Xavier Watts and Notre Dame's fierce defense will be tasked with smothering Penn State on Thursday in the Orange Bowl, launching the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Irish are slight favorites to advance.

Penn State and Notre Dame will square off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for a spot in the national title game. If the Nittany Lions win, they’ll face either Ohio State or Texas in the CFP final at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20.

Even on the FCS level, former star NFL players like Michael Vick (Norfolk State) and Desean Jackson (Delaware State) have recently been hired as first-time coaches, following in the footsteps of Colorado’s Deion Sanders, who only five years ago got his start in college football at Jackson State.

Here's a complete schedule of the College Football Playoff semifinals, including kickoff times and TV channel information.

Penn State and Notre Dame play in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The teams have played 19 times, including 12 consecutive years from 1981 to 1992.

In an era that is now long gone, a trip to the Orange Bowl meant a break from the rough weather up north and the capper to a successful season that might even end with a championship trophy in the cas

Here's a look at the series history between Penn State and Notre Dame heading into their College Football Playoff semifinal matchup.

The loss to Northern Illinois is no longer relevant to Notre Dame. The losses to Ohio State and Oregon don’t matter to Penn State right now. The Irish (13-1) and Nittany Lions (13-2) face off in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night,