Penn State football and Notre Dame meet for the first time since 2007 in the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, this week. It’s a collision course between two old foes who are red-hot at the moment.

Throughout the season, the Nittany Lions have demonstrated how they can defeat opponents. Drew Allar’s decision-making and confidence have improved markedly, while Tyler Warren is a living Swiss army knife.

However, neither may be as imperative to securing a win as the running game. James Franklin labeled his team’s red-hot duo as the “best” in college football, and the numbers don’t lie. Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton have 204 and 177 rushing yards in the College Football Playoff so far, while they have 327 and 432 in Penn State’s last five games, respectively.

In addition to impressive rushing totals, Penn State has figured out how to utilize both running backs now that they’re fully healthy. Allen’s physicality and Singleton’s explosiveness have emerged, while the latter said he’s a “violent f****** man” after a touchdown against SMU in the first round. Notre Dame has a significant challenge ahead, and head coach Marcus Freeman is well aware of it.

“Both of the running backs are extremely good players, and both of them are home-run threats,” Freeman said. “They’re power runners. They have speed, good balance. They’re tough. I think they’re extremely talented players.”

Allen and Singleton are an obstacle the Fighting Irish are yet to experience, as each one has over 1,000 rushing yards this season.

“[Penn State’s] offense is a great challenge. They run the ball, probably built similar to us in terms of the way we’ve had success,” Freeman said.

Notre Dame hadn’t faced a team with legitimate star power at running back until Georgia in the Sugar Bowl last week, but the defense rose to the occasion. Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier had just 38 and 37 yards apiece, among their lowest totals all season.

“Defensively, we wanted to stop the run, and that’s the No. 1 thing we did defensively. We stopped the run,” Freeman said about the Georgia game. I knew in my heart, I said, ‘Passing yards aren’t going to beat us this game. It’s rushing yards.’ And we did a really good job defensively, doing it.”

Notre Dame has the No. 11-ranked rushing defense in college football. The Irish are allowing 62.5 yards per game, including 2.23 yards per carry.

Much of Notre Dame’s success at stopping the run can be attributed to lineman Rylie Mills, who leads the Irish with nine tackles for loss. Linebacker Jack Kiser leads them with 75 tackles, while fellow linebacker Jaiden Ausberry is second with seven tackles for loss.

The rushing defense will be tested significantly not just because of Allen and Singleton’s capabilities when they’re playing together. While Gunnar Stockton made his first collegiate start for the Bulldogs, the Nittany Lions boast the aforementioned star power at quarterback. Allar can also run, as he has 285 yards on the ground this season.

Although it remains to be seen what Penn State will do to outmatch Notre Dame, preparing for the unknown is something Freeman and his team have become accustomed to doing. That will be no different ahead of the Orange Bowl, if not more important than ever.

“Unpredictable things in life will determine the success,” Freeman said.