A flu outbreak among Notre Dame players proved insignificant at Thursday’s Orange Bowl in Miami, where the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish pulled out a miraculous 27-24 win over No. 6 Penn State on a last-minute field goal from kicker Mitch Jeter to advance to the national championship game.
Quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense came back from an early 10-0 deficit to tie the game in the second half and looked poised to drive for a game-winning touchdown with two minutes remaining in the game.
But when the Nittany Lions’ Coziah Izzard sacked Leonard at midfield on third down, forcing an Irish punt, Penn State looked to be 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 connected on a 41-yard attempt with just eight seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
Leonard briefly went out of the game, then returned to find the end zone in the College Football Playoff semifinal
Leonard 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 as saying, and he started the second half.
Mitch Jeter of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates after kicking a game-winning field goal
He led an eight-play, 75-yard drive and capped it with a 3-yard touchdown run that pulled Notre Dame into a 10-10 tie.
Leonard went into the medical tent on the Notre Dame sideline with about two minutes left in the half after a play where he was hit by Penn State´s Zane Durant and Dvon J-Thomas . It appeared Leonard hit the back of his helmet on the turf.
He 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.
‘We’re confident in Steve if Steve has to go,’ Freeman said in the on-field interview with ESPN at halftime. ‘If Riley can go, we´re confident in Riley.’
Notre Dame caught fire after halftime as Leonard found Aneyas Williams for a 36-yard gain on his lone pass of the drive that opened the third quarter. The other seven plays were all runs, with Leonard – who rushed for 15 touchdowns this season coming into Thursday – capping it himself.
Notre Dame also lost left tackle Anthonie Knapp and right guard Rocco Spindler in the first half to injuries. Their status for the second half was not immediately announced and neither was on the field for that opening second-half drive.
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