Penn State has had a relatively smooth path through the early weeks of the College Football Playoff. In their opener, the Nittany Lions defeated SMU, the last team to qualify for the playoff, with a 38-10 victory. This week, they advanced to the Fiesta Bowl, where they triumphed over Boise State from the underappreciated Mountain West Conference, 31-14.
While it’s been a strong start for Penn State, the real challenge lies ahead in the semifinal, where they will face a transformed Notre Dame squad. The Irish have become a dominant force, winning 12 consecutive games since a Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois. They defeated Georgia in the Sugar Bowl last week and have held their two playoff opponents to just 27 points combined.
The two teams will clash in the Orange Bowl next Thursday night. Notre Dame is favored by a narrow margin of 1.5-2.0 points, according to Vegas Insider.
In preparation for the game, Penn State head coach James Franklin shared a message on Twitter/X after the matchup was finalized.
“Game Week! Let’s do this TOGETHER Nittany Nation. We need EVERYONE – students, faculty, lettermen, alumni, & fans worldwide – locked in on being 1-0 against Notre Dame Thursday! #WeAre (Penn State),” he wrote.
A notable subplot of the Orange Bowl is that both Franklin and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman are Black, making them potential history-makers as the first African American head coaches to win a national championship.
Franklin had previously spoken about this milestone five years ago. In a 2019 interview on HBO’s 24/7 College Football, he said, “I don’t usually talk about this publicly, but my goal is to be the first African-American football coach to win a college national championship. That’s something that’s very historic.”
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