Notre Dame (11-1) has bounced back admirably from a brutal Week 2 loss at the hands of 7-5 MAC program Northern Illinois, winning 10 straight games to punch their ticket to the CFP Playoff. The main critique of the Irish stems from their soft 63rd ranked schedule that includes signature wins over Texas A&M,

Irish Breakdown talks Notre Dame football in the run up to the Irish facing Indiana in the College Football Playoff

If you didn’t know much about Notre Dame football’s opponent Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti, in the first-round of the College Football Playoff, is that he isn’t afraid the tell everyone what he thinks.

The Irish and Hoosiers are in-state neighbors, but they haven't met since 1991. Now they'll meet in the first game of the expanded Playoff.

FanDuel's early point spread favors the home team, Notre Dame, on Dec. 20. The Fighting Irish are considered a 7.5-point favorite over the Hoosiers, similar to the betting line for the Ohio State vs. Tennessee game.

The Battle of Indiana is a hot ticket to kick off the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff, as the 10th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers visit the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend.

From a betting point of view, however, Indiana has only been the underdog once this season. The Hoosiers will be in that unfamiliar role again when it opens the College Football Playoff with a first round game at Notre Dame at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 20.

Indiana-Notre Dame will be electric during the first round of the College Football Playoff. Don't be surprised if it's the best game on the slate.

If you asked Santa Claus for tickets to the Indiana-Notre Dame College Football Playoff matchup, you better hope he's feeling extra generous this year. Tickets to the first round game set for Dec. 20 at Notre Dame Stadium are about three times more expensive than any other CFP matchup.