Who Notre Dame will play after Orange Bowl win

On By Littum

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Notre Dame football is one step closer to winning its first-ever College Football Playoff national championship.

The seventh-seeded Irish clinched first place in the CFP national title game Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium by taking down sixth-seeded Nittany Lions 27-24 in the CFP Orange Bowl semifinals.

Notre Dame will face the winner of Friday night’s Cotton Bowl semifinal at No. 5 Texas and no. 8 Ohio State in the CFP Championship Game on Monday, January 20 at 7:30 PM ET at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

REQUIRED READING: Orange Bowl final score, highlights: Notre Dame beats Penn State to advance to CFP title game

The Irish punched their ticket to Atlanta on a 41-yard field goal by kicker Mitch Jeter in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter. Jeter’s game-winning field goal was set up by a game-changing interception by Notre Dame’s Christian Gray from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar.

Here’s what you need to know about who Notre Dame will play in the CFP national championship and a look at the full CFP schedule:

Who will Notre Dame play in the CFP national championship?

With its Orange Bowl win, Notre Dame now advances to the CFP National Championship on Monday, Jan. 20 in Atlanta.

However, the Irish won’t know who they’ll face in the national championship game until late Friday night, as Texas and Ohio State have yet to play in the semifinals of the CFP Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns and Buckeyes are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 PM ET on Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

If Texas beats Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, it will be the first meeting between Notre Dame and the Longhorns since 2016 – when Texas beat Notre Dame 50-47 at home at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. Both the Irish and the Longhorns, who have met three times in the postseason, announced in November that they will play a home-and-home series across the 2028 and 2029 seasons.

But if Ohio State beats Texas in the Cotton Bowl, it will be the first meeting between Notre Dame and the Buckeyes since last year’s top-10 showdown in South Bend. Ohio State, of course, came away with the win on a late fourth quarter touchdown drive from former Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord. One of the bigger stories for the potential matchup is Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman coaching against his alma mater again. Freeman was a two-time All-Big Ten second-team selection at Ohio State, where he finished with 268 career tackles.

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College Football Playoff schedule

All times eastern

CFP First Round

Friday 20 Dec

  • no. 7 Notre Dame 27, no. 10 Indiana 17

Saturday 21 December

  • no. 6 Penn State 38, no. 11 SMU 10
  • no. 5 Texas 38, no. 12 Clemson 24
  • no. 8 Ohio State 42, no. 9 Tennessee 17

CFP Quarterfinals

Tuesday 31 Dec

  • Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14

Wednesday, January 1

  • Peach Bowl: no. 5 Texas 39, no. 4 Arizona State 31 (2OT)
  • Rose bowl: no. 8 Ohio State 41, no. 1 Oregon 21

Thursday, January 2

  • Sugar Bowl: no. 7 Notre Dame 23, no. 2 Georgia 10

CFP semifinals

Thursday 9 January

  • Orange bowl: no. 7 Notre Dame 27, no. 6 Penn State 24

Friday, January 10

  • Cotton bowl: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State | 19:30 | ESPN (Fubo, free trial)

CFP Championship

Monday, January 20

  • CFP Championship Game: No. 7 winner of Notre Dame vs. Cotton Bowl | 19:30 | ESPN (Fubo, free trial)

Updated CFP 12-team bracket

With its loss Thursday, Penn State became the latest team to be eliminated from the CFP bracket. Here’s a look at how the CFP bracket looks after Notre Dame’s win:

  1. Oregon (13-1)
  2. Georgia (11-3)
  3. Boise State (12-2)
  4. Arizona State (11-3)
  5. Texas (13-2)
  6. Penn State (13-3)
  7. Notre Dame (14-1)
  8. Ohio State (12-2)
  9. Tennessee (10-3)
  10. Indiana (11-2)
  11. SMU (11-3)
  12. Clemson (10-4)

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