ESPN Picking Lions or Fighting Irish to Win Orange Bowl?

Penn State and Notre Dame face off in the Orange Bowl tomorrow night, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Irish are favored by 1.5 points over James Franklin’s Nittany Lions. National media members have weighed in on their early predictions. Andy Staples of On3 believes Penn State has an advantage due to tight end Tyler Warren’s abilities, making it a toss-up game under 46.5 points.

However, Eric Froton of NBC Sports thinks Penn State will control the line of scrimmage with more explosive playmakers and is backing them to win and cover. The Athletic’s four-person picks crew is split, while CBS Sports experts overwhelmingly back Notre Dame. FOX analyst Urban Meyer also predicts a Notre Dame victory, stating they would beat Penn State if they play as well as they did against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

A key difference between the teams is Notre Dame’s inability to run the ball effectively with Jeremiah Love departing due to injury, and their shaky run defense without DT Riley Mills. The media will be watching closely as these two teams face off tomorrow night.

Source: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/news/penn-state-notre-dame-early-predictions-are-in-who-is-picking-the-lions-fighting-irish