The first College Football Playoff semifinal will feature Penn State and Notre Dame. A breakdown of the keys to victory in the Orange Bowl.

Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman or Penn State’s James Franklin will become the first Black coach to lead a team into the national title game at college football’s highest level.

That pair, and others like it, became part of notable trend in the 2024-25 bowl season: 21 of the 30 non-Playoff bowls that aired on an ESPN network through Jan. 2 saw year-over-year viewership increases, the majority of them by 20 percent or more.