After being dominated for the entirety of the first half, Notre Dame sustained Penn State's initial blows and walked-off the Nittany Lions for a 27-24 victory in the Orange Bowl.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
MIAMI-- No. 7 Notre Dame was put into a situation tonight that they hadn't been in all year: they trailed by multiple possessions.
For the entirety of the first half, No. 6 Penn State was dominating the Irish on both sides of the ball. The Nittany Lions were winning the line of scrimmage, and were moving the ball with ease, both in the rushing game and aerial attack. After Penn State extended their lead to 10 points on a 15-play, 90-yard drive, Notre Dame had its back against the wall. On top of that, starting quarterback Riley Leonard had to go through concussion protocol and RG Rocco Spindler left the game as well, as the Irish were attempting to go through the two-minute drill. LT Anthonie Knapp had already exited the game with an ankle injury.
Through all of the adversity, backup quarterback Steve Angeli came in seamlessly and threw for 44 yards on 6/7 throwing. Angeli's efforts resulted in a Mitch Jeter field goal that put the Irish back within one possession, and gave Notre Dame hope heading into halftime.
Coming back from halftime, Leonard emerged, and the Fighting Irish found a new physical self. After rushing for only 15 yards in the first half, Notre Dame rushed for 43 yards on their first drive after the break, which was capped by Riley Leonard's three-yard score to tie the game at 10-10.
After exchanging a few empty series, Notre Dame mustered a 10-play 71-yard score that was emphasized with this ridiculous Jeremiyah Love 2-yard rush (video below).
Video via ESPN College Football
When it seemed as though Notre Dame took away all of Penn State's momentum, the Nittany Lions answered with a touchdown drive of their own, and then forced Riley Leonard to throw his second interception of the night. After regaining possession, Drew Allar threw into quadruple coverage and Jack Kiser appeared to come down with a game-changing interception, but that was negated with a pass interference call on Adon Shuler, a questionable one at that. Penn State then capitalized with a touchdown of their own and regained the lead in the fourth quarter.
After the momentum gut punched they endured, the Irish never blinked. Jaden Greathouse beat his man at the line of scrimmage, broke the safety's ankles, and galloped into the end zone to tie the game on a 53-yard touchdown with 4:38 remaining.
Penn State and Notre Dame both punted the ball, and the Nittany Lions had the ball with 38 seconds left. Then Christian Gray, the scapegoat for many of the secondary's problems, came away with another game-defining interception. The Irish took advantage and converted a first down to set up Mitch Jeter with a 41-yard field goal with seven second left. Jeter drilled it. After struggling with a groin injury all year, Jeter truly is a postseason player, much like the one that played shortstop in New York, and drilled the game-winner with confidence.
Notre Dame is heading to the national championship. Marcus Freeman rewrote the direction of the season and willed the Fighting Irish to Atlanta. The game wasn't perfect by any stretch, but when Notre Dame had its back against the wall, the Irish never flinched. Through the improbable loss and the next-man up mentality, Notre Dame will be playing for its first national championship since 1988. It was truly an all time classic victory in South Beach.
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