ESPN voice Paul Finebaum is notorious for backing the SEC, but in this Orange Bowl matchup doesn't have a team from that conference to pick between, seeing as Notre Dame knocked out Georgia. So who does Finebaum have winning the showdown and heading to Atlanta?

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is expected to start Thursday in the Orange Bowl against sixth-seeded Penn State, enabling the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and their trademark ground game to operate at — or near — full capacity in the first College Football Playoff semifinal.

In boxing, there’s usually a brief delay before the fighters close in on one another and start exchanging punches. Steadily, they’ll close the distance from opposite ends of the ring, feeling each other out for a bit until that inevitable moment comes when it’s time to begin delivering blows.