Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter made a 41-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining to give the Fighting Irish a 27-24 victory against Penn State in the Orange Bowl and end the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff run in the semifinals.
Penn State (13-3) took a 10-0 lead in the first half, but Notre Dame (14-1) stormed back with 17 straight points and set up a back-and-forth second half. The Nittany Lions had the ball with the game tied 24-24 and under a minute remaining in the fourth, but a Drew Allar pass was picked off by Notre Dame’s Christian Gray at the Nittany Lion 42. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard then drove the Irish to 23 to set up Jeter’s game-winning kick.
Allar was 12-23 for 139 yards on the night, and none of his wide receivers caught a pass. Penn State racked up 204 of their 343 yards on the ground, with Nick Singleton running for 84 and Kaytron Allen for 82.
After struggling offensively in the first half, Notre Dame gained 383 yards on the night — 267 passing and 116 rushing.
Playing with an upper arm injury sustained against Boise State, Penn State All-American defensive end Abdul Carter turned in a valiant effort with two tackles for loss, a sack, a pass break up and one credited hurry. Safety Zakee Wheatley led Penn State with 16 tackles, a sack and an interception. Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton had two sacks and an interception.
Notre Dame will play for the national championship on Jan. 20 in Atlanta against the winner of Friday night’s Cotton Bowl semifinal between Ohio State and Texas.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams crossed midfield on their opening possessions but ultimately stalled and were forced to punt. Penn State started its second drive from its own 2 and picked up a first down for some breathing room, but ultimately had to bring on Riley Thompson for another punt.
Facing third and 12 from his own 33, Riley Leonard threw a pass across the middle that Nittany Lion safety Zakee Wheatley jumped to intercept at the Penn State 42.
A 13-yard pass from Drew Allar to Tyler Warren moved the Nittany Lions into Fighting Irish territory, and Nick Singleton converted the next series with an 8-yard carry on fourth and 2. A Singleton carry and an Allar hook-up with freshman tight end Luke Reynolds on a crossing route moved Penn State into the red zone.
After a defensive holding penalty put Penn State on the Notre Dame 4, the Nittany Lions came up short of the goal line on consecutive runs to face third and goal from the 3 as the opening quarter ended.
2nd Quarter
Allar had Singleton wide open in the flat for a sure touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter, but the running back was unable to pull in a low throw. Penn State had to settle for a 20-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead after a 14-play, 55-yard drive that lasted more than 10 minutes.
The Nittany Lion defense shut down Notre Dame near midfield and the Irish were forced to punt again on their ensuing drive, pinning the Nittany Lions at their own 10.
Penn State turned to the ground game and put together a long, well-executed drive. Taking more than seven minutes off the clock, the Nittany Lions marched 90 yards in 15 plays, with 86 coming on the ground. Allen (37 yards), Singleton (23), Warren (21) and Allar (5) shared the run load, with a 4-yard pass from Allar to Warren on fourth down the only non-rushing gain, and Singleton took the final carry 5 yards for the night’s first touchdown.
The Nittany Lions led 10-0 with 2:18 remaining in the half. It was the first time all season Notre Dame trailed by double digits.
When Leonard went out with an injury on the third play of the final drive of the half, Fighting Irish backup QB Steve Angeli stepped in and rose to the moment. The junior went 6-7 passing and, despite a fumble on a sack by Dani Dennis-Sutton that was recovered by Notre Dame, led the Irish to the Penn State 15 with 16 seconds left in the half. But on first down with the clock winding down, Abdul Carter sacked Angeli for an 8-yard loss, and Notre Dame had to use its final timeout to set up a 41-yard Mitch Jeter field goal as time expired.
Penn State took a 10-3 lead into the locker room. The Nittany Lions outgained the Irish 194 to 122 in the half, with 141 coming on the ground, including 63 by Allen and 52 by Singleton. Notre Dame only gained 15 total rushing yards in the half.
3rd Quarter
Leonard returned at quarterback for Notre Dame and the Irish offense took it to the Nittany Lions on the opening drive of the second half. After a quiet first half, running back Jeremiyah Love gained 24 yards on the first three plays and Leonard hit Aneyas Williams for a 36-yard pass to get Notre Dame into the red zone. A 15-yard Williams carry had Notre Dame knocking on the door, and Leonard finished the driver with a 3-yard keeper to cap the 80-yard drive as the Irish tied the game at 10-10 with 10:46 left in the quarter.
The two sides traded punts on each of their next possessions, and despite a 22-yard pass from Allar to Warren, the Nittany Lions once again stalled and punted to end their next drive.
Leonard converted a third-and-1 on a keeper then on third and 9 threw to Jaden Greathouse, who made a spectacular catch to get the Irish into Penn State territory as the third quarter ran down.
4th Quarter
Notre Dame receiver Jayden Thomas took a jet sweep 18 yards to open the final quarter, and a pass interference call against Kobe King in the end zone put the Irish on the Penn State 2. Love took it from there, and Notre Dame had its first lead of the night at 17-10 with 14:07 left in the game.
Penn State responded with its best drive since the first half. Allar completed passes of 27 and 20 yards to Warren and fellow tight end Khalil Dinkins, and a 10-yard Allen run pushed the Nittany Lions inside the Irish 10. Two plays later, Singleton broke free for a 7-yard touchdown run to cap the seven-play, 75-yard drive, and following Barker’s PAT Penn State tied it back up at 17-17 with 10:20 to play.
On the first play of Notre Dame’s next possession, Dennis-Sutton, who dropped back into coverage on a zone blitz, picked off a Leonard pass at the Irish 39, and the Penn State offense was back in business.
Allar converted a third-and-6 with an 11-yard run, and a pass interference call against Notre Dame on a throw that was intercepted at the goal line had the Nittany Lions at the 9. Two plays later, Singleton ran 7 yards for his third touchdown of the night and the Nittany Lions were back in front 24-17 with 7:55 remaining in the game.
Notre Dame responded. After moving the Irish to their own 46, Leonard took advantage of a Nittany Lion defensive back falling down to hit a wide-open Greathouse at the Penn State 35 and the sophomore receiver took it the rest of the way for the score. Penn State and Notre Dame were tied at 24-24 with 4:38 left in the fourth.
A false start set Penn State back to start its next drive and the Nittany Lions went three and out with 2:30 left in the game.
Aided by a hands-to-the-face penalty, Notre Dame moved into Penn State territory after the two-minute warning, but a Coziah Izzard sack forced a punt to the 15 with less than a minute remaining.
After a 13-yard Singleton gain, however, a Drew Allar pass was picked off by Notre Dame’s Christian Gray at the Nittany Lion 42 and the Irish had a chance to win it with 30 seconds remaining.
On third and 5, Leonard connected with Greathouse again for 10 yards and the Irish set up a game-winning kick. Jeter put the 41-yard attempt through the uprights and Notre Dame had a 27-24 lead with eight seconds remaining.
Penn State had one more chance by a series of laterals on the game’s final play came up short and the Nittany Lions’ season came to an end.
