The first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff era is also a first in over 120 years for Notre Dame. The matchup with Indiana is the first Notre Dame home game on a Friday since Nov. 30, 1900. Yes, really.
No. 10 Indiana (11-1) at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1)
Time: 8 p.m. ET | TV: ABC/ESPN | Line: Notre Dame -7.5 | Total: 50.5
How these teams got here
Indiana: The Hoosiers are the No. 10 seed with one loss because of a regular-season schedule that featured just one team with eight or more wins. And that team was the one that beat the Hoosiers. Indiana started 10-0 before losing 38-15 at Ohio State in a game where nothing went right for Indiana. The Hoosiers took out their frustration on Purdue the next week with a 66-0 win and has another shot to show it’s among the nation’s elite with a matchup against the Irish.
Notre Dame: Not counting Oregon, the only undefeated team in the country, the Fighting Irish have the longest win streak. Notre Dame’s Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois feels like it happened in another dimension. The Huskies turned out not to be a contender in the MAC and Notre Dame has evolved into a powerhouse ever since. Just one of Notre Dame’s 11 wins has been by one score.
Live12 updates
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The 12-team College Football Playoff is underway!!!
Indiana will have the ball first.
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The kickoff temperature announced as 28 degrees.
“It feels like 19,” says the Notre Dame Stadium press box announcer.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 21, 2024
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Curt Cignetti provides Notre Dame with late bulletin-board material
“We don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s— out of them.”
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti didn’t hold back on the Hoosiers’ success this season 😤 pic.twitter.com/M4FGhv6Xsy
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 20, 2024
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College Football Playoff bracket predictions
Who will win it all in the College Football Playoff? Here’s the prediction. (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) -
CFP players to watch, key to the game: Indiana at Notre Dame
Click the photo above to read the story. (Photos: Getty) -
Viewer’s guide to the new College Football Playoff
The 12-team College Football Playoff will start on Dec. 20 and end in Atlanta, Georgia on Jan. 20. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) -
As expanded College Football Playoff arrives, the sport’s chaotic realities are on full display: ‘It is absolute bedlam’
While this should be a time for celebration with the start of the expanded College Football Playoff, the sport’s many problems are taking over public discourse. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) -
As college football evolves and parity spreads, Dabo Swinney still prefers ‘old way.’ But even Clemson’s stubborn coach is learning to adapt
Click the photo above to read the story. (John Byrum/Getty Images) -
Reaching the College Football Playoff is a lucrative business for schools
Click the photo above to read the story. (Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/Getty Images) -
Ranking the potential upsets in the first round
Click the photo above to read the story. (Ben Jackson/Getty Images) -
Good evening folks and welcome to our live tracker for the first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff!
We still have about an hour before kickoff, so here’s what’s been going on in college football the last few days while we wait.
