Notre Dame football team members dealing with flu ahead of semifinal vs Penn State: report

Some members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have to do their best Michael Jordan impressions on Thursday.

The flu is reportedly going around the team just hours before their College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State.

On3 Sportss reported that “those who have it feel bad, but it sounds like it’s mostly backups and special teams players.”

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A detailed view of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo is seen at the 50-yard line on the field in action during a football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 23, 2023 at Notre Dame Stadium in South. Bend, Indiana. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Other reports since suggest that the illness has subsided in recent days, but the players are not out of the woods just yet.

The Fighting Irish are riding high heading into Thursday’s Orange Bowl after taking down the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinals last week.

Notre Dame earned the seventh seed in the bracket, prompting them to host a home game against No. 10 Indiana. It was a pretty easy win, but Thursday might just be their toughest test yet.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders run down the field with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo in action during a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinals on October 12, 2024 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Penn State held Boise State star Ashton Jeanty to just 104 rushing yards last week, his lowest of the season. That’s not necessarily good news for the Irish, considering Riley Leonard only had 90 yards passing against the Bulldogs.

The Nittany Lions are the sixth seed in the bracket.

The Fighting Irish’s season appeared to be dead in the water after losing at home to Northern Illinois in the second week of the season, but they have since rattled off a dozen straight wins to find themselves just one win away from their second national title game in the last 15 years.

But if they can pull off what appeared to be a program-altering loss at the time, a mistake seems like just a minor speed bump.

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This is the third time the Fighting Irish are in the playoffs after losing in the semifinals in both 2018 and 2020.

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