Happy New Year, folks.

After cruising past Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve, the Nittany Lions will travel to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, to take on Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup.

Shortly after Notre Dame’s victory over Georgia, DraftKings set the opening line for the contest at 1.5 points in favor of the Fighting Irish. The game has an over/under set at 46.5 points and a money line option set at -122 for Notre Dame, making Penn State +102 underdogs.

The Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish have squared off against each other a total of 19 times in their respective histories, with an even 9-9 split, including one 0-0 tie. The first matchup dates back to 1913 and the most recent matchup took place in 2007, a 31-10 victory for Penn State.

Penn State is 8-7 against the spread and 6-9 against the over/under this season.

Stat To Know

Penn State is 0-2 straight up and 0-2 against the spread as underdogs so far this season. On the other hand, Notre Dame is 12-1 as a favorite this season after a September 7 loss to NIU.

Furthermore, across all remaining semifinal teams, the Nittany Lions have the longest odds to win the national championship at +450, behind the likes of Texas at +380, Notre Dame at +360, and Ohio State at +110.

Pick Of The Week (3-2)

Penn State money line +102

Keep it simple this week, folks. No explanation needed — the blue and white will win this game.