As the Fighting Irish battle for a shot at their first national championship in nearly 40 years, they'll do it in front of a pro-Nittany Lions crowd. Driving the news: Notre Dame heads to Miami this week as the slight favorite in their Orange Bowl showdown against Penn State.

The Fighting Irish are slight favorites over the Nittany Lions, who are getting some love from the algorithms.

Drew Allar, Riley Leonard and both defenses will play a key role when Penn State and Notre Dame meet in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl.