Dive into the excitement of the Orange Bowl with our Same Game Parlay Pick for the Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Don't miss out!
- Date & Time
- January 6th, 2025
- Teams
None of the teams that had byes in the first round of the College Football Playoff advanced to the semifinals. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were more impressive than the Penn State Nittany Lions in their two games though. Notre Dame dominated Indiana in the first round, and the only reason that game was close was due to the Fighting Irish taking their foot off the gas pedal late. Then, they became the one underdog per the college football betting odds to win in the quarterfinals with a 23-10 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl.
As for the Penn State Nittany Lions, they hammered the SMU Mustangs at home in their first-round matchup. However, their showdown with the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl was much closer than the 31-14 final score might have indicated. This game was close most of the way, and Boise State outgained Penn State. However, the Broncos turned the ball over four times, and that proved to be way too much to overcome.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish -2 Penn State Nittany Lions +2 Total 46
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Initially, Penn State was the favorite by the opening college football betting odds in the Orange Bowl. However, Notre Dame’s win over Georgia has led to action on the Fighting Irish. They are now favored to meet the Cotton Bowl winner in the CFP National Championship Game.
Orange Bowl – Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish SGP
Riley Leonard does not need to be great for Notre Dame to win football games. Leonard completed just 15 of 24 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown in the Fighting Irish win over Georgia last week, and he hasn’t put up big numbers through the air this season. The Duke transfer has completed just 66.5% of his passes for 2,383 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in 14 total games. Leonard is a competent runner with 831 rushing yards (5.6 YPC) and 15 touchdowns though.
We didn’t see much from the Notre Dame run game against Georgia. Jeremiyah Love ran for over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns, but he had just six carries for 19 yards against the Bulldogs. Love will have to perform better if Notre Dame is going to advance to the CFP National Championship Game.
That is needed considering the state of the Notre Dame passing attack. No one has more than 500 receiving yards in 14 games. Jordan Faison was the top target last week with four receptions for 46 yards, and there’s little doubt more will be needed against Penn State.
Drew Allar has been one of the top quarterbacks in college football this season. Allar is completing 67.4% of his passes for 3,192 yards (8.6 YPA) with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Tight end Tyler Warren (and Mackey Award winner) has been by far his favorite target with 98 receptions for 1,158 yards and eight touchdowns. Harrison Wallace III is the receiver that has seen the most targets with 46 receptions for 723 yards and four scores, but no one else has more than 450 receiving yards.
Penn State does have two excellent running backs. Kaytron Allen is the leading rusher with 1,026 yards (5.1 YPC) and eight touchdowns, while Nicholas Singleton isn’t far behind with 1,015 rushing yards (6.5 YPC) and nine touchdowns. They teamed up to run the ball 29 times for 221 yards and a touchdown against Boise State.
These are both very good defenses, so the Under is my favorite play. Neither offense is very imaginative, and I believe this will be a relatively low scoring game. Notre Dame ranks second in scoring defense (13.6 PPG) and sixth in total defense (295.4 YPG), while Penn State ranks fifth in both scoring defense (15.8 PPG) and total defense (288.9 YPG).
As for a side, I have to go with Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are tougher in the trenches, and they are coming off the more impressive win even if Georgia was playing its backup quarterback.
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH -2
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH VS. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS UNDER 46
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