PSU coach James Franklin greets Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman after his press conference after the Orange Bowl loss.

For the first time since 2012, Notre Dame will play for a national title. The (7) Fighting Irish advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship with a 27-24 win against (6) Penn State in Thursday evening's Orange Bowl.

Win and you’re in. No. 6 Penn State and No. 7 Notre Dame battle it out in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium for a spot in the National Championship Game. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 9 on ESPN.

The Nittany Lions could look quite different in 2025, as the program awaits decisions from several key players.

Friday’s Cotton Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes will determine Notre Dame’s opponent. The two winning teams will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, where they’ll meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the National Championship game at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday. Jan. 20, 2025.

Here’s who’s on the call for ESPN’s broadcast of the College Football Playoff semifinals game between Penn State and Notre Dame.

Penn State head coach James Franklin sounded an awful lot like Jim Harbaugh following Nittany Lions' loss to Notre Dame on Thursday

James Franklin and Penn State will be left to rue a key fourth-quarter decision as the Nittany Lions narrowly fell to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on Thursday

Penn State coach James Franklin appears to have made an unforced error in his press conference prior to Thursday’s Orange Bowl that wound up serving as fuel for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.