The Fighting Irish are slight favorites over the Nittany Lions, who are getting some love from the algorithms.

Tim Ruddy #61, Center for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish prepares to snap the football on the line of scrimmage during the NCAA Independent college football game agai

SportsLine's model just revealed its College Football Playoff semifinal picks for No. 6 seed Penn State vs. No. 7 seed Notre Dame in the 2025 Orange Bowl on Thursday

The availability and ability of the Penn State star defender will go a long way in determining the Orange Bowl winner.

While Notre Dame’s win against Georgia was the first win in a big bowl game in more than 30 years, Penn State is still searching for that level of win under James Franklin. The Nittany Lions had the so-called easy path to the semifinals and took advantage with a dominant win against SMU and a comfortable win against Boise State.

When the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, 6-seed Penn State was held up as a shining example of a team that would've benefitted the most from an expanded field the e

Penn State and Notre Dame are set to face off in the College Football Playoff semifinals in just over 48 hours with a shot to play in the national championship game, and tickets have taken a turn toward more affordable.