No Black head coach has ever won a Division I college football championship.

Hell, until two weeks ago, no black coach had ever coached a game in the College Football Playoff.

Now only four teams remain and a Black coach is guaranteed to reach the championship game in Atlanta on Jan. 20.

Will it be Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman who led his Fighting Irish to a 23-10 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on Thursday?

Or will it be Penn State’s James Franklin, who led his Nittany Lions to a 31-14 victory over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl two days earlier?

We’ll find out next Thursday when Notre Dame and Penn State meet in the Orange Bowl in Miami. The winner will play the winner of the Cotton Bowl semifinal matchup between Texas and Ohio State.

Freeman, whose father is African-American and whose mother is South Korean, understands the importance of the history he and Franklin are making.

“Very grateful,” Freeman said. “It’s a reminder that you are a representative for many others and for many of our players who look just like me. Your color shouldn’t matter. It should be proof of your work.”

The evidence of his work was as loud and clear as the Notre Dame faithful at Caesars Superdome who watched Freeman lead one of the most storied programs in all of college football past SEC champion Georgia. Freeman, only the second Black coach to lead a team to the Sugar Bowl in the game’s 91-year history, was also the second to win it. He joined Louisville’s Charlie Strong, who led the Cardinals past Florida on New Year’s Day 2013.

Freeman’s Fighting Irish dominated in all three phases on Thursday, securing their second straight double-digit victory in these playoffs. They took care of neighboring Indiana State in the first round, then turned around and did the exact same thing to Georgia.

Freeman pushed all the right buttons both during the game and the day before.

The game was originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday. When it was postponed because of the Bourbon Street shootings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, Freeman did something he normally wouldn’t do the day before a game. He gave his players three hours of free time to meet with their families.

“I think that helped the parents as much as the players, being together and helping them rethink and get their minds to where they should be today,” Freeman said.

It didn’t take long to see how focused Notre Dame was as the defense stuffed everything Georgia tried on its opening drive.

This was Notre Dame’s first victory in a major bowl game since the 1993 season, when they defeated Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

Not bad for a team that many, myself included, thought had no chance at all of getting this far after losing 16-14 to Northern Illinois in Week 2 of the season.

This Northern Illinois team was coached by Thomas Hammock, making it a rare meeting of black head coaches at the FBS level. There were only 16 Black head coaches at the 134 FBS schools this season. For a long time, black head coaches didn’t get big gigs like this. The Southeastern Conference hired its first Black head coach just 20 years ago, when Mississippi State hired Sylvester Croom in 2004. Notre Dame hired its first Black coach two years earlier when it handed the keys to its program to Tyrone Willingham. Willingham only lasted three seasons.

Freeman, 38, is now in his third season. He has compiled a 32-9 record, including 12 straight wins following a loss to Northern Illinois in early September.

However, Freeman refuses to take full credit.

“It takes everyone,” Freeman said. “That’s what I keep reminding myself of when people try to point the finger at you. It’s a great reminder that you can’t be in this position without everyone.”

That’s why Freeman rushed to leave the stage after accepting the Sugar Bowl trophy amid confetti.

“I couldn’t get off the stage quick enough because everyone couldn’t be up there,” Freeman said. “It’s about the team and everyone doing their best to make sure we can achieve this success.”

Now Freeman is on an even bigger stage.

In Miami.

In the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Against James Franklin.

The winner will have a chance at history as the first Black head coach to play for a national title.

“It’s a great honor,” Freeman said. “It’s a privilege. But as the head coach of this place, I understand that if everyone in this program doesn’t do their job, we won’t be in this position.”