"I'm petty like that": Shannon Sharpe wants Notre Dame to win so Brian Kelly regrets leaving for LSU 

Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 27-24 on Thursday. The win secured them a spot in the national championship game on Jan. 20.

After the game Thursday, former NFL players Shannon Sharpe and Chad 'Ocho' Johnson released an episode of their podcast, 'Nightcap.' On the episode, Sharpe talked about how much he likes Marcus Freeman. However, he also talked about how he hopes Notre Dame wins the title just so that Brian Kelly regrets leaving the team (starts at 7:35).

"You know what I liked the best. Brian Kelly is about to catch a stray," Sharpe said. "He always does this. He always gets his team there and then leaves in the middle. He did this with Cincinnati, he took the Notre Dame job. He did Notre Dame, he ended up taking the LSU job. I would like to see them win it just for that fact."

Brian Kelly famously left the Fighting Irish at the end of the 2021 season after 12 seasons as head coach. He took a job with LSU because he did not think he could win a national championship with Notre Dame. Sharpe added:

"Yeah Brian Kelly, he did something you couldn't do. Yeah, I'm petty like that. I like Marcus Freeman, he got the job. I think the president was like, ... 'This is our guy.' There wasn't no hullabaloo, making a guy jump through hoops. He liked what he saw, he saw him on campus every day. ...

"I really like Marcus Freeman. I've never met the man, but I'm watching him on the sideline. I watch his mannerisms. ... I'm like yeah, 18-year-old Shannon Sharpe could definitely play for him. I love the passion, I love what he stands for and how his players really really like him."

Notre Dame awaits the winner of Cotton Bowl

After pulling off a comeback win in the Orange Bowl, the Fighting Irish can sit back and wait for their opponent in the national championship game. Their opponent will be determined on Friday in the Cotton Bowl.

The Cotton Bowl is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. EST. It will feature the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are favored to win the matchup after dominating their first two opponents in the CFP. Conversely, Texas narrowly escaped the quarterfinals with a win, defeating Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime.