The Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Notre Dame and Georgia was postponed a day, from New Year’s Day to January 2, after an early morning terrorist attack in New Orleans on January 1. After the delay, the No. 7 seed Fighting Irish took down the No. 2 Bulldogs on Thursday evening to advance to the Orange Bowl semifinal against No. 6 Penn State.
The Nittany Lions played their CFP quarterfinal game on New Year’s Eve, defeating No. 3 Boise State 31-14 in the Fiesta Bowl to advance. It was the 13th win of the season for Penn State, the most in a single season in program history, though with two losses, that’s more of a testament to the length of the modern schedule for an extended 12-team CFP and conference championship games. Notre Dame enters the quarterfinal at 13-1 with its lone defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois in Week 2 of the regular season.
Penn State and Notre Dame appear to be two evenly matched teams with similar question marks on their respective rosters. Both have had an underwhelming passing game, though for different reasons, both have an elite running back duo, and at the moment both have an injury concern for their elite pass rusher. The Irish are expected to be without Rylie Mills, who injured his knee in the first round of the playoff, and the Nittany Lions are hoping for the return of Abdul Carter, who injured his left arm against Boise State.
The betting market agrees with those similarities, though slightly favors Notre Dame in this matchup with the Irish opening as a slight 1.5-point favorite. Here’s a look at the opening odds for Thursday night’s Orange Bowl CFP semifinal between Penn State and Notre Dame:
These odds are available in the FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline
- Notre Dame -120
- Penn State +100
Spread
- Notre Dame -1.5 (-110)
- Penn State +1.5 (-110)
Total
- 46.5 (over -110/under -110)