The College Football Playoff is down to the semifinal round, with the No. 5-seeded Texas Longhorns, No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions, No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes left in the bracket. Following the conclusion of the quarterfinal round, ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) revealed the favorite to win the national championship. The ESPN FPI is a computer-generated system that calculates strength of schedule as well as offensive and defensive statistics to determine win probabilities. In the updated FPI, ESPN lists Notre Dame as the favorite to win the national championship with a 29.2% probability. Here’s a look at the calculated national championship odds for the other programs left in the College Football Playoff: Ohio State (28.3%), Texas (27.0%) and Penn State
The Fighting Irish are fresh off a dominant Sugar Bowl victory over the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs. Notre Dame defeated Georgia 23-10 to advance to the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame has been extremely efficient on both ends of the field in the win over Georgia and the first-round victory over the Indiana Hoosiers. They’re led by quarterback Riley Leonard, who completed 15-of-24 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown against Georgia. The dual-threat quarterback also added 80 yards on 14 carries. Notre Dame also has one of the top defenses in college football. The Fighting Irish have top-five rankings in several defensive categories, including points per game (second at 13.6) and yards per play (fifth at 4.4) allowed.
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