Just four teams remain in pursuit of a college football national championship. It all gets underway later tonight, when Notre Dame takes on Penn State in the Orange Bowl. The winner of that game will face the winner of Friday night’s Cotton Bowl Classic between Texas and Ohio State.

Two more blue blood programs are on the same field today as a historic college football postseason schedule kicks off the first of two semifinal games. Notre Da

Adam Silverstein, on a 16-2 run (+1375) on Penn State picks, has revealed his CFP semifinal predictions for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2025 Orange Bowl on Thursd

Notre Dame last won a national championship in 1988. Penn State hasn't been crowned champion of college football since 1986. These blue blood programs are two wins away from a title and meet tonight in the Orange Bowl for the first semifinal of the College Football Playoff.

If Notre Dame is going to move on and play for a championship it will need another strong performance from the Irish defense. here are my keys to victory for the Irish defense. 1) Dominate Up The Middle - A key to Notre Dame's defensive success the last two seasons has been the play of the interior of its defensive line,

The Nittany Lions enter the semifinal with two extra days of rest — following the postponement of the Sugar Bowl — that Notre Dame needed even more.

Both ESPN's matchup analytics and the betting odds are favoring Notre Dame. The Notre Dame vs. Penn State football game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT start on ESPN on Thursday, Jan. 9. Sean McDonough is expected to do the play-by-play. Greg McElroy is expected to join him in the booth.

Though the two teams haven't met since 2007, Penn State and Notre Dame share a history that includes a number of notable clashes.

Here's a look at the series history between Penn State and Notre Dame heading into their College Football Playoff semifinal matchup.