A flu outbreak among Notre Dame players proved insignificant in Thursday's Orange Bowl in Miami, where the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish cruised to a miraculous 27-24 victory over No. 6 Penn State on a last-gasp field goal. minute from kicker Mitch Jeter to advance. to the national championship game.
Quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to tie the game in the second half and looked poised to drive 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 appeared 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 hit a 41-yard attempt with just eight seconds left to clinch the victory.
The victory is even more notable considering Leonard. He 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, and began what turned out to be a memorable second half.
The Irish now advance to the national championship in Atlanta on Jan. 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.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish's Mitch Jeter celebrates after kicking a winning field goal
Leonard took a big hit and got a big scare.
He ended up finishing the night with the biggest win of his college career and, now, a chance to win a national championship.
leonardo He ran for a score, ran for another score, and did all of that after missing the final 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 are a group 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, and the second half began.
He led an eight-play, 75-yard drive and capped it with a 3-yard touchdown run that brought Notre Dame to a 10-10 tie. Freeman had a 54-yard pass to Jaden Greathouse with 4:38 left to tie the game again, this time at 24-24, and Mitch Jeter's 41-yard field goal with 8 seconds left sealed the deal for the Irish.
Leonard said Freeman's speech at halftime was pivotal.
“He said, 'History is written by the conquerors, and we hold the pen.'…We believed we could do it and we went out and did it,” Leonard said.
Leonard entered the medical tent on the Notre Dame sideline with about two minutes left in the half after a play in which he was hit by Durant and Penn State's Dvon J-Thomas. It looked like Leonard hit the back of his helmet on the grass.
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 he was going to come back out,” Freeman said. 'Obviously, safety comes first on the football field. I just had to show everyone that I was okay. I got up a little wobbly, but everything was fine.'
Leonard found Aneyas Williams for a 36-yard gain on his only pass of the drive to open the second half. The other seven plays were all runs, with Leonard, who ran for 15 touchdowns this season entering Thursday, finishing them off himself.
Leonard completed six of 11 passes for 63 yards and an interception in the first half. Angeli was 6 of 7 for 44 yards on the final drive before the half.