Notre Dame beats Penn State on late FG to win Orange Bowl, advance to CFP title game: Live updates and reaction

Notre Dame and Ohio State have matched up in each of the last two seasons under Marcus Freeman and Ryan Day, respectively. The Buckeyes won both games.

Ohio State beat 21-10 Notre Dame in Columbus in 2022 in what was Freeman’s head coaching debut. The Buckeyes then defeated the Fighting Irish again in South Bend in 2023, 17-14, on a dramatic last-second touchdown run from Chip Trayanum. A meeting in the national title game — if Ohio State defeats Texas in Friday’s Cotton Bowl — would be the third between the two teams in as many seasons.

Texas and Notre Dame last faced off in 2016, a 50-47 win in a double-overtime thriller in Austin. It was a signature win for the unranked Longhorns against the then-No. 10 Fighting Irish, prompting ESPN broadcaster Joe Tessitore to exclaim, “Texas is back, folks!”

While Tessitore’s exclamation proved premature for Charlie Strong’s ultimately unsuccessful tenure at Texas, the Longhorns have returned national powerhouse level under current coach Steve Sarkisian.