The College Football Playoff semifinals are set

The GIST: The first expanded College Football Playoff (CFP) is in full swing, with the 12-team field already whittled down to four: No. 5 seed Texas, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Notre Dame, and No. 8 Ohio State are still fighting for the trophy after a holiday break full of upsets and thrilling gridiron action. Here’s how it happened.

Notre Dame defeats No. 2 Georgia 23–10 in an emotional Sugar Bowl: After the game was postponed due to a horrific New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, the Fighting Irish ultimately emerged victorious yesterday, shocking the 2022 champs and clinching the semis berth.

• The highlight of the game came in the opening seconds of the second half, when senior wide receiver Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown (TD) — just the second kick return TD in CFP history. Casual.

• Notre Dame’s next opponent? Penn State, who dismantled No. 3 Boise State 31–14 in Tuesday's Fiesta Bowl behind three TDs and 171 passing yards from junior quarterback (QB) Drew Allar.

Texas and Ohio State to meet in Cotton Bowl: No. 4 Arizona State gave Texas all it could handle in a 39–31 double-overtime (OT) instant classic on Wednesday. The Sun Devils scorched back from a 16-point deficit to force OT, but Texas scored early in extra time before senior safety Andrew Mukuba clinched the win with an interception — a massive break for the Longhorns after a game laden with mistakes.

• As for the other quarter-final, it was essentially over after the first quarter. Ohio State dominated previously unbeaten No. 1 seed Oregon 41–21 in Wednesday’s Rose Bowl, putting up 500 yards of total offense.

• The Cotton Bowl doesn’t kick off until one week from today, but the spice factor is already high: Texas QB Quinn Ewers started his career at Ohio State before transferring and swapping his uni for burnt orange. The drama.