Fans bound for Orange Bowl to see Nittany Lions face Irish

REEDSVILLE -- After the Penn State Nittany Lions corralled Boise State on New Year's Eve, everything was coming up oranges in the Heckert household.

That's right, oranges -- not roses. Hey c'mon, it's 2025.

Beating the Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl -- also known as the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff -- punched Penn State's ticket to the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Nittany Lions will take on Notre Dame, winners of the Sugar Bowl which was another CFP quarterfinal, at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Heckert and his family will be watching as they have tickets to the CFP semifinals. It marks the first time he has been to the Orange Bowl since 2006. That's also the last time the Nittany Lions appeared in the Orange Bowl, and outlasted Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles 26-23 in a three-overtime thriller.

"We are booked!" Heckert said with a gleam of excitement. He and family gambled on Penn State beating Boise and passing up a trip to Glendale, Ariz., to the Fiesta Bowl in order for the trip to the semifinals.

If the Nittany Lions (13-2) top the Fighting Irish (13-1) then they will be headed to the national championship game against either Texas or Big Ten nemesis at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

"This has been incredibly exciting, winning two games in the first 12-team playoff," Heckert added. "It's been 38 years since they won a national title. Hoping they have two more wins in them this year."

Penn State has won two national crowns -- 1982 against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and 1986 against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. Nittany Lion fans, like Heckert, have been waiting four decades for another shot.

The 72nd Orange Bowl was known for being the final meeting between Joe Paterno and Bowden, the two winningest Division I FBS coaches in history.

"What I remember about the 2006 Orange Bowl, there was a lot of excitement from the Penn State fan base after having losing seasons four of the last five years," Heckert recalled.

"The stadium that night was electric with Bowden versus Paterno," Heckert added. "Emotions of the game, especially the overtimes, were fun to be a part of."

The game was tied 16-all at the end of regulation. In the first overtime, Seminoles kicker Gary Cismesia and Penn State's Kevin Kelly traded missed field-goal attempts.

In the second OT, both teams scored on 1-yard TD runs as Austin Scott gave Penn State a short-lived 23-16 lead.

In the decisive third OT, Cismesia's 38-yard attempt clanked off the right upright. Kelly then booted the game-winner, a 29-yarder to give the Nittany Lions a victory.