2025 Orange Bowl Betting Lines - Notre Dame vs. Penn State

Orange Bowl Lines - College Football Playoff Semifinal

The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to its Final Four. One of the matchups takes place on Thursday night at the Orange Bowl when the Penn State Nittany Lions face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The winner will advance to the national championship game. Penn State is coming off a quarterfinal win over the Boise State Broncos. At the same time, Notre Dame manhandled the mighty Georgia Bulldogs in their quarterfinal matchup. Two teams from the rust belt fighting for a berth in the final is proof of a new age in college football.

2025 Orange Bowl at a Glance

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2025

Time (ET) / TV: 7:30 PM / ESPN

Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

Matchup: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Penn State Nittany Lions

College Football Betting Lines

Notre Dame Fighting Irish -2

Penn State Nittany Lions +2

Over/Under: 47

Money Line: Notre Dame -129, Penn State +110

Orange Bowl Preview

Last game, the Penn State Nittany Lions won 31-14 against the Boise State Broncos as 11.5-point favorites. The game went under the total of 54.5. Penn State has a record of 13-2 straight up, 6-6 against the spread, and 5-7 over/under the total. Penn State ranks 28th for total offense, 60th for passing, 20th for rushing and 25th for scoring. Defensively they rank 4th overall, 26th against the pass, 8th against the rush, and 7th for points allowed. Also, Penn State ranks 35th for fewest turnovers lost and 6th for takeaways.

Last game, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 23-10 against the Georgia Bulldogs as 1-point favorites. The game went under the total of 45. Notre Dame has a record of 13-1 straight up, 10-2 against the spread, and 7-5 over/under the total. Notre Dame ranks 53rd for total offense, 110th for passing, 13th for rushing and 3rd for scoring. Defensively they rank 7th overall, 4th against the pass, 33rd against the rush, and 2nd for points allowed. Also, Notre Dame ranks 25th for fewest turnovers lost and 4th for takeaways.

Orange Bowl Prediction

In this situation, Notre Dame's body of work is more impressive. Its win over Georgia was the ultimate proof of its rise. Penn State’s workmanlike win over a lesser Boise State team is less impressive in comparison.

Orange Bowl Format

One of the oldest bowl games, the Orange Bowl, has been played in the Miami, Florida, area since January 1, 1935. It was first held in Miami at Miami Field before moving to the Miami Orange Bowl stadium in 1938. The Orange Bowl moved to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in 1996, home of the Miami Dolphins and the University of Miami. The game has been sponsored by Capital One since 2014 and is officially known as the Capital One Orange Bowl.

The Orange Bowl has been tied to the College Football Playoff since after the 2014 season. The game hosts the ACC champion in the years that the game does not host a College Football Playoff national semifinal. The ACC has a deal with the Orange Bowl, so if the ACC Champion qualifies for the College Football Playoff and the Orange Bowl is not the semifinal host, the next highest-ranked ACC team gets a spot. The SEC and Big Ten conferences get consideration for the other spot along with Notre Dame. ESPN holds the television rights for the Orange Bowl through at least the 2026 season.

Orange Bowl Past Results

The Orange Bowl had a long traditional tie-in with the Big Eight Conference that later became the Big 12. Thus, the Oklahoma Sooners were frequent participants in this game and held the all-time record of 12 Orange Bowl wins. Oklahoma’s old rival from those days was the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who rank second with eight wins. In fact, Oklahoma and Nebraska met in the 1979 Orange Bowl in a rematch from that 1978 season in which Nebraska won. Oklahoma got revenge in that Orange Bowl 31-24.

2024-25 College Football Bowl Games

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