The first game of the new 12-team College Football Playoff is here, and No. 5 Notre Dame is putting on a show already.
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.
