Bowl season culminates with the College Football Playoff National Championship, which will crown the first champion of the new 12-team playoff on Monday, January 20. Next up in deciding the two teams that will ultimately play in that championship game are the CFP semifinals.
For the full schedule/scores of bowl games through January, including the CFP first round, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the national championship game, click here. Keep reading for the rundown of what college football action is on tap for today.
What college football bowl games are on today?
Thursday, January 9
7:30 p.m. - Capital One Orange Bowl (CFP Semifinal) (ESPN)
6 Penn State vs. 7 Notre Dame
Game snapshot: With two stellar rush attacks, this game could come down to who can pick up the most yards on the ground. Notre Dame wasn’t able to get much going in that area against Georgia, but between Riley Leonard’s legs and their defense and special teams making plays, the Fighting Irish were able to beat the Bulldogs 23-10. Good news for Notre Dame: their star rusher Jeremiyah Love is “good to go” according to head coach Marcus Freeman after Love tweaked his knee against Georgia last week. Penn State has the better passer in Drew Allar, which will make for an interesting matchup with Notre Dame’s pass defense. Lucky for the Nittany Lions, defensive end Abdul Carter (11 sacks, 2 forced fumbles this season) is expected to play, although he’ll be a game-time decision.
2024-25 College Football Playoff full bracket and scores, schedule, matchups
When is the College Football Playoff?
The College Football Playoff continues January 9 and 10 with the semifinals, and the national championship will be January 20.
