We’re at the time of year where illnesses get passed around easily, not the least of which is the flu. When you have a group of people constantly together and often in close quarters with one another, the chances of the flu being spread go up.

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, it appears the flu is surfacing ahead of the Orange Bowl against Penn State. Tyler Horka of Blue and Gold Illustrated is reporting that the disease primarily is being spread among backups and special teams players.

We likely won’t know until after the College Football Playoff semifinal if any prominent names were affected by the flu for this game. Then again, Irish fans know well that illnesses hasn’t affected key players in the past. There was Joe Montana’s famous Chicken Soup Game, and more recently, Jeremiyah Love had the flu while rushing for a 98-yard touchdown against Indiana.

In case you need inspiration for the Orange Bowl, here’s the Irish’s hype video for it:

Flu or not, the Irish will be ready for the Nittany Lions.

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