Al Golden happy to see Penn State football’s CFP run

As Thursday’s Orange Bowl matchup between Penn State football and Notre Dame is quickly approaching, Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden has his heart on the College Football Playoff Semifinal.

Leading up to kickoff, the former Nittany Lions tight end expressed how happy he was to watch his alma mater’s return to the top of college football. However, he isn’t letting that distract him from the task at hand for the Fighting Irish.

“I mean, I’m excited that Penn State’s doing well, happy for the program,” Golden said on Wednesday. “But more importantly, it’s been a great journey for us, you know. This is my third year at Notre Dame, and [I] had an opportunity to build it with coach [Marcus] Freeman and get to this point. And it’s been a long time.

“So we’re at the brink of being where we wanted to be when we had our conversation. So, that’s where our focus is.”

Golden played for Penn State football under Joe Paterno from 1988 to 1991 before a one-year stint in the NFL with the New England Patriots in 1992. He also was the Nittany Lions linebackers coach in 2000 before head coaching stints at Temple and Miami.

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This season, Golden has helped Notre Dame craft one of the most elite defenses in college football. The Irish have the second-ranked scoring defense in 2024, allowing only 13.6 points per game. Golden’s defense allows just 167.4 passing yards per game (5th), 5.8 passing yards per attempt (3rd), 127.9 rushing yards per game (34th), and 3.57 yards per carry (25th).

For Penn State football to find a way to score against Golden and the Notre Dame defense, it will have to start on the ground with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The pair of Nittany Lion running backs have picked up steam in the postseason, rushing for an average of 6.3 yards per carry against Oregon, SMU, and Boise State.

With Golden likely looking to shut down the Nittany Lions’ run game and star tight end Tyler Warren, this game may be won or lost by whether Penn State can generate production outside of its traditional weapons from this postseason.

Kickoff from Hard Rock Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

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