Joel Klatt's CFP picks: Notre Dame built for this moment; Ohio State can't be stopped

The College Football Playoff semifinals are here, and I really couldn't be more excited about these games. 

First, seventh-seeded Notre Dame will take on sixth-seeded Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night. A day later, No. 8 seed Ohio State and No. 5 seed Texas will meet in the Cotton Bowl; I actually predicted those two teams to meet in the national championship game at the start of the season.

I sense that one of these games will be a bit of a tight battle, while the other one might be more decisive. I've got a good track record this season, going 54-33 in my picks against the spread.

The expanded CFP has been incredible to this point. Let's hope these two games continue the excitement. 

One thing that became very obvious in Notre Dame's win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl is that it's built for the CFP. This is a fast and physical team that's built in the mold of a team that can win a championship. 

I feel like that about Penn State as well, but I feel that way more about Notre Dame. The Irish were fast and physical at the line of scrimmage in the quarterfinals, making it difficult for the Bulldogs to win the battle in the trenches. That's something we would've never said about a Notre Dame-Georgia matchup in the past, but it rang true this season.

It's pretty remarkable what Notre Dame has done through all of its adversity. It lost two starting offensive linemen, two starting edge rushers, All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison and defensive tackle Rylie Mills during the season. It still has standout safety Xavier Watts, but Notre Dame is playing so well and defeated Georgia relatively handily despite missing those key players. That speaks to the depth that head coach Marcus Freeman has been able to