Notre Dame Responds to Concerning Reports Hours Before Orange Bowl Kickoff

The No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to face off against the No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl on Thursday evening.

With a ticket to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on the line, this is the biggest contest of the Fighting Irish's 2024-25 campaign thus far.

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, some concerning reports have emerged in the hours leading up to this CFP semifinal matchup. Tyler Horka of On3 Sports reported that several Fighting Irish players are dealing with flu-like symptoms before Thursday night's clash against Penn State.

“Been told the flu is going around the Notre Dame locker room,” Horka said. “Those who have it have it bad, but it sounds like that’s mostly backups and special teams players. Still something to monitor for the Fighting Irish going into the Orange Bowl vs. Penn State tonight.”

Notre Dame has since responded to these reports with an official statement.

“It will have no impact on the game,” a Notre Dame official told CBS Sports. “[Wide receiver] Beaux Collins was impacted in the Sugar Bowl, but still played and was on the mend during the game.”