The first of two College Football Playoff semifinal games kicks off on Thursday evening with the Orange Bowl between sixth-seeded Penn State and seventh-seeded Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
It marks the 20th all-time meeting (9-9-1) and first between the two programs since 2007. It’s also their second postseason matchup, as the Fighting Irish knocked off the Nittany Lions, 20-9, in the 1976 Gator Bowl.
Penn State will be considered the home team by virtue of being the higher seed, and will wear its standard home uniforms of white helmets, navy blue jerseys and white pants in South Florida.
The Nittany Lions have worn navy blue jerseys in three of their five previous Orange Bowl appearances (1969-70, 1974), going undefeated in those contests but 1-1 while wearing white jerseys (1986 and 2006).
Notre Dame, meanwhile, will wear its standard road uniforms of gold helmets, white jerseys and gold pants after upsetting second-seeded Georgia in the quarterfinals in this exact combination.
The Fighting Irish are also making their sixth appearance in the Orange Bowl, going 2-1 in their road uniforms with wins in 1975 and 1990 and a loss in 1991. They’re 0-2 in their navy blue jerseys, meanwhile (1973 and 1996).
That said, Notre Dame made a subtle update to its uniforms for the postseason, adding each player’s last name to the back of their jerseys and small gold patch above that with a blue “ND” monogram flanked by the Nos. 24 and 25, obviously noting the years.
That’s created a unique situation for walk-on cornerback Charles Du, who is from Beijing and has his last name written in Chinese characters, following the lead of former Arizona State running back Jackson He, who made history as first Chinese-born player to score a touchdown in 2020.
As for Thursday’s field design, it features the Orange Bowl logo at the 50-yard line of Hard Rock Stadium, with a Capital One advertisement and a College Football Playoff semifinal wordmark at the 25-yard lines.
Both end zones are navy blue, with a white Penn State wordmark or gold Notre Dame wordmark to the right of the College Football Playoff logo, which sits in opposing corners of the field.
Make sure to check back on Friday for a preview of the other College Football Playoff semifinal matchup, which pits fifth-seeded Texas against eight-seeded Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
Header photo courtesy of @OrangeBowl on X/Twitter.
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