MIAMI — The collective eyes of the college football world will be on South Florida on Thursday night when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Penn State Nittany Lions play in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium.The game, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and broadcast on ESPN, is a national semifinal in the College Football Playoff, with the winner advancing to the national championship game.“We’ve always been part of the top tier of postseason college football,” Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said, “and our focus is to maintain that prestigious position for what it means to Miami and South Florida.”That position will remain for the foreseeable future.The College Football Playoff this season expanded from four teams to 12, which in turn expanded the postseason tournament from two rounds (the semifinals and then a championship game) to four rounds.Prior to expansion, six bowl games were part of a rotation to host the two semifinal games of the playoffs: The Orange Bowl; the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.; the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans; the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas; the Peach Bowl in Atlanta; and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.Now, all six of those games are guaranteed a spot in the playoff field under the new format, with four being quarterfinal games and two being semifinal contests.That ensures that the Orange Bowl, in one way or another, will always be in the limelight under the current format, which is beneficial for the bowl game itself and for the South Florida community at large.“We’re fortunate,” Poms said. “We’re one of six communities across America that has the honor to be part of the College Football Playoff. We’re excited about Year 1 having a national semifinal.”Orange Bowl historyThe Orange Bowl is one of the oldest bowl games in college football, dating back to its first game on Jan. 1, 1935. Only the Rose Bowl, which began in 1902 and has been an annual game since 1916, and the Sun Bowl, which started in 1934, have longer histories.And as college football evolved and bowl games became integral parts of deciding national champions, the Orange Bowl did its part to ensure it was heavily involved in marquee matchups.Poms, 59, has been a key player in making sure the Orange Bowl has been at the forefront of college football’s postseason over the past three decades. A Miami native and graduate ...
