As kickoff for the 2025 Orange Bowl between Notre Dame and Penn State approaches, the point spread has grown. At Fan Duel, Notre Dame opened as a 1.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions immediately following the Fighting Irish victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Now just 48 hours before kickoff in Miami, that number has increased.

As the Fighting Irish battle for a shot at their first national championship in nearly 40 years, they'll do it in front of a pro-Nittany Lions crowd. Driving the news: Notre Dame heads to Miami this week as the slight favorite in their Orange Bowl showdown against Penn State.

Both Penn State and Notre Dame have been stout on defense so far in the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions allowed 10 points to SMU and 14 points to Boise State while the Fighting Irish allowed 17 points to Indiana and 10 to Georgia. The Hoosiers scored 14 of those points in the final minute and a half after trailing 27-3 late.

Golic, who played for the Fighting Irish, sees plenty of similarities between the teams, including the narratives surrounding them.

The officials for Penn State’s Orange Bowl matchup with Notre Dame have been assigned. Big 12 conference officials will work Thursday night’s college playoff semifinal game, per the website footballzebras.com.

Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton celebrates a sack during the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2024. Joe Hermitt | [email protected] Joe Hermitt | [email protected] Penn State (13-2) and Notre Dame (13-1) meet Thursday night in the Orange Bowl.

How to watch Orange Bowl College Football Playoff game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Penn State Nittany Lions Thursday, with time, TV channel.

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