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The Orange Bowl will soon kickoff between Notre Dame and Penn State. A recent announcement leading into the game has shifted the betting odds in favor of the Nittany Lions.
An already tight contest projects to be even closer. After seeing the Fighting Irish open as a slight favorite, the odds have now flipped at a number of sportsbooks.
The opening matchup of the College Football Playoff semifinals pits the No. 6 and No. 7 teams against one another in Miami. Despite entering with the lower seeding, it was Notre Dame who opened as a 1.5-point favorite.
The Fighting Irish have looked dominant across their first two matchups, jumping out to big leads against Georgia and Indiana before winning each by double digits. Vegas expected that momentum to continue against Penn State, though it projected a highly competitive game when the two sides met.
That remained largely unchanged leading into kickoff, though some books saw the line close to -1 in favor of the Irish as time passed. Odds have further shifted in the direction of the Nittany Lions following a recent announcement.
Reports of the flu running through the Notre Dame locker room surfaced hours before kickoff. Since, the line has moved to -1 in favor of Penn State at ESPN Bet.
Been told the flu is going around the Notre Dame locker room. Those who have it have it bad, but it sounds like that’s mostly backups and special teams players. Still something to monitor for the Fighting Irish going into the Orange Bowl vs. Penn State tonight.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) January 9, 2025
Tyler Horka of On3 Sports says that the flu has been affecting Notre Dame players. He insisted that it was contained mostly to backup and special teams players, but it could obviously have an effect on depth. Many are anticipating an impact on the outcome of the game, taking the chance to place those bets on Penn State with plus-odds.
It’s an issue that the Fighting Irish have been dealing with since the start of the playoff. Star running back Jeremiyah Love experienced flu-like symptoms ahead of the win over Indiana. It didn’t stop him from setting a CFP record with a 98-yard touchdown scamper on the team’s third play from scrimmage.
@bleacherreport Notre Dame opens up 12-team CFP with crazy TD 😱🔥 #cfb #cfp #collegefootball #notredame #indiana ♬ original sound – bleacherreport
It will be an interesting storyline to follow when the game kicks off. There have been whispers that the Penn State locker room is dealing with similar issues, though nothing’s been confirmed to this point.
The Orange Bowl is slated to begin Thursday night at 7:30 PM ET. The winner of the contest will play for a national title against the winner of Ohio State-Texas.