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Is Penn State DE playing in CFP semifinal?

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4 days ago

January 12, 2025

Is Penn State DE playing in CFP semifinal?

(This story has been up to date with new data)

Penn State soccer finds itself two wins away from successful its first ever School Soccer Playoff nationwide championship.

However with the intention to attain the nationwide title recreation on Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Penn State has to get previous No. 7 Notre Dame within the CFP Orange Bowl semifinal on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Onerous Rock Stadium.

REQUIRED READING:The Orange Bowl X-factor: He should personal the evening for Penn State soccer to beat Notre Dame

And the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions could have to take action with out the most effective participant on their roster: junior defensive finish Abdul Carter.

The projected first-round NFL draft decide is coping with an ongoing upper-body harm that he sustained within the second quarter of Penn State’s CFP Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal victory on New Yr’s Eve. Carter, who was named a midseason semifinalist for the Walter Camp Participant of the Yr and Bednarik Award, is presently ranked because the No. 2 participant in April’s NFL draft class based on ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s massive board.

Here is what it is advisable find out about Carter’s standing for Thursday’s CFP semifinal recreation towards Notre Dame:

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Will Abdul Carter play in Orange Bowl vs Notre Dame?

It stays in query whether or not Carter will probably be obtainable for Thursday’s CFP quarterfinal semifinal towards Notre Dame.

Penn State coach James Franklin advised ESPN’s Katie George pregame on the sector that Carter stays a recreation time resolution however “all indications … have been constructive” relating to his star linebacker.

“It’s been nice,” mentioned Franklin when requested how Carter has progressed this week. “It’s going to be a recreation time resolution and see how he appears when he comes out right here (for warmups). All indications that he has given me, based mostly on the week of prep, have been constructive.”

At his information convention on Wednesday, Franklin first talked about Carter could be a “recreation time resolution.”

“We anticipate Abdul enjoying. He is doing all the pieces he probably can to play. His method has been superior. He is lived within the coaching room. Nevertheless it’ll be a game-time resolution, and we’ll see,” Franklin mentioned.

“Similar to the fellows that we’re on the Notre Dame roster and anxious about their affect on the sport, Abdul is a kind of guys, as nicely. I get the query and I perceive the place it is coming from, however Abdul has approached this the suitable method.

“He needs to play. He is put a ton of, like, cryptic messages out on social media, which you guys have in all probability seen these. I be taught as a lot from these as I do from our trainers. However we’re hopeful and anticipating Abdul to play, and we’ll see how that performs out.

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Abdul Carter harm replace

As reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Carter has his injured left shoulder closely wrapped throughout warmups at Onerous Rock Stadium.

Carter sustained an obvious upper-body harm in throughout a third-down play within the second quarter of the Nittany Lions’ 31-14 CFP Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal win vs. No. 3 Boise State.

He left the sport to be tended by Penn State’s coaching workers within the medical tent. He’d then briefly returned to the motion earlier than leaving once more and being sidelined for the rest of the sport.

Carter was seen together with his left arm wrapped, because the Nittany Lions trotted out onto the sector to start out the second half at State Farm Stadium. He remained on the sidelines in uniform for the whole thing of the second half, and was proven close to the stationary bicycle on the Nittany Lions’ sidelines by ESPN’s broadcast.

“He is doing nice. His angle has been nice. His mentality has been actually good,” Franklin mentioned Sunday at his information convention. “It is actually going to return right down to how he feels and the way a lot observe he’s capable of get throughout the week. At this level, I don’t assume there’s something stopping him from enjoying, however it’s going to return right down to, how is he capable of play?

“We’ll see. However his mentality is nice. He is received an enormous smile on his face. He’s enthusiastic about this week. Nevertheless it’s too early to say at this stage.

He added: “Abdul’s going about issues the suitable method and we’ll see how this factor performs out.”

What’s Abdul Carter’s harm?

As famous by York Day by day Report’s Frank Bodani, Carter’s harm seems to have an higher physique harm. Throughout Penn State’s trophy ceremony on the Fiesta Bowl, Carter was seen utilizing his proper arm to hoist the trophy in comparison with his left.