MIAMI, Jan. 9 (UPI) — Christian Gray’s fingers scraped the grass for an interception in the final seconds, which led to a go-ahead field goal and carried Notre Dame past Penn State on Friday in the first College Football Playoff semifinal.
The Fighting Irish, seeded sixth in the College Football Playoff, trailed 10-0, but rallied with a strong second half in the 27-24 Orange Bowl triumph at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. They will now face No. 7 Texas or No. 8 Ohio State in the Jan. 20 title game.
“These guys are a bunch of savages,” Irish coach Marcus Freeman said on the ESPN broadcast. “They are built different. I’m so proud of them, just what they’ve accomplished, the way they stay together and find ways to improve.
“When they stay together, they are a special group.”
Notre Dame picks off Drew Allar late in the fourth pic.twitter.com/F0SZvM5fFa— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2025
The Irish (14-1), who own a national-best 13-game winning streak, out-gained the No. 6 Nittany Lions (13-3) 383 to 339 in total yards.
They struggled to get going in the first half, with the Nittany Lions holding a 141 to 15 advantage in rushing yards through the first two quarters. The Irish responded with 111 rushing yards in the second half.
“I’m a firm believer in whether you think you can or can’t do something, you’re right,” Irish quarterback Riley Leonard said. “We believe that we can do it and we went out there and did it.”
The Nittany Lions leaned on a strong pass rush, which totaled five sacks, to startle an Irish offensive line that featured several backups due to injuries to starters. Running back Nicholas Singleton, who totaled 117 yards and three scores, was the star of the Nittany Lions offense.
Defense dominated early on, with neither the Irish nor Nittany Lions scoring points in the first quarter. Nittany Lions kicker Ryan Barker ended the drought with a 20-yard field goal 8 seconds into the second. The Nittany Lions used 15 plays to go 90 yards on their next drive, with Singleton finding the end zone on a 5-yard run.
Leonard left the game to be checked for a concussion on the final drive of the first half, but backup quarterback Steve Angeli managed to get the Irish in field goal range in relief of the starter.
Kicker Mitch Jeter split the uprights from 41 yards to make the score 10-3 at halftime.
Leonard returned to start the second half and sparked an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. He ran for a 3-yard score to end that possession. The Irish defense forced punts on the Nittany Lions’ next two drives.
Leonard and the offense found the end zone again to continue a surge of 17-consecutive points about a minute into the fourth quarter. Running back Jeremiyah Love muscled through defenders with a very physical 2-yard run before reaching the ball over the goal line to cap that drive and give the Irish their first lead.
But the Nittany Lions answered with another Singleton score about 4 minutes later. Leonard threw an interception on the next play, giving the ball and momentum back to the Nittany Lions.
Singleton’s third rushing score, a 7-yard run, came less than 3 minutes later.
Leonard answered with his longest completion of the night, finding wide receiver Jaden Greathouse with a 54-yard touchdown toss.
The Irish never trailed again.
They forced a 3-and-out and Nittany Lions punt on the next possession, but also were forced to punt when their offense stalled.
Singleton started the next drive with a 13-yard run with 38 seconds remaining. Allar then dropped back to pass a few seconds later, but went on to make his critical error. He looked to his left before throwing a pass right.
Gray kept his eyes locked on the ball and dove toward the throw, snagging his game-changing interception.
Jeter then snuck his go-ahead, 41-yard field goal just inside the right upright with seven seconds remaining, giving the Irish their final lead.
GOOD FROM 4️⃣1️⃣
MITCH JETER IS CLUTCH.
MR. JANUARY. #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/W3HO408OHQ— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 10, 2025
Allar and the Nittany Lions failed to move into scoring range before time expired on their final drive, sealing the Irish victory.
Leonard completed 15 of 23 passes for 223 yards, one score and two interceptions. He also ran for 35 yards and a score on 18 carries. Greathouse totaled 105 yards on seven catches, including his touchdown. Allar completed 12 of 23 passes for 135 yards and an interception in the loss.
The Irish will face the Longhorns or Buckeyes in the national title game Jan. 20 in Atlanta. The Buckeyes will take on the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl, the other College Football Playoff semifinal, at 7:30 p.m. EST Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. That meeting will air on ESPN.
