The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Penn State Nittany Lions are getting ready for the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, which will double as a College Football Playoff semifinal. It’s also a game where each team is going to rely on its star players.

The ESPN college football personality offered his quick analysis of Notre Dame-Penn State and Ohio State-Texas.

Paul Finebaum didn’t mince his words regarding Georgia’s standing following their loss to Notre Dame in the Quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, comparing the Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum appears to have warmed up to the idea of the Big Ten being a premier football conference.

The Big Ten and SEC have played five head-to-head games during Bowl Season. The Big Ten is 4-1 in those contests, the only loss being Iowa ‘s 27-24 Music City Bowl loss to Missouri. The conference also boasts two CFP Semifinal participants ( Ohio State, Penn State) to the SEC’s one ( Texas ).

Finebaum's answer makes sense because the Buckeyes have been extremely efficient on both sides of the ball throughout the season. They are currently ranked 11th in offensive points per game (36.4) and first in points per game allowed (12.1).

Stephen A. and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo challenge Paul Finebaum on Notre Dame's relevancy and the impact a Fighting Irish national title would have on college football.

Ohio State is one of the premier college football programs in the country, and it commands the attention of almost every five-star prospect at the high school level. The Buckeyes have been notorious f

The College Football Playoff semifinals will begin later this week. The four remaining teams are the No. 5 seed Texas Longhorns (13-2), the No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions (13-2), the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-1) and the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2).