The 20th meeting ever between Notre Dame and Penn State brings with it the most significance of any of the previous matchups. That dramatic statement stems from the simple fact that the winner of the 2025 Orange Bowl earns a berth in the national title game on Jan. 20th.
Meetings between the two schools have been a rarity over the past three decades, but the series dates back to 1913 and was briefly a yearly showdown of independent powerhouses. Below is a look back, broken down by the Notre Dame head coach at the time:
Jesse Harper
Harper was in the first season of a five-year tenure in which he led the Irish to a record of 34-5-1. On Nov. 8, 1913, Notre Dame knocked off the Nittany Lions by a 14-7 score in their inaugural meeting. The Irish were led by quarterback Gus Dorais, whose highlights included a 40-yard passing play, a rarity for this era.
Knute Rockne
The iconic image of Rockne on the sidelines began in 1918 but it wouldn’t be until 1925 that he’d face Penn State. In that first contest, the two teams battled to a scoreless tie. One year later, Notre Dame had no problem handling its opponent, winning 28-0. The Irish scored one touchdown in each quarter, with four different players reaching the end zone.
Rockne’s final matchup against the Nittany Lions came in Philadelphia on Nov. 9, 1928, with Notre Dame carving out a 9-0 victory. The Irish marched down the field on the first series of the game, with quarterback Frank Carideo scoring on a sneak. The only other score came on a fourth-quarter safety from defensive end Mannie Vezie.
Dan Devine
After nearly a half-century absence, the two schools met in the 1976 Gator Bowl, with Notre Dame winning 20-9. Running back Al Hunter was the star with two first-half touchdowns as the Irish defense helped shut down the Nittany Lions by stopping a pair of drives with interceptions. Notre Dame finished the year with a 9-3 record and set the stage for another national title run the following year.
Gerry Faust
In the first scheduled meeting in 53 years, Penn State finally broke into the win column with a 24-21 victory on its home turf. That loss stopped a three-game winning streak for the Irish, who finished 5-6 in Faust’s first year at the helm.
The Nittany Lions won in each of the next two seasons, with a 24-14 victory at Notre Dame, followed by a 34-30 win in Happy Valley in 1983. In the 1982 victory, Allen Pinkett’s 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown gave the Irish the lead until the fourth quarter. One year later, a wild back-and-forth quarter ended with a Penn State score that spoiled Pinkett’s 217-yard rushing afternoon.
Notre Dame stopped its losing rut in 1984 in a 44-7 blowout win from an inspired Senior Day squad. The Irish broke the game open with 24 second-quarter points, thanks to three of Pinkett’s four touchdowns. In Faust’s final season, Penn State got its revenge with a 36-6 rout.
Lou Holtz
Playing Penn State on an annual basis continued under Holtz, though his first two meetings resulted in two more losses. In 1986, Tim Brown’s two scores weren’t enough in a 24-19 defeat, followed by a 21-20 heartbreaker that was played in brutally cold weather.
Holtz’s first win against the Nittany Lions came during Notre Dame’s last championship season in a 21-3 home victory. Penn State was held to just 179 yards of total offense, compared to the Irish’s 502 on the day. That success continued the following year with a 34-23 win. In that matchup, a 10-7 Nittany Lion lead early in the second quarter was erased by three unanswered Irish scores with two Bill Hackett field goals in the fourth quarter cementing the win.
Penn State won the next two meetings with a 24-21 win in 1990 followed by a 35-13 victory the next season. In the 1990 matchup, Notre Dame squandered a 21-7 halftime lead, with none other than the Lions’ Al Golden grabbing the tying score midway through the final period.
The end of an era concluded in dramatic fashion in 1992 as the Irish won 17-16 in the “Snow Bowl.” Penn State had broken a 9-9 tie with a touchdown with 4:25 left, but Rick Mirer picked up four first downs on a 12-play drive. Jerome Bettis’s four-yard scoring reception was followed by a Mirer-to-Reggie Brooks game-winning two-point conversion.
The yearly meetings ended following the 1992 classic after Penn State abandoned its independent status to join the Big Ten. At the time, Penn State was the only prominent independent program left outside of Notre Dame. Three decades later, Notre Dame remains independent with no signs of that status changing any time soon.
Charlie Weis
The brief renewal of the series began in 2006, Weis’ second year as head coach. In that first outing, the Irish won easily, 41-17. Notre Dame took a 20-halftime lead and then boosted the advantage, leading 34-3 after three quarters. Brady Quinn threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns.
In 2007, the Irish were on the receiving end of a 31-10 defeat at Happy Valley to fall to 0-2 on what became an embarrassing 3-9 campaign. Indicative of Notre Dame’s struggles was the fact that they had 144 yards of total offense and 97 yards in penalties.
