For the first time in 17 years, Notre Dame and Penn State are set to face off on a football field. This time, there's a lot on the line, as the 7-seed Fighting Irish will play the 6-seed Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl,

In this CFP, the Irish are winning over some people. Or maybe they're just benefitting from the distaste many feel for their opponents.

No. 3 Notre Dame (13-1, CFP No. 7 seed) vs. No. 5 Penn State (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed), Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST (ESPN) BetMGM College Football Odds: Notre Dame by 1 1/2. Series record: Tied 9-9-1. What’s at stake?

Heading into the Orange Bowl, the Fighting Irish are finally showing signs that they can compete at the top of the sport in the modern era.

Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas are all that remain of the 134 FBS teams who began the year with playoff dreams. One of them will be crowned national champion on January 20.

The 12-team playoff system has faced criticism since its conception, but this year’s Notre Dame team serves as a strong argument in its favor. With the semifinals of the College Football playoffs to begin this week,

Notre Dame brings a rich history to the College Football Playoff semifinals, but it's been quite a while since the Fighting Irish won it all.

The Fighting Irish closed the athletic gap that existed for a long time between them and college football’s heavyweights, now relying on outrunning the competition in all three phases.