The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dominated the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals at the Sugar Bowl, securing a 23-10 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. Not only did they clinch a date against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the CFP Semifinals at the Orange Bowl, but the school also made a lot of money.
By making the College Football Playoff semifinals, the four teams earned a $14 million payout each for their respective conferences. The only problem is that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are an independent program, meaning they aren't tied to a conference. Instead, Notre Dame is given the $14 million for themselves.
Even though in other sports, Notre Dame is a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, since it's independent in college football, it doesn't have an obligation to the conference.
This is a massive revenue for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish that could help them in a multitude of ways, like increasing their NIL payouts to get better recruits to join the program.
Notre Dame vs. Penn State preview
The seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the sixth-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions face off in the Orange Bowl, with the winner heading to the national championship game. With the postponement of the Sugar Bowl, the Nittany Lions have a distinct rest advantage, as they played on Dec. 31.
The Nittany Lions won 31-14 over the Boise State Broncos in their CFP Semifinal. They made things look easy as they slowed down running back Ashton Jeanty. According to ESPN Bet, the Fighting Irish opened as 1.5-point favorites, with the total being listed at 44.5 points. However, the total has jumped two points to 46.5 total points.
The Notre Dame program has won with very limited offense, but the defense and special teams dominated their last victory.
Quarterbacks Riley Leonard and Drew Allar get a lot of flack, but the offenses are different, with the Fighting Irish leaning on their running game while the Nittany Lions throw the ball well.
This game is going to be close and should be an exciting College Football Playoff matchup.
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