No. 10 Indiana and No. 7 Notre Dame are going into the NCAA history books on Friday night.
Not only are the two in-state teams facing off on the gridiron for the first time since September 1991, they get the honor of playing in the first College Football Playoff game contested on campus.
It’s hard to imagine a better atmosphere to enter a new era of the sport than under the lights at snowy (and freezing) Notre Dame Stadium, but the stakes absolutely could not be higher.
The winner on Friday night will advance to face No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on January 1. The loser is bounced from the 12-team tournament. The Sugar Bowl will serve as one of four quarterfinal games along with the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.
While Notre Dame is still seeking its first national title since 1988, it last made the championship game in 2012, losing to Alabama. Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman just signed a contract extension last week, so barring a major embarrassment on Friday night, his job is about as safe as it gets. The same goes for Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti, who in Year 1 at Indiana delivered the school its first 11-win season in program history.
Still, some serious bragging rights are up for grabs. If Notre Dame — a flagship college football team synonymous with the sport — losses to an Indiana team nearly 200 games under .500 since its inception, the Fighting Irish will never live it down. Not from college football fans. And certainly not from their neighbors down south.
