has 127 rushing yards and four scores on the ground, being used in jet-sweep type plays.
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Warren has 435 more receiving yards than the next closest Nittany Lion player, Harrison Wallace III (723 yards). When quarterback Drew…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-football-vs-penn-090214518.html
Author : South Bend Tribune
Publish date : 2025-01-08 09:02:00
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