A flu outbreak among Notre Dame players proved insignificant at Thursday’s Orange Bowl in Miami, where the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish pulled out a miraculous 27-24 win over No. 6 Penn State on a last-minute field goal from kicker Mitch Jeter to advance to the national championship game.
Quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense came back from an early 10-0 deficit to tie the game in the second half and looked poised to drive for a game-winning touchdown with two minutes remaining.
But when the Nittany Lions’ Coziah Izzard sacked Leonard at midfield on third down, forcing an Irish punt, Penn State looked to be back in the driver’s seat.
That’s when Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was intercepted by Notre Dame’s Christian Gray. Seven plays later, Jeter connected on a 41-yard attempt with just eight seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
The win is even more remarkable considering Leonard missed much of Notre Dame’s final drive of the first half while being evaluated for a concussion, Irish coach Marcus Freeman told ESPN. Leonard was ‘asymptomatic,’ ESPN quoted Leonard as saying, and he started what proved to be a memorable second half.
The Irish now advance to the national championship in Atlanta on January 20, when coach Freeman’s players will face the winner of Friday’s Cotton Bowl matchup between fifth-seeded Texas and No. 8 Ohio State.
Leonard took a big hit and got a big scare.
He wound up ending the night with the biggest win of his college career – and now, a chance at a national championship.
Leonard ran for a score, rushed for another – and did all that after missing the last two minutes of the first half while being evaluated for a concussion.
‘He’s a competitor,’ Freeman said during the postgame celebration on ESPN. ‘And competitors find a way to win. That’s what Riley does. That’s what this team does, man. They’re a bunch of competitors and they find a way.’
Leonard missed much of Notre Dame’s final drive of the first half while being evaluated for a concussion, Freeman told ESPN. Leonard was ‘asymptomatic,’ ESPN quoted Leonard as saying, and he started the second half.
He led an eight-play, 75-yard drive and capped it with a 3-yard touchdown run that pulled Notre Dame into a 10-10 tie. Freeman had a 54-yard pass to Jaden Greathouse with 4:38 left to tie the game again, that time at 24-24, and Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard field goal with 8 seconds left sealed the deal for the Irish.
Leonard said a halftime speech from Freeman was critical.
‘He said, ”History is written by conquerors, and we’re holding the pen.” … We believed that we could do it and we went out there and did it,’ Leonard said.
Leonard went into the medical tent on the Notre Dame sideline with about two minutes left in the half after a play where he was hit by Penn State’s Durant and Dvon J-Thomas. It appeared Leonard hit the back of his helmet on the turf.
Leonard was replaced by Steve Angeli and Notre Dame kicked a 41-yard field goal on the final play of the half to cut Penn State´s lead to 10-3.
‘I knew I was going to get back out there,’ Freeman said. ‘Obviously, safety first on football field. I just kind of had to prove to everybody I was fine. I got up a little wobbly, but it was all good.’
Leonard found Aneyas Williams for a 36-yard gain on his lone pass of the drive that opened the second half. The other seven plays were all runs, with Leonard – who rushed for 15 touchdowns this season coming into Thursday – capping it himself.
Leonard completed six of 11 passes for 63 yards and an interception in the first half. Angeli was 6-for-7 passing for 44 yards on the final drive before the half.
