Penn State Vs. Notre Dame: Down to the wire
MIAMI GARDENS, FL– No. 6 Penn State took on No. 7 Notre Dame in the CFB semifinals at the Orange Bowl. Going into this game we knew it would be a complete thriller. Riley Leonard vs Drew Allar, both very solid, high-level quarterbacks. These two both looked to lay it all out on the field,in the end it was Riley Leonard who paved the way for the Fighting Irish to win… of course paired with some incredible second half defense from the Irish.
Going into this game, the odds were definitely in favor of the Fighting Irish. They are a more sound team, coming off of bigger wins. Especially considering before heading into this game, Nittany Lions head coach, James Franklin, was 4-19 against AP ranked top 10 teams. But then again, this Penn State team hasn’t just made it this far for no reason. They have persevered throughout the whole season while doing so in a high level fashion.
PREGAME ISSUES
Before the game started on Thursday at 7:30pm EST, it was reported that in the Notre Dame locker room the case of the flu started to go around. Now before the full report came out, this shifted betting lines and even caused panic in many Notre Dame fans.
It soon came out that most of the contracted viruses were from players not starting, there were a couple starters who contracted it and may have played through it… similar to Michael Jordan’s infamous flu game.
GAME RECAP
The first half of the game was all Penn State, they marched up and down the field in the second quarter and came away with a quick touchdown to start the second quarter. They then followed up with a field goal to make the score 10-0. Drew Allar was commanding the offense well, and the play calling was well, but it needed to be better to keep this Notre Dame defense on their toes all game.
Finally at the end of the first half, Notre Dame showed up and hit a field goal right before the first half concluded. After that though, everything was coming up all Notre Dame as they went on to score 17 unanswered points and took a lead of 17-10. Riley Leonard injected life into the offense, paving the way for a 72 yard touchdown drive and then also a 75 yard touchdown drive. The Fighting Irish looked to continue this momentum, but in comes Penn State who wasn’t just going to give up.
Penn State went on to take the lead after scoring two unanswered touchdowns and taking the score up to 24-17, Nittany Lions lead. This is well into the fourth quarter and Notre Dame needed to make something happen. And boy, some magic happened.
With just under 5 minutes to play in the fourth quarter a Nittany Lions defender slipped and led the way for Leonard to throw to Greathouse for a 54 yard touchdown to tie the game. Just an incredible prayer that the Fighting Irish received. Their prayers were answered as they marched back to take the lead.
Penn State had the ball now and it was their time to shine… or so we thought. They quickly had to punt the ball which now put their fate into Notre Dame’s hands… or so we thought. After Leonard was sacked, Notre Dame punted the ball away and with just mere minutes left, Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions had possession of the ball.
With under a minute to play, Allar dropped back and threw across his body right into the hands Notre Dame’s defender Gray dove for the pick and after the review was confirmed. This is a play that will terrorize fans for the rest of the offseason. Throwing a pick with mere seconds left to possibly end the game… just incredible.
It was all up to Mitch Jeter, Notre Dame’s kicker, who has battled through injury all year and is 0-4 on game winning kicks. But in classic CFB fashion, he nails the 41 yarder and the Fighting Irish win the Orange Bowl and are headed to the National Championship.
LOOKING AHEAD
They will face either Texas or Ohio State in the College Football National Championship on January 20th. Notre Dame will look to capture their 12th National title and first one since 1988. That’s right, nearly 40 years ago, since they last won their National title. Will this year be the year? We will find out…
Cameron Williams
DiSportsPhotoAgency
Senior Writer
