Penn State, Notre Dame charge into semifinals in pursuit of elusive title Penn State and Notre Dame are vying to end three decade-long national championship droughts and can move a step closer Thursday night when they collide in the Orange Bowl. One of the two College Football Playoff semifinals, the matchup of seventh-seeded Notre Dame (13-1) and sixth-seeded Penn State (13-2) as part of the debut 12-team bracket, the winner will face either Texas or Ohio State in the CFP national championship on Jan. 20 in Atlanta. The Longhorns and Buckeyes square off Friday night in the other semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Penn State is coming off a 31-14 quarterfinal victory over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve, which followed a 38-10 win at home over SMU in the first round. Penn State is chasing its third national championship and first since 1986. Notre Dame, in pursuit of its 12th consensus national title and first since 1988, scored a 23-10 quarterfinal victory over No. 2 seed Georgia last Thursday in the Sugar Bowl, snapping a 10-game losing streak in either major bowl games or national championship games. "I think it's human nature to enjoy people saying good things about you," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. "It's human nature but we've talked all year about being misfits and that's what we have to continue to be." Notre Dame ranks third nationally in turnover margin (plus-18) and was plus-2 against Georgia, a big reason it prevailed despite amassing only 244 total yards. Penn State isn't far behind as it is ranked 20th with a plus-10 turnover margin. Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts has accounted for seven of Notre Dame's takeaways with six interceptions and one fumble recovery. "I think in a lot of ways, they are built similar to us," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "You look at their turnover ratio numbers, you look at their explosive play defense in terms of defending and limiting explosive plays. ... And they do a great job of not beating themselves, which I think is a really important thing in college football. It starts with that, and then you kind of go from there and play to your strengths and things like that." Penn State is 4-1 all-time in the Orange Bowl and will make its first appearance since 2006. Notre Dame's last postseason game in Miami was the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, but it hasn't played in the Orange Bowl since 1996. The Fighting Irish are 2-3 in the Orange Bowl. The teams have not met since Sept. 8, 2007, when Penn State won 31-10 at home. The all-time series is tied 9-9-1 and the two schools have met only once in a bowl game with Notre Dame winning the 1976 Gator Bowl. Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton have powered Penn State's formidable running game, combining for 2,041 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season. Penn State's leader on defense is Abdul Carter, who has recorded 21.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks, but his status for the Orange Bowl is unclear due to an arm injury that limited his participation in the Fiesta Bowl. "He's doing great. His attitude is great. His mentality has been really good," Franklin said. "I think he's taken the right approach and mentality, and really, it's going to come down to how he feels and how much practice he's able to get during the week." Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard has thrown for 2,383 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions while also rushing for 831 yards and 15 touchdowns. Leonard only threw for 90 yards, but ran for 80 against Georgia. "You play this game with confidence. And that's where I've seen him grow the most is the confidence that he's playing with," Freeman said. --Field Level Media
On 3rd n goal, Allar missed a wide open Singleton, threw a tad short and inside to him... huge break for the Irish. FG was good, 3-0, 2nd.
Task for No. 5 Texas: Stop the receivers for No. 8 Ohio State There are plenty of storylines heading into this year's Cotton Bowl, where two of the winningest programs in college football history will face off for a chance to play for the College Football Playoff national championship. Still, when No. 5 Texas (13-2) and No. 8 Ohio State (12-2) meet in a semifinal matchup on Friday night in Arlington, Texas, the attention will be focused on the quarterbacks. Ohio State's Will Howard played against Texas when he was at Kansas State, but the Wildcats went 0-4 versus the Longhorns in those years. Texas' Quinn Ewers, meanwhile, started his college career with the Buckeyes before transferring to his home state's school. "That was the only team I didn't beat when I was in the Big 12," Howard said. "There's definitely a little extra motivation because I never got the chance to beat these guys, played them for four years. They're always a good team, but I don't think -- none of those games were unwinnable. Last year we lost in overtime. So, definitely excited to get another chance at these guys." Ewers, who went to high school about 20 miles from AT&T Stadium at Southlake Carroll, has never faced his former team and only had positive things to say about his one semester with the Buckeyes. "I don't regret any decision I've made on going or anything like that, but the main reason I went was I felt like I had a great relationship with the coaching staff," Ewers said of his time at Ohio State. "And they were winning a lot of games, and I wanted to go be a part of something like that. "The reason that I came back to Texas was, one, to be closer to where I'm from and just closer to the resources that I have and the relationships that I've built over time just being from Texas." Despite the neutral site, this is a home game for Texas. Still, the Buckeyes have a 3-1 record at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, including a 42-20 win over Oregon in January 2015 to win the first College Football Playoff national championship. Ten years later, Texas will need to contain Ohio State's dynamic receiving corps led by Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, who combined for 2,120 yards and 24 touchdown receptions. Each made 70 catches. "Yeah, they've got an impressive group out at receiver," Texas defensive back Michael Taaffe said. "They've got four or five guys that are really dangerous. Obviously, Jeremiah is really good. Obviously, Emeka, No. 2, is elite. ... They've got guys you've got to respect out there." In Ohio State's 41-21 shellacking of No. 1 Oregon in the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, Howard threw for 319 yards, with Smith hauling in seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Another question is whether Texas can get its running game going after averaging just 1.8 yards in its 39-31 double-overtime victory over Arizona State in the quarterfinal at the Peach Bowl. The Longhorns' season average is 4.5 yards per attempt. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the running game issues this week. "We're at our best when we can run it," he said. "That gives us balance. So, I'm hard-pressed not to kind of just walk away from it and abandon it. We've got to do a great job as a staff of putting together a good game plan and making sure that our players can execute it at a high level." Ohio State undoubtedly will be looking to get off to another fast start. The Buckeyes took a 34-8 lead into halftime against Ohio State and were up 21-0 after one quarter in their 42-17 win over No. 9 Tennessee in their first-round playoff game. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said the only motivation his team needs is simply staying alive in the championship race. "One thing that does motivate our team is an opportunity for the team to play for another week together," he said. "And this is a great group of guys that cares a lot about each other, have fun with each other. They love competing with each other. You can see the passion on the field when they get on the field. The way that this format is and the way the playoffs are set now, it allows us an opportunity to grow as a team and to learn and to get better and to peak late in the season." The winner will meet the winner of Thursday night's Orange Bowl between No. 6 Penn State and No. 7 Notre Dame in the CFP championship on Jan. 20 in Atlanta. --Field Level Media
Carson Beck transfers to Miami: By returning to college with the Hurricanes, Beck can repair his once sky-high draft stock. Though, the 2026 NFL Draft pool looks far more potentially competitive with names like Nico Iamaleava, Arch Manning and Drew Allar looming. In part; CBS
That was a helluva game and a helluva play by Sawyer to wrap up the win. Wasn’t sure he was gonna make those last 20 yards.
Its cool, Marcus Freeman was a LB for the Buckeyes, now he coaches against them for the title... pretty cool.
