Will Penn State football beat Notre Dame, Georgia in Orange Bowl? CFP bracket predictions

Posted by author January 1, 2025 Football

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GLENDALE, Ariz. − Penn State football will face arguably its toughest defense yet in next week’s Orange Bowl.

Which means that quarterback Drew Allar and his trending running backs must give their best performance yet for the Nittany Lions to play for a national championship.

The Lions expect to be a slight underdog in the College Football Playoff semifinals in South Florida on Jan. 9 − whether they play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or the Georgia Bulldogs. (Those teams play New Year’s night). That’s because both feature extraordinary defenses. Notre Dame is No. 3 nationally in scoring (allowing 13.8 points per game), the Bulldogs are among the nation’s best in sacking quarterbacks.

So for Penn State to win for the 14th time this season − to successfully follow its 31-14 quarterfinal victory over Boise State?

It must get a next-level performance from Allar, who’s shown flashes of developing into one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. Same for tailbacks Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who are now finally fully healthy and productive together.

Penn State’s offense is improving, it is good enough now to beat most everyone in the country.

But there’s one thing holding them back in a game like this − like it did in Top 10 losses to Ohio State and Oregon. It still hasn’t proven the downfield passing targets to crack a top defense. As in Allar throwing to his wide receivers.

They’ve overcome this issue in most every game before.

But Notre Dame and Georgia provide elite resistance − just like Ohio State and Oregon did.

Which means this playoff semifinal may end much the same way.

Bodani’s prediction: Notre Dame or Georgia 21, Penn State 17

When does Penn State football play in the CFP Orange Bowl?

The Nittany Lions will play the winner of Notre Dame-Georgia in the CFP semifinals at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 (7:30 p.m. ET). The game will be televised by ESPN.

Penn State football Orange Bowl tickets

Penn State tickets requests for the Fiesta Bowl are now available through the university, officials announced. The deadline to submit all tickets requests is Monday, Dec. 23, at noon.

To purchase tickets via online exchange and resale companies, see below: See ticket information below:

Buy Orange Bowl tickets

CFP schedule

The other three CFP quarterfinal games will be played on New Year’s Day at the Peach Bowl (Arizona State vs. Texas/Clemson winner, 1 p.m.), the Rose Bowl (Oregon vs. Ohio State/Tennessee winner, 5 p.m.) and the Sugar Bowl (Georgia vs. Notre Dame, 8:45 p.m.).

The semifinals will be played on Jan. 9 at the Orange Bowl (Fiesta Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m.) and on Jan. 10 at the Cotton Bowl (Peach Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m.).

The national championship game will be played at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m.

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Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.