Notre Dame Defeats Penn State 27-24, Advances to National Championship
Notre Dame’s backs were against the wall all week — just like they have been all season. Short rest. The flu. A 10-point first-half deficit and countless injuries seemed to spell the end of the road for the Irish.
But this team just won’t die, and they’ll play one more time — for a National Championship.
“They believe,” head coach Marcus Freeman said afterward. “They’ve been here before. All they have to do is execute, and then trust. It’s special to be a part of it. We’re going to celebrate this one.”
Notre Dame awakened from a disastrous first half to come back and defeat Penn State in an instant classic, 27-24, to win the Orange Bowl and advance to the National Championship.
“These guys are a bunch of savages … they’re built different,” Freeman said. “This place is special, these guys are special.”
With two minutes remaining and a spot in the National Championship on the line, Riley Leonard led his team back onto the field. A dream situation for any kid who dreamed of playing football. Leonard was living it.
Whether he had nerves or not couldn’t be seen as he converted a third down with his legs just like he has been doing all season long. He had Notre Dame across midfield with over a minute to go, seemingly setting up a Mitch Jeter game-winning field goal.
The dreams of Jeter winning Notre Dame the game with time expired were chased away --- for now --- as Leonard was sacked on third down.
Now it was Penn State quarterback Drew Allar’s chance to achieve that same dream. Christian Gray proved to be his boogeyman. Allar faced immediate pressure from Jaylen Sneed and forced a throw downfield that was intercepted by Gray, giving Leonard and the Irish another chance in regulation.
“Just catch the ball,” Gray said. “We just some savages … we live by it.”
With 32 seconds remaining, Notre Dame dialed up two Leonard runs to move into field goal range. Facing third down with 20 seconds remaining, Leonard rolled out and hit Jaden Greathouse with a short pass to move the chains and inch closer for Jeter.
Now it was all on Jeter. The kicker who’s experienced it all in South Bend this season. An elite performance in College Station followed by a groin injury that put him on the shelf.
Notre Dame was the worst field goal kicking team in college football this season.
It didn’t matter.
Jeter nailed a 41-yard kick to give Notre Dame a 27-24 victory.
Let’s go back to the beginning of Thursday’s instant classic in the Orange Bowl.
Both teams showed some signs of life on their opening possessions, with Penn State gaining 31 yards and the Irish 48, but both were forced to punt.
Following another Nittany Lions punt, Leonard was picked off after facing the third-down pressure and sailed a throw down the field that was too high and intercepted by Zakee Wheatley.
With all the early momentum on Penn State’s side late in the first, Tyler Warren finally got involved in the offense. The dynamic tight end picked up 12 on a screen after barrelling over Xavier Watts to gain the extra yardage. The backfield continued to spell problems for the defense as Singleton and Kaytron Allen were dominant getting upfield, and Singleton took a handoff in motion to convert a fourth down.
Despite the success running the ball, Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki continued to put the ball into Allar’s hands, and he almost made him pay. The quarterback sailed a throw into the endzone that was initially intercepted by Gray. After the cornerback came down with the ball he was called for holding at the line and his interception was negated.
With new life near the goal line, Penn State gave two consecutive handoffs to Allen, but the Irish defense held strong to trip up the dynamic runner. On third down Allar was once again tasked to throw and he came up short as his throw to a wide-open Singleton in the flat was low, negating what would have been a sure-fire touchdown. Ryan Barker came in on fourth down to knock in the 20-yard field goal and give Penn State a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes of the second frame.
Coming off the interception things didn’t get much better for Notre Dame. Jadarian Price was smothered in the backfield for a loss of four, but he nearly made it all back on the next play with a burst of 12 yards. Leonard converted the third down on his legs as he plunged through the line. The conversion was costly for the Irish as Leonard rolled up Knapp’s knee on the play. The lineman hobbled off the field and didn’t return — Tosh Baker filled in at left tackle.
Wheatley once again got the best of Leonard as the safety came flying in to disrupt a Leonard designed run in the backfield. Facing third and long, Leonard had no time from the relentless Nittany Lions defense and was forced to dump it off to Jaden Greathouse for a short gain and another Rendell punt.
As the Irish defense took the field once again it was clear they were lacking energy. Whether it was the short week, sickness or dominant Penn State frontline, Notre Dame was getting bullied in the trenches. Despite 141 first half rushing yards, Allar once again threw a deep shot to Singleton on a wheel route and sailed it over his head.
The inept passing game didn’t disrupt the rushing game though as Allen tumbled right up the middle for 20 quick yards, and Warren took a direct snap up the middle for another 12. The tight end took another snap and delivered a vicious stiff arm to Jaden Ausberry in the backfield — a symbol of how things were going for Notre Dame — picking up nine more yards.
Penn State continued to wear down Notre Dame all the way down the field and marched into the endzone thanks to a motion handoff to Singleton that mercifully crossed the goal line. The Nittany Lions had the Irish on the ropes with a 10-0 lead.
