Notre Dame will be without a tight end as it sits two wins away from its first national championship in 36 years.

The loss to Northern Illinois is no longer relevant to Notre Dame. The losses to Ohio State and Oregon don’t matter to Penn State right now. The Irish (13-1) and Nittany Lions (13-2) face off in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night,

Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel and senior college sports reporter Ross Dellenger join Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde to react to Penn State head coach James Franklin's comments about Notre Dame's independence and discuss the constant chatter that the Fighting Irish should join a conference.