Notre Dame vs. Penn State College Football Playoff Semifinals Best Bet: Lions End Fighting Irish Run

Remember all of the talk and all of the complaining about which teams did and didn’t belong in the College Football Playoffs? Well, it turns out the only teams worthy were the four middle seeds of an expanded 12-team field.

Notre Dame completed the semifinal field Thursday, leaving the gridiron version of the Final Four with the quartet originally seeded 5-6-7-8.

No. 7 when it all began, the Fighting Irish will take on the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl for a spot in the National Championship Game in Atlanta on January 20th.

BetOnline was quick to send Notre Dame out as 1½-point chalk, with early signs that could quickly get to 2, while setting the scoreboard target at 47.

PSU 2-0 ATS, 0-2 O/U in CFP

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions punched their ticket to the semis on New Year’s Eve, then sat back and watched the others fight amongst themselves. Penn State jumped out to a 14-0 lead over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl and never looked back in the 31-14 final.

Closing as chalk of 11-12 points on the NCAAF odds, the Nittany Lions forced 4 turnovers and shut down Ashton Jeanty while limiting the Broncos to just 108 yards rushing. Boise State entered the game with the 8th-ranked rushing offense averaging more than 250 yards per game.

Penn State turned the table and ran for twice as many yards as Boise State, with Nicholas Singleton’s 58-yard bolt late in the fourth quarter sealing the deal.

It was also the defense that set the tone for the 38-10 win over SMU in the first round of the playoffs. The Nittany Lions picked off three passes in each victory, giving them 18 on the year which is good enough to sit tied for third in the column. The first two of those picks were returned for Penn State touchdowns.

Irish Have Covered Last 9

Marcus Freeman also got to watch his defense – and special teams – dominate in Notre Dame’s 23-10 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Fighting Irish stopped the Bulldogs three times on fourth down attempts, and only allowed Georgia to convert 2-of-12 third down tries.

Notre Dame closed as 1-point chalk at top sportsbooks after Georgia opened as a small favorite. The game turned late in the first half when the Fighting Irish scored 10 points in the final minute with the help of a turnover by the Bulldogs.

Jayden Harrison then delivered the coup de gras with a 98-yard kickoff return to begin the second half.

Riley Leonard only threw for 90 yards on 15 completions, but the senior was also busy leading Notre Dame with 80 yards on the ground. In some ways, Irish kicker Mitch Jeter was the offensive star with a trio of 40+ yard field goals.

One of the teams Penn State is tied with 18 interceptions just so happens to be Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish accumulating theirs in one fewer game. They didn’t pick off Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, but came away with two fumble recoveries to give them 31 takeaways, tops in the nation.

All-Time Series Tied

There was a time in the 70s, 80s and early-90s when we frequently saw the Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish collide on the gridiron. But this is the first time it’s happened in more than 17 years, and their first bowl matchup since the 1976 Gator Bowl, which eventually became the TaxSlayer.

Penn State and Notre Dame last faced off in 2006-07 on a home-&-home schedule, each winning and covering on their own turf. The Nittany Lions 31-10 triumph in 2007 at Happy Valley left the all-time series knotted at 9 wins apiece, plus a scoreless tie way, way back in 1925.

The Pick

We certainly aren’t expecting a double-naught deadlock 100 years later, but it is next to impossible not to be thinking about how these two defenses have dominated in the College Football Playoffs.

It’s also difficult not to consider that old Notre Dame magic throughout college football history, but my pick on Penn State is simply based on the Nittany Lions having the better offense to beat the Fighting Irish outright.

NCAAF Pick: Penn State +1½ (-107) at BetOnline

Penn State +1½ (-107)

Visit Site

*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.