Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Notre Dame's Uniforms Are the Talk of the Orange Bowl

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Jan 9, 2025 9:05 PM ET

Thursday night's College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl between the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions is a battle between two of the sport's most physical teams.

Aesthetics-wise, it also happens to be a battle between two of the most popular uniforms that the sport has to offer. Each program is known for its logo-less helmets and extremely clean uniforms that don't feature last names. That is, at least, for most of the season.

As revealed in a SportsCenter post in the opening round of the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame puts its players' names on jerseys only for the postseason. Many college football fans have discussed this look on social media and are in favor of it.

Gearing up for the Orange Bowl ☘️#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/dclgPIG8mG
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 9, 2025

"These Notre Dame uniforms with names look nice! Make it permanent! Looking at you nameless idiots at Penn State and USC," wrote one fan.

"Notre Dame uniforms so cold," added another.

"Notre Dame winning this battle for having names on the jerseys," joked The Athletic's Chris Vannini.

Whoever told Notre Dame to stay with the names on the back of the jersey is a genius. I don't ever think I've liked the no name on a jersey look," commented another user.

While some may be hoping that it turns into a full-time tradition, it does feel a bit extra special that the Irish only bust the names out when the postseason rolls around. As for the Nittany Lions, who do not have names on their jerseys for the postseason, it's been about a decade since they last sported them.

Head coach Bill O'Brien added them prior to the 2012 season as a way to recognize the players after the Jerry Sandusky scandal and kept them in the 2013-14 seasons. However, James Franklin went back to the traditional nameless jerseys prior to the 2015 season.

Whether or not fans are in favor of the names on jerseys, Thursday night's matchup is certainly an elite uniform showcase.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: