While Notre Dame’s win against Georgia was the first win in a big bowl game in more than 30 years, Penn State is still searching for that level of win under James Franklin. The Nittany Lions had the so-called easy path to the semifinals and took advantage with a dominant win against SMU and a comfortable win against Boise State.

Boise State: The Broncos are the Mountain West Conference champions and enter the game on an 11-game win streak. Boise State’s only loss of the season came to Oregon in Week 2. Boise State lost that game 37-34, though many people may not remember it because it kicked off late at night for most of the country and was only available on Peacock.