The Notre Dame football team is back in the national championship game.
The No. 7 Fighting Irish knocked off No. 6 Penn State 27-24 in the Orange Bowl Thursday on a game-winning field goal by kicker Mitch Jeter with 7 seconds remaining. The College Football Playoff semifinal victory at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami sends Notre Dame to Atlanta, where it will play either No. 8 Ohio State or No. 5 Texas in the title game on Jan. 20.
Notre Dame is searching for its 12th national championship, but first since 1988. Texas and Ohio State meet in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Friday.
Notre Dame won its first CFP semifinal game after losing in its first two appearances. The Fighting Irish last played in the national championship in 2013.
Sophomore cornerback Christian Gray set up Notre Dame’s game-winning drive when he intercepted a pass from Penn State’s Drew Allar with 33 seconds remaining on the Penn State 42-yard line. Riley Leonard and the offense drove down to the Penn State 24-yard line to set up the game-winning field goal.
The Fighting Irish won after trailing 10-0 in the first half and 10-3 at halftime. Notre Dame scored 17 straight points before the Nittany Lions responded with 14 points to retake the lead. A 54-yard pass from Leonard to Jaden Greathouse tied the game at 24. Leonard finished with 223 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, while Greathouse had seven catches for 105 yards and a score.
Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton finished with 15 rushes for 84 yards and three touchdowns. The Nittany Lions attempted a couple of lateral passes near the end of the game to try and score, but Allar’s errant out-of-bounds lateral ended the game.
Here are updates and highlights of Thursday’s CFP semifinal game between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 6 Penn State:
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Here’s a look at the quarterback comparison:
Some stats of notes:
Notre Dame knocks off Penn State 27-24 to head to the national championship on Jan. 20 vs. the winner of Ohio State-Texas. The Fighting Irish will be going for their 12th national championship in program history.
Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter connects on a 41-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining to give the Fighting Irish a 27-24 lead.
According to the ESPN broadcast, kickers had been 0-for-4 in previous game-winning kick attempts in the CFP.
Christian Gray intercepts Drew Allar at the Penn State 42-yard line on a pass intended for Omari Evans. The Fighting Irish will have 33 seconds and all three timeouts for a chance at a game-winning field goal.
The play is under review, but should be confirmed as an interception.
Coziah Izzard got to Leonard Riley for a sack, forcing Notre Dame to punt it away with 52 seconds left.
Penn State will start at its own 15-yard line with 47 seconds left and two timeouts remaining.
Notre Dame will start on its own 24 after forcing a three-and-out on the Penn State drive. Bryce Young and Drayk Bowen stuffed Drew Allar on a scramble to force the punt. The Fighting Irish have the ball with 2:34 left.
Riley Leonard and Jaden Greathouse connect for a 54-yard touchdown to even the game at 24-24 with 4:38 remaining. Greathouse got wide open after Penn State’s Jaylen Reed appeared to slip in coverage.
The Notre Dame scoring drive goes seven plays for 81 yards and takes 3:11 off the clock. Greathouse has six catches for 95 yards and the touchdown.
Nicholas Singleton ends a second straight drive with a 7-yard touchdown to give Penn State a 24-17 lead with 7:55 remaining. It’s Singelton’s third touchdown of the evening. The Nittany Lions were aided by a defensive pass interference on an interception to move the ball inside the 10-yard line.
The drive began on the Notre Dame 39-yard line following defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton picking off Riley Leonard on the preceding Notre Dame drive. The drive is five plays for 39 yards and takes 2:20 off the clock.
On the first play following the scoring drive for Penn State, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton intercepts a pass from Riley Leonard to give the Nittany Lions the ball at the Notre Dame 39-yard line. It was Leonard’s second interception of the game.
Nicholas Singleton punches in the ball from 7 yards out to even the Orange Bowl with 10:20 left in the game. Quarterback Drew Allar completed all three of his passes for 48 yards on the drive to set up the score.
The drive goes seven plays for 75 yards in 3:47 game time. Of note, tight end Tyler Warren left the game following a hit on the sideline after a 27-yard gain to open the drive. He, however, returned to the game.
Jeremiyah Love powers his way into the end zone, breaking a couple of tackles on the way for a 2-yard touchdown to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game at 17-10 with 14:07 remaining in the game.
The drive goes 10 plays for 72 yards and takes 5:19 off the game clock. Love has scored in 14 of the 15 games this season for the Fighting Irish.
Following a great catch by receiver Jaden Greathouse on a third-and-9, Notre Dame is into Penn State territory to open the fourth quarter. Greathouse made a leaping grab on a throw from Riley Leonard to convert a key third down.
The Fighting Irish will face a third-and-2 from the Penn State 35-yard line to start the final quarter in a 10-10 game.
Notre Dame’s defense responded to a touchdown drive from the offense by forcing a three-and-out on the Penn State offense. Christian Gray tackled Kaytron Allen for no gain on a third-and-2 to force the punt.
Notre Dame will begin its second drive of the second half from its own 30-yard line.
