By Andy Stine

astine@altoonamirror.com

Who would have thought Penn State would still be playing in January just a couple months ago?

The Nittany Lions have the chance to punch their ticket into the College Football Playoff national championship with a win over Notre Dame in tonight’s Orange Bowl.

It would be PSU’s first title appearance since the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. The Lions, which are 1.5-point underdogs, would play the winner of Friday night’s Cotton Bowl with Ohio State and Texas.

The Fighting Irish are probably the most talented team out of any opponent Penn State has seen in the tournament, but they are beatable as they were knocked off by Northern Illinois out of the MAC in September.

Here are five keys to a win tonight for the Nittany Lions:

1. Stop the run…again

The effort that the defense had against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl was outstanding, and they will need another performance just like it.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard isn’t going to light up the passing yards column in the stat sheet, but he can certainly run the ball.

Leonard only passed for over 200 yards five times so far this season, but rushed for over 50 yards nine times.

Running back Jeremiyah Love aggravated a knee injury in the quarterfinals against Georgia but is expected to be ready to go tonight. Love and Jadarian Price have combined for nearly 1,800 yards out of the backfield.

Penn State saw the best running back in the country in the Fiesta Bowl in Ashton Jeanty and held him to 104 rushing yards. If the Lions hold the Notre Dame trio to 104 yards, their chances are pretty good.

2. The health of Carter

Notre Dame has its good news that Love is good to go, and if his X account is any indication of his status, Carter will be, too.

James Franklin confirmed as much on Wednesday.

Penn State has other edge rushers that are very talented in Dani Dennis-Sutton and Amin Vanover, but neither are game-wreckers quite like Carter.

3. Bend, but don’t break

It wasn’t like Jeanty didn’t break off any long runs against Penn State last week, and it’s doubtful that PSU will hold Notre Dame completely.

But if they can hold the Irish out of the end zone and force them to kick field goals, that’s where things could get interesting.

Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter, who transferred from South Carolina after last season, struggled for a lot of the season. He dealt with a groin injury at midseason and is now 11-for-18 on the year.

The kicking woes have been a problem for Notre Dame, and getting stops when they need them may be crucial if it comes down to a special teams game.

4. Continue dominating up front

Notre Dame’s defense is pretty strong. It has given up more than 17 points only twice all season.

It will be important that the PSU offensive line continues to play well, allowing Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen to continue racking up a ton of yards on the ground.

5. The right time to get tricky

Everyone hated the double pass last week against Boise State, and rightly so. Penn State was running the ball at will against the Broncos, and the double pass lost momentum.

No one is knocking Andy Kotelnicki’s creativity. It’s a primary reason why he will likely be a head coach one day. But the time for trickeration has to come at the right opportunity.

Maybe tonight is that night. A toss pass from Singleton or Allen? Maybe a Penn State special rather than a Philly special where Drew Allar gets a catch?

My personal favorite would be if massive offensive lineman Vega Ioane got a carry when they put him in motion on short yardage…at the right time.