Notre Dame football is one step closer to winning its first ever College Football Playoff national championship.
The seventh-seeded Irish secured the first spot in the CFP national title game on Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium by taking down sixth-seeded Nittany Lions 27-24 in the CFP Orange Bowl semifinal.
Notre Dame will face the winner of Friday night’s Cotton Bowl semifinal No. 5 Texas and No. 8 Ohio State in the CFP championship game on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Irish punched their ticket to Atlanta on a 41-yard field goal from kicker Mitch Jeter in the winding seconds of the fourth quarter. Jeter’s game-winning field goal was set up by a game-changing interception from Notre Dame’s Christian Gray of Penn State quarterback Drew Allar.
Here’s what 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 CFP national championship?
With its Orange Bowl win, Notre Dame will now advance to the CFP national championship on Monday Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
The Irish, however, won’t know who they will go up against in the national championship game until late Friday night, as Texas and Ohio State have yet to play in the CFP Cotton Bowl semifinal. The Longhorns and Buckeyes are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. 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 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.
However, if Ohio State beat 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 out with the win on a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive from former Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord. One of the bigger storylines for that 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, Dec. 20
- No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 10 Indiana 17
Saturday, Dec. 21
- 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, Dec. 31
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14
Wednesday, Jan. 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, Jan. 2
- Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Georgia 10
CFP semifinal
Thursday, Jan. 9
- Orange Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 6 Penn State 24
Friday, Jan. 10
- Cotton Bowl: No. 5 Texas vs No. 8 Ohio State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo, free trial)
CFP championship
Monday, Jan. 20
- CFP championship game: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. Cotton Bowl winner | 7:30 p.m. | 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 what the CFP bracket looks like after Notre Dame’s win:
Oregon (13-1)Georgia (11-3)Boise State (12-2)Arizona State (11-3)- Texas (13-2)
Penn State (13-3)- Notre Dame (14-1)
- Ohio State (12-2)
Tennessee (10-3)Indiana (11-2)SMU (11-3)Clemson (10-4)
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