Indiana to play Notre Dame in first round of College Football Playoff
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s another first for Indiana football.
The Hoosiers will play in their first College Football Playoff as the bracket expands to 12 teams for the first time in the CFP’s history.
After a nearly perfect 11-1 season, IU will travel not too far to South Bend to face Notre Dame for the first round of the playoffs. The College Football Playoff Committee ranked the Hoosiers at No. 8, which puts them as the 10-seed after divvying up the byes for the conference champions.
The in-state first-round matchup will kick off at 8 p.m. EDT inside Notre Dame Stadium on Friday, Dec. 20.
Notre Dame will be the 5-seed after an impressive 11-1 season. The Fighting Irish have won ten straight games after losing to Northern Illinois in Week 2. That upset loss aside, Marcus Freeman’s Irish have been outscoring opponents 464-147. That’s winning by an average of 31.7 points.
Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State head straight to the quarterfinals after winning their respective conference championships Saturday.
Big Ten Coach of the Year and Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti is scheduled to speak on the bracket Sunday afternoon. WISH-TV will have full coverage from Bloomington starting on News 8 at 6 and will continue during Sportslocker Sunday at 10:20 p.m.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is also scheduled on speak on the matchup Sunday afternoon.
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Here’s a look at the full College Football Playoff schedule with official seeding:
Receiving byes: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Boise State and No. 4 Arizona State.
No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas (Austin).
No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State (Happy Valley).
No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame (South Bend).
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (Columbus).
The winner of IU’s game against Notre Dame will advance to play No. 2-seeded Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in the second round of the College Football Playoff.
To buy tickets for the IU/Notre Dame game, click here.