MIAMI,. -- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish punched their ticket to the National Championship game for the first time in 12 years with Thursday night's 27- 24 win over Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

It two previous College Football Playoff appearances, the Irish were defeated handedly by Clemson and Alabama. On Thursday, that streak ended, and the team is headed to it's first title game since January of 2013.

Notre Dame will play for the National Championship against either Texas or Ohio State on Monday, Jan. 20 in Atlanta.