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Orange Bowl final: Notre Dame 27, Penn State 24 in College Football Playoff semifinal

josh moyer, jon sauber
·11 min read

Penn State, the No. 6 seed in the College Football Playoff, took on No. 7-seed Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, with the Irish coming out on top 27-24 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Jon Sauber reported from Miami Gardens, while Josh Moyer was in Happy Valley. You could follow Sauber directly on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @JonSauber. And you could follow a dedicated Penn State football X/Twitter list featuring updates from various sources.

Final

ND 27, PSU 24

There’ll be a lot of finger-pointing in this one. But no Penn State WR caught a pass, and QB Drew Allar’s consistency still leaves a lot to be desired. He has the ability to drop a 50-yard bomb right into the arms of streaking receiver, but he can also underthrow a running back from 3 yards away.

Was the 2024 season an anomaly, or is this the start of a new College Football Playoff era for Penn State? Stay tuned ...

Fourth Quarter

ND FIELD GOAL (ND 27-24, 0:07 4Q LEFT)

What heartbreak for Penn State fans. What ecstasy for Notre Dame. What a game. But that should do it from Hard Rock Stadium.

This was the last meaningful play:

ND TOUCHDOWN (ND 24-24, 4:38 4Q LEFT)

Sorry, “Under” bettors! (IYKYK.) Notre Dame WR Jaden Greathouse snags a 54-yard TD, the longest play of the game, after DB Cam Miller was juked at the line.

PSU TOUCHDOWN (PSU 24-17, 7:55 4Q LEFT)

You’d be forgiven for having whiplash in this fourth quarter. ESPN’s win probability meter is probably doing backflips. (Penn State got the ball back after Riley Leonard threw an interception to Penn State DE Dani Dennis-Sutton at the QB’s own 39-yard-line. The Nittany Lions then had a 5-play, 39-yard TD drive.)

PSU TOUCHDOWN (ND 17-17, 10:20 4Q LEFT)

Looks as if we have a game to remember here. Either way, this semifinal is going to difficult to forget, for a lot of reasons.

Penn State needed a response, and it did so with a 7-play, 75-yard TD drive that ended with a 7-yard scamper from Nick Singleton.

ND TOUCHDOWN (ND 17-10, 14:07 4Q LEFT)

The Irish have now scored 17 unanswered points. You can’t attribute it to luck when the backs are running this hard in the final quarter:

STILL TIED UP

The momentum has swung over to Notre Dame’s side. The Nittany Lions need a stop and/or for QB Drew Allar to step up.

Third Quarter

HOT START FOR IRISH (PSU 10-10, 7:46 3Q LEFT)

For as dominant as Penn State was in that first half, that entire advantage has evaporated on the scoreboard. Notre Dame started the second half with an eight-play, 75-yard TD drive with Riley Leonard under center. We’re tied.

Halftime

3 NUMBERS TO KNOW

  • 141: Number of rushing yards Penn State has so far. Kaytron Allen has 63 yards on 13 carries, while Nick Singleton has 10 carries for 52 yards.

  • 3: Number of sacks Penn State’s defense has recorded. The Nittany Lions have dominated in the trenches, and Notre Dame really hasn’t had an answer for injured DE Abdul Carter. He’s making a name for himself tonight.

  • 21: Number of games James Franklin has won, consecutively, when leading at half.

Second Quarter

NOTRE DAME FIELD GOAL (PSU 10-7, 0:00 2Q LEFT)

And it doesn’t seem that close. Penn State is dominating the trenches, Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard is injured (status remains TBD), and the Nittany Lions look like the much better team. That doesn’t mean they’ll win — but it does mean they have the firm advantage right now.

PSU TOUCHDOWN (PSU 10-0, 2:18 2Q LEFT)

Fifteen plays. 90 yards. 7:17 off the clock.

Wow. That’s one of the most impressive drives the Nittany Lions have had all season. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said his top priority was to stop Penn State’s run game ... but the Irish are getting dominated in that department.

Penn State picked up 86 of their 90 yards from running on that drive. Drew Allar attempted two passes.

NOTRE DAME INJURY

That means Penn State DE Dani Dennis-Sutton will face a backup and, with the way DE Abdul Carter is dominating the line, that could spell trouble for Riley Leonard