Penn State will play Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals: Here are three things to know about the Irish

Penn State’s College Football Playoff semifinal opponent is officially set. After No. 7 seed Notre Dame defeated No. 2 Georgia, 23-10, on Thursday in the rescheduled Sugar Bowl, the Nittany Lions and the Irish will face off in Miami Gardens, Fla., in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 (7:30 p.m., ESPN).

This will be the third time Notre Dame makes a semifinal appearance in the college playoffs. The Irish played in the 2018 and 2020 semis under Brian Kelly, losing by double-digits in each appearance. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman is in his fourth season at the helm, succeeding Kelly, who’s now coaching LSU.

Penn State and Notre Dame have a long history, one that dates back to 1913. Overall, the series is tied at 9-9-1, with 12 of those meetings coming between 1981 and1992. Most of those featured Joe Paterno and Lou Holtz leading Penn State and Notre Dame, respectively. The most recent meeting came in 2007, a 31-10 Penn State win at Beaver Stadium.

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After an early loss to Northern Illinois, Notre Dame looks like a different team and has won 12 straight games. Here’s a look at how the Irish match up with Penn State.

Notre Dame’s offense starts and stops with sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love. The St. Louis native had four 100-yard games over his last six, and is a big reason the Irish entered the Sugar Bowl with the nation’s No. 11 rushing offense (222.4). Love averages 7.4 yards per carry, has 18 total touchdowns, and was a big reason the Irish jumped out to an early lead in their first-round playoff win over Indiana — he ripped off a 98-yard touchdown run in their 27-17 win on Dec. 20. Love was limited to just six carries and 19 yards against Georgia after suffering an apparent leg injury. His status was unknown.

Backup running back Jadarian Price has stepped up as well with seven rushing touchdowns. But what makes this offense particularly dynamic in the run game is the athleticism of quarterback Riley Leonard, who has racked up 15 rushing touchdowns and over 800 rushing yards. Leonard, a Duke transfer, forces defenses to assign at least one defender to focus on him.

The Irish’s passing game ranks near the bottom nationally, averaging 196.8 yards per game, but Leonard takes care of the football, throwing just six interceptions this season in nearly 350 passing attempts. Leonard makes timely throws on third down and has 18 passing touchdowns.

Notre Dame’s defense is one of the best at taking the football away. The Irish average 2.2 turnovers per game, tied for the best mark nationally. Safety Xavier Watts leads college football in interceptions over the last two seasons with 13, and can make plays both as a run defender and across the middle of the field in coverage. As a group, Notre Dame has 18 interceptions and has forced opponents to turn the ball over at least once in 13 of 14 games this season.

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In defending the pass, Notre Dame plays man coverage early and often, forcing wide receivers to get open on the outside. Notre Dame entered Thursday with the No. 2 scoring defense nationally (13.8) and the No. 2 passing defense (162.3). The Irish have allowed only one 300-yard passer (USC’s Jayden Maiava) this season. Their run defense is also above average, surrendering just 133 yards per game (No. 42 nationally).

A familiar face leads this vaunted defense. Al Golden, the Irish defensive coordinator, is a former Penn State letterman who coached linebackers with the Nittany Lions in 2000 and spent five seasons as Temple’s coach, from 2006 to 2010. After a five-year stint with Miami, and a few seasons as a position coach with the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals, Golden joined the Irish in 2022 and has held the defensive coordinator role since.

Freeman and Penn State coach James Franklin will make history, no matter who wins in Florida next week. The winner can become the first Black head coach to win a Division I football national championship.

Franklin back in 2019 previously said that becoming the first Black coach to win it all “is probably something I do carry with me that is important to me.”