Now facing a double-digit deficit for the first time in a very long time, Leonard had to find a way to make a play — and fast. A couple quick passes to Evans and Aneyas Williams moved the chains, but the pressure got to Leonard who went to the ground hard. The quarterback was pulled from the field and sent to the medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion.
Enter Steve Angeli.
The backup took no meaningful snaps up to this point in the season, and was suddenly thrust into face of a dominant Penn State defense. Angeli came right and looked like he was ready for the moment. He lofted a pass to Williams and hit Jordan Faison over the middle to pick up 14. It wasn’t all smooth sailing as Dani Dennis-Sutton came flying off Angeli’s blindside to swipe the ball away — Notre Dame came out of the pile with the ball.
Once again, Angeli wasn’t fazed as he dumped off to Williams for 12 and Evans near the sideline to move the chains. As time was ticking off the first half, center Pat Coogan delivered a bad snap to Angeli, who calmly regained control before he was sacked by Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Abdul Carter, who was a force all night.
Freeman was content with letting the clock run down, and Jeter continued his strong playoff performance with a 41-yard kick to cut the lead to seven at the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Leonard returned to the field after clearing protocol and Love also returned to the field after being extremely limited in the first half. Those limitations appeared to be lifted as Love picked up 17 yards off two carries to regain some momentum.
Now with some momentum, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock drew up a shot and Leonard delivered. The quarterback connected on a 36 yard deep ball to Williams to move the Irish deep into Penn State territory. Williams followed that with a 15-yard burst all the way down to the four-yard line. Leonard came through with his legs to plunge into the endzone. Tie game.
With the momentum flipped, Notre Dame’s defense also appeared to flip a switch. After failing to stop the run for much of the first half the Irish stuffed the Nittany Lions, forcing a quick three-and-out after stuffing Singleton at the line.
With a chance to take the lead now Leonard hit Faison on a screen that went 11, but the Penn State defensive line fought back after that. Price was stuffed on his next two runs, with Carter bringing him down behind the line to force a third and long. Leonard had to get rid of the ball quickly, throwing well short of the sticks to Evans who couldn’t corral the ball.
Kotelnicki went back to the air attack after the Irish had success stopping the run and Allar connected with Warren over the middle. The tight end rumbled down the field, bringing Watts with him for a ride before the safety could bring him down. Going back to Singleton on the run, Notre Dame kept him contained for three, and Allar was forced to scramble on the next play but had nowhere to go.
Facing third down, Allar dropped back and was immediately faced with a whole gang of Irishmen. After escaping his initial sacker, Rod Heard brought down the quarterback for a sack and Penn State punt.
On the Irish’s next drive, Leonard and the offense were once again facing a third and long. Leonard went to the air, floating the ball towards the direction of Greathouse who leapt up and came down with a massive 17-yard gain to keep the offense on the field. Denbrock continued to be creative, giving a third down handoff to Jayden Thomas who turned upfield for 19 yards — it was only his second carry of the season. Leonard immediately looked deep towards Eli Raridon, who drew a pass interference penalty to get the Irish offense inside the five.
After being hobbled with a right knee, Love clearly wasn’t himself, but sometimes in moments of need all you need is a play. No matter what the severity of his injury is, Love channeled the best version of himself as he took a handoff and wasn’t going down unless it was on his terms. Love barreled through multiple defenders, staying on his feet and stretching the ball over the goal line to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game.
On the field with their first lead of the game, the Irish defense let go of the rope. Allar immediately connected with Warren over the top for an explosive 27-yard gain, and later found Khalil Dinkins across the middle for another 20 yards. A steady diet of Allen and Singleton runs ultimately ended with Singleton tumbling into the endzone to tie the game at 17.
Leonard didn’t give himself much of a chance to take back the lead as on the first play back in the field he tried to float the ball over Dennis-Sutton and into the hands of Evans — it didn’t work. Dennis-Sutton used his length to snag the ball from the air to force the turnover and Leonard’s second pick of the game.
Allar now got his chance to take the lead back, and like Leonard, tried to do too much. Luckily for Allar, the referees gave him some help. The quarterback floated a duck, intended for Warren, and Kiser came down with an interception. But for the second time that night, an Allar interception was negated by an Irish penalty as Adon Shuler was called for pass interference on Warren.
Singleton took advantage and barreled into the endzone for his third touchdown of the game to give Penn State a 24-17 lead with less than eight minutes to go.
With the clock becoming a factor the Irish were in a need-to-score situation — and they delivered. It was all Greathouse on the drive as the receiver moved the chains for 11 and did it again as he got open on a Leonard scramble and dump-off. A few plays later Leonard found Greathouse again, this time he was wide open down the field, and Leonard connected and Greathouse did all the rest. The receiver streaked down the field, making a defender miss to run into the endzone and tie the game at 24.
Now needing to answer a touchdown once again, Allar led his team back out on the field. The Nittany Lions came up empty handed to go three and out and give the Irish one more chance with just over two minutes remaining.
Notre Dame now advances to play the winner of Ohio State vs. Texas in the National Championship on Jan. 20 in Atlanta, Georgia. Kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.