It’s the matchup that will generate plenty of bragging rights in greater Schuylkill County and the Coal Region.

Penn State will meet Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl in a College Football Playoff semifinal game in Miami on Jan. 9. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2007.

I’m sure that many of you are avid fans of either team, and the ribbing and jawing has already begun.

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column – reminiscing about sports and pop culture from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and sometimes before and beyond – I’ll look back at the series between the two teams, as well as some of their previous Orange Bowl appearances.

Also, I’ll call to mind some pop culture items that have “Irish,” “Golden,” and “Lion” overtones.

Finally, who was known as the “Golden Boy” on the field and in the ring? Who was a famous TV lion from the 1960s? Did you have any “Golden” cereal from the 1970s?

And did Penn State win a game from a “12th man“ penalty?

Teeing It Up ... This will be the 20th meeting between Penn State and Notre Dame, and the series is knotted at 9–9-1. Penn State won the last meeting in 2007, 31-10 victory at Beaver Stadium during the first full “White Out.”

Notre Dame’s last win om the series was a 41-17 rout in 2006 at South Bend,

Brady Quinn threw for 287 yards with three touchdowns, and Anthony Morelli had 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Nittany Lions also lost two fumbles on the day.

Let’s Go Bowling ... Contrary to public belief, this will be only the second time the teams will meet in a bowl game.

Notre Dame downed Penn State, 20-9, in the 1982 Gator Bowl in a coach’s showdown between Dan Devine and Joe Paterno. The Irish’s Al Hunter ran for 102 yards on 26 carries, and the Nittany Lions’ Chuck Fusina threw his lone touchdown pass to Matt Suhey that was set up when Bruce Clark blocked a punt.

Doug Becker had a team-high 13 tackles, Steve Heinkreiter had 12, and Bob Golic tallied 11 for the Irish.

There’s quite a few familiar names, but you have to be a diehard Irish fan to remember Heinkreiter, or quarterback Rick Slager.

Let It Snow ... One of the most recent fabled games of the series was the 1992 “Snow Bowl” at South Bend in November 1992.

It was a classic battle between the No. 8 Irish against the No. 22 Nittany Lions.

Trailing 16-9 with 25 seconds left, Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer hit Jerome Bettis with a touchdown pass. Irish head coach Lou Holtz decided to go for two, and Mirer hit Reggie Brooks in the back of the end zone for the 17-16 game winner.

Don’t Rush Me ... In possibly one of Penn State’s forgotten and unorthodox Orange Bowl appearances, the Nittany Lions had a notable tussle with Kansas in the 1969 contest. Undefeated PSU (10-0) was ranked third, and Kansas (9-1) was sixth.

With 1:16 in the game, PSU quarterback Chuck Burkhardt bootlegged into the end zone from three yards out to close to within 14-13. The Lions decided to go for two, but Burkhardt’s pass was batted down in the end zone, and Kansas’ fans rushed the field.

The game, however, was not over, and a penalty had been called on Kansas for 12 men on the field. On the second attempt, Bob Campbell scored around the left end for the two-point conversion and the victory.

Penn State finished second behind Ohio State in the final poll. However, many believe Penn State’s victory helped them establish themselves as a perennial power.

The game featured notable future pros Mike Reid and Ted Kawalick from PSU, along with Kansas’ Bobby Douglass, John Riggins, and John Zook. Look through your football cards for those guys.

How many of you remember that one?

Not An Orange Ara-er ... One of the most memorable games for Notre Dame came in the 1975 Orange Bowl when the ninth-ranked Irish (9-2) met undefeated and No. 2 Alabama (11-0).

In a defensive battle, the Irish battled through a 13-11 victory behind the running of Wayne Bullock and Mark McLane. Reggie Barnett sealed the game when he intercepted ‘Bama quarterback Richard Todd to end a late Tide drive.

The game also marked the end of Irish coaching legend Ara Parseghian, whose team finished seventh overall in the AP poll.

Lion-ing In Front Of You ... In the 1960s, you have to remember the cartoon “Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har,” that was originally aired in 1962 featuring the madcap adventures of a lion and a hyena.

It was one of three segments of the syndicated show, “The Hanna Barbera Cartoon Series” that also featured “Wally Gator” and “Touche Turtle and Dum Dum.”

From 1966-69, NBC aired the TV show “Daktari” that featured Clarence, the cross-eyed lion, and Judy the chimpanzee. It was a children’s show that followed the theme of protecting animals from poachers.

A year earlier, the series got its start from the film titled after the popular lion.

Golden In Your Cereal Bowl ... In 1976, General Mills introduced the cereal, “Golden Grahams, a rather tasty mix of honey and brown sugar. The early TV commercials contained a jingle to the tune of the popular Philadelphia Mummers song, “Oh Dem Golden Slippers.”

The cereal saw a decline in this country in the 1980s, but it reached a new peak in the United Kingdom in the 80s and 90s. It was discontinued in this country in the early 2000s, but it remained a constant overseas until 2021.

Golden On the Field ... Green Bay’s Paul Hornung was nicknamed the “Golden Boy” for his good looks and his versatile play as a halfback, quarterback, and kicker.

A famed Notre Dame alum, Hornung was the NFL’s first overall pick in 1957 and a two-time All-Pro, leading the league in scoring during the 1959, 60, and 61 seasons. He was also a Heisman Trophy winner at Notre Dame in 1956, and the only winner to play for a losing team (2-8).

WWWF/WWE Wrap ... Each week, I’ll look back at a wrestler that was part of our past.

Do you remember “The Golden Boy” Arnold Skaaland (Sko-land)?

He was a regular back in the 1950s and also was part of the newly formed World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1963. In 1967, he collected his only title as one half of the WWWF United States Tag Team Champions when Tony Parisi gave his half of the title to Skaaland.

Skaaland and his partner, Spiros Arion, soon lost the title to the Sicilians, Lou Albano and Tony Altimore.

Recognized by most of us as the manager of Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund, Skaaland also managed Parisi and Andre the Giant at one time.

In the ring, Skaaland began his career in 1946 wrestling as Bobby Weaver, and his last match was in a 1987 Battle Royal that was won by the legendary Lou Thesz, who was 71 at the time. Skaaland was 62.

From 1981-83, Skaaland teamed with Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and met Albano and the Magnificent Muraco in six tag-team matches in which Skaaland and Snuka won four of them

Overall, Skaaland began his career in 1946, and he had an overall record of 668-774 and had 178 draws over his 1,626 match career.

A White Plains, New York native, Skaaland died in 2007 at the age of 82.

Do you have any prominent Penn State and.or Notre Dame bowl memories? Email them and your thoughts to tnsports@tnonline.com, and they will be published.

Enjoy the game!