Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman and Penn State's James Franklin are aware they are on the brink of making history in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl next Thursday.
The winner will become the first Black head coach to take a team to the national championship game. Both were asked about that possibility during their respective press conferences Saturday previewing their matchup.
Franklin said it reminded him of Super Bowl XLI between Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith in 2007, the first Super Bowl featuring Black head coaches. Franklin was offensive coordinator at Kansas State at the time, coaching for Ron Prince, another Black head coach.