DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Although both programs boast accomplished histories, it’s been a long time since either Notre Dame or Penn State reached major college football’s mountaintop as its national champion. It was the 1988 season for the Fighting Irish, and two years earlier for Penn State.
There have been good seasons and bad seasons in the three-plus decades that have followed, multiple coaching changes for both schools, and a complete overhaul of what the sports looks like for NCAA Division I’s top level, the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Yet here they are — back again, on the doorstep of a title shot.
Notre Dame’s shocking setback against Northern Illinois, a Mid-American Conference program, two games into the season is no longer relevant to the Irish. Penn State’s one-possession losses to Ohio State during the regular season and to Oregon in the Big Ten Conference title game a month ago don’t matter to the Nittany Lions right now.
The College Football Playoff is down to four contenders, and they are two of them.