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Rece Davis Predicts Narrow Winner in Notre Dame-Penn State Orange Bowl

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Audilet | Last updated Jan 7, 2025 1:16 PM ET

Four teams remain in the first year of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field.

The No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes will face off against the No. 5 seed Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl, and the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish will matchup against the No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl.

Notre Dame reached this semifinal matchup with CFP wins over the No. 10 seed Indiana Hoosiers and No. 2 seed Georgia Bulldogs. Penn State punched its Orange Bowl ticket with dominant wins over the No. 11 seed SMU Mustangs and No. 3 seed Boise State Broncos.

During the most recent episode of the ESPN "College GameDay Podcast," host Rece Davis locked in his predictions for both semifinal games.

Davis believes Notre Dame will "squeak" out a victory with a 23-20 final score over Penn State.

“They are playing great. I agree on all fronts, but I picked Notre Dame to beat Georgia, and I’m going to pick Notre Dame to squeak it out against Penn State,” Davis told his co-host Pete Thamel.

“I think they’re going to do it. It’s going to be an odd-looking score, because there are going to be field goals involved. [Kicker] Mitch Jeter seems to be straightened out. I’ll say Notre Dame wins it, 23-20," he continued.

Davis is right in line with Las Vegas on this pick. Opening betting lines currently favor Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish by 2.5 points over James Franklin and the Nittany Lions.

This highly-anticipated Orange Bowl matchup will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST on Thursday night.

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

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