Returning from an injury on the final drive of the first half, Riley Leonard caps off a touchdown drive for Notre Dame with a 3-yard rushing touchdown to even the score at 10-10 with 10:46 left in the third quarter.
The scoring drive lasted eight plays and 75 yards, taking 4:14 off the game clock for the Fighting Irish. Jeremiyah Love had 24 rushing yards on the drive, while Aneyas Williams had 15 yards rushing and 36 rushing.
Following a touchback on the opening kickoff for the second half, quarterback Riley Leonard is on the field for Notre Dame after he was tested for a concussion and deemed asymptomatic. He’s back to open the second half.
Here’s a look at the quarterback comparison:
Some stats of notes:
Following the injury to Riley Leonard, backup QB Steve Angeli leads Notre Dame to a field goal to end the first half. Mitch Jeter hits a 41-yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-3 at halftime. Notre Dame goes 13 plays for 52 yards in the final 2:18 to cut the lead to a touchdown.
Marcus Freeman did not have an update on Leonard going into halftime.
Notre Dame starting quarterback Riley Leonard heads to the injury tent with a potential injury following a hit on an incomplete pass. Backup Steve Angeli is in the game for the Fighting Irish.
The final moments leading up to ESPN’s broadcast of the Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame came with a scare.
While making his long-standing helmet pick for the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup between the Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish, “GameDay” analyst Lee Corso nearly fell backwards to the ground in front of the show’s desk while doing a jig to show he was predicting a Notre Dame victory.
The 89-year-old Corso, who was dressed as a leprechaun, was caught by the Notre Dame mascot he was dancing alongside before he hit the ground.
-Craig Meyer
Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton is in for a 5-yard touchdown to push the Penn State lead to 10-0 with 2:18 left in the first half. The Nittany Lions go 15 plays for 90 yards on the drive, taking over seven minutes off the clock with a dominant rushing attack.
Tight end Tyler Warren provided a spark for the offense with two rushes for 21 yards while lining up as the quarterback and a fourth-down reception on the drive. Penn State already has 141 rushing yards.
The Nittany Lions strike first on a 20-yard field goal from Ryan Barker. Nicholas Singleton drops a low throw from Drew Allar, which would have resulted in a Penn State touchdown.
The scoring drive goes 14 plays for 55 yards and takes 10:09 off the game clock.
The first quarter ends without a score, but Penn State will have a third-and-goal from the Notre Dame 3-yard line when the second quarter begins.
Facing a third-and-15 from his own 15-yard line, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard tries to force a throw into the secondary and Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley intercepts it. Penn State will begin its third drive from its own 42-yard line. Nittany Lion star edge Abdul Carter’s pressure forced the errant throw.
Despite a big catch on a back shoulder throw from Riley Leonard to tight end Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame’s first drive stalls at the Penn State 41-yard line following back-to-back incomplete passes to Evans. AJ Harris makes the third-down pass breakup for Penn State.
Zion Tracy fair catches the ball at the 2-yard line. The Nittany Lions begin their second drive backed up.
Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton provides a big play to help get the Nittany Lions into Notre Dame territory, but a false start helped stall the opening drive of the Orange Bowl semifinal. They punt from the Irish 44-yard line, and Notre Dame begins its first drive on its own 11-yard line.
Notre Dame won the toss and deferred to the second half. Penn State will receive the opening kickoff.
Here’s who ESPN’s “College Gameday” picked to win tonight’s CFP Orange Bowl semifinal:
Former Penn State football stars LaVar Arrington and Micah Parsons are in attendance for tonight’s Orange Bowl. Parsons currently plays for the Dallas Cowboys.
Notre Dame edge Abdul Carter is expected to play tonight, but his shoulder is heavily wrapped. Carter could be used situationally tonight, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar leads Penn State onto the field to warm up nearly an hour before the 7:45 p.m. kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium.
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman and Penn State coach James Franklin joined ESPN’s “College GameDay” to preview Thursday’s CFP Orange Bowl semifinal.
While Notre Dame players are already warming up, Penn State players just arrived at Hard Rock Stadium for today’s semifinal matchup. The Nittany Lions arrived nearly 30 minutes after the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is warming up ahead of the Orange Bowl against Penn State. Love is trending toward playing in today’s semifinal but will not be 100% due to a knee sprain.
The Orange Bowl between Notre Dame and Penn State is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
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The Fighting Irish’s game against the Nittany Lions will air on ESPN. Sean McDonough (play-by-play) and Greg McElroy (analyst) will be on the call.
Streaming options include the ESPN App and Fubo, the latter of which offers potential subscribers a free trial.
Here’s a look at some predictions for Thursday’s CFP semifinal between Notre Dame and Penn State:
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Tuesday, Jan. 7
This section will be updated once both teams release injury reports
According to The Weather Channel, the high temperature in Miami Gardens on Thursday will be 68 degrees, and the low will be 50 degrees. There is currently a 0% chance of rain.
* Denotes Big Ten game
** Denotes CFP seed
* Denotes CFP seed
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