All four top seeds that earned a first-round bye were eliminated in the second round, setting the stage for an epic showdown between the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions.
The two programs last met in 2007, and now, with a trip to the national championship on the line, they will face off again in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
The Fighting Irish are coming off a dominant defensive performance in their victory over the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs, while Penn State secured a strong win over Boise State on New Year’s Eve, with tight end Tyler Warren playing a pivotal role in their offense.
This will be the 20th meeting between the two teams, and ahead of the highly anticipated matchup, former head coach and current Fox Sports analyst Urban Meyer shared his prediction as Notre Dame is currently 1.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Although Meyer admitted it was a tough call, given how close he expected the game to be, he ultimately picked the Fighting Irish to advance to the national championship.
“If Notre Dame plays the way they played, they win. Once again, Vegas is all over this,” Meyer said. “I’d put zero doubt on it. Two excellent coaches, I see this as a pick ’em, but honestly, right now, if Notre Dame plays the way they did, they’ll beat Penn State.”
Both of these programs are steeped in history, but neither has won or competed for a national championship in quite some time. The last time the Nittany Lions claimed the title was in 1986, while Notre Dame’s most recent championship came in 1988.
However, the Fighting Irish have made the College Football Playoff three times since its inception in 2014, and now, with Marcus Freeman at the helm, the Irish have started their playoff journey with a perfect 2-0 record. Freeman will look to extend that momentum in what is shaping up to be a highly anticipated matchup on Thursday night.
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