Orange Bowl 2025: Notre Dame targets a national title
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Another fight for the Irish. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
The best college football team in Indiana and one of the best teams to emerge from the bigger, badder Big Ten Conference will clash for a shot to become national champions in Miami.
Why it matters: Thursday night's Orange Bowl game between Notre Dame and Penn State puts the last Hoosier team standing in the 2025 College Football Playoffs in position to win its first national title since 1988.
By the numbers: The Fighting Irish — the only Indiana team to ever win it all — have claimed 11 national championships.
- Penn State, who last won in 1986, has won two national titles.
Between the lines: Making it to the semifinal game of the CFP shows how head coach Marcus Freeman and his squad have lived up to the hype.
- Sports fans got the signal that Notre Dame would be a team to watch before the 2024 season even started when its football program became the subject of a new Peacock docuseries called "Here Come the Irish."
- The seven-episode series, which will air its finale on Jan. 16, followed the team on and off the field throughout the season.
What they're saying: Freeman stopped by ESPN's Sportscenter this week to make it clear that getting past Penn State is no easy task.
- "Offensively they do so many different things that are going to challenge some of your rules … and defensively they create pressure," Freeman said of the Nittany Lions. "We know who our opponent is, but we've got to focus on staying in the moment. We've got to focus on the preparation that it takes to give us a chance to have the outcome that we want."
- Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Faison — who already has one national title under his belt as a member of the Notre Dame lacrosse team — told ESPN that no moment is too big for this football team.
- "To be around your brothers and kind of have that team culture, and we take team culture over here very seriously … it holds you to a higher standard," he said. "That's huge in getting us to where we are today."
State of play: Oddsmakers are picking Notre Dame as the favorite by 1.5 points.
- The over/under is 45.5 total points scored.
Flashback: The record between Notre Dame and Penn State is 9-9-1.
- Their most recent game was on Sept. 8, 2007. Penn State beat Notre Dame 31-10.
Fun fact: The lone tie in the series happened nearly 100 years ago on Nov. 7, 1925. Neither team scored a point.
What's next: Kickoff is 7:30pm Thursday on ESPN.
- The winner will play either Ohio State or Texas in the national championship game on Jan. 20.
Go deeper: Notre Dame football on full display in new Peacock docuseries