A trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship will be on the line when (7) Notre Dame faces (6) Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal game on Thursday. It also will mark the 19th meeting between the programs with the all-time series deadlocked at 9-9-1.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Penn State Nittany Lions are set to square off in the Orange Bowl, with the winner advancing to the National Championship game. Scheduled for Thursday, January 9th at 4:30 p.

Penn State coach James Franklin and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman sat side-by-side Wednesday morning well aware of the significant moment that awaits them. It goes far beyond football.

The semifinals of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff begin Thursday with a blockbuster Orange Bowl matchup between (6) Penn State and (7) Notre Dame. Both teams have leaned heavily on their defenses and run games to reach the doorstep of the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Notre Dame is a slim favorite over the Nittany Lions, but the teams enter the Orange Bowl evenly and uniquely matched.

Orange Bowl, a College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinal, pits the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions against the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. While fans are focused on th

Carter, who accumulated 11 sacks on the year is looking to return after suffering an an upper-body injury in Penn State’s quarterfinal match against Boise State

Devyn Ford spent four years at Penn State before transferring to Notre Dame in 2023. Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said Nittany Lions fans "should be excited to watch him."