SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The air is clear, snow is forecast and history will soon be made as the first FBS College Football Playoff game on campus will be between No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 10 Indiana. It’s only fitting that this landmark matchup takes place at Notre Dame Stadium in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus – one of the most iconic venues in all of sports.

However, this is no ordinary matchup. In a state known for its basketball, the up-and-coming Hoosiers have a chance to slay the dragon and keep their Cinderella season alive after opening the season with ten straight wins.

SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 12: A Notre Dame flag flies over campus with the “Touchdown Jesus” mural by before a college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on October 12, 2024 at Notre World of Life in the background at Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

So what’s the key to the game?

The game is won or lost up front when Notre Dame has the ball.

The Fighting Irish have lost just 4.17 tackles per game, which has been the driving force behind an offense that ranks 10th in the country in total rushing with 224.83 yards per game and ninth in November with 241.50 occupied land. The combination of running back Jeremiyah Love and dual-threat quarterback Riley Leonard has been nearly impossible to slow down, let alone shut down, for most of the season.

It will be strength versus strength as the Hoosiers defense has led the CFP charge for coach Curt Cignetti’s team. They have stopped opponents behind the line of scrimmage an average of 7.17 times per game (16th nationally) and rank 20th nationally with 2.83 sacks per game.

Translation: This will be an old fashioned treat with the weather acting as a third opponent on the field. The forecast calls for snow flurries with a high of 33 degrees and a low of 22 degrees. Only one home game in Notre Dame history began with a temperature below 22 degrees (a narrow win against Iowa on November 21, 1964).

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 09: Head coach Curt Cignetti of the Indiana Hoosiers reacts in the fourth quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Cignetti tries to avoid that noise and just focus on what’s in front of him. He hopes his team uses the 38-15 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 23 — the only ranked opponent the Hoosiers played all year — as motivation.

“I think our guys learned from it too and we will be better in a hostile environment than we were that day,” he said earlier this week. “At the end of the day it’s just football. The game is won or lost between the white lines. I want them to go out there, fly around, have a little fun and play the way we know how to play.”

However, these are uncharted waters. He’s never been here before. His team was not expected to be here. Hell, no team in the country — Notre Dame included — has ever been on campus for a CFP first-round game.

The stars are aligned for a historic evening in the world’s biggest sport. Two teams that love to get dirty will play their game under the bright lights and between a set of sacred white lines, ushering in a new era of college football.

Buckle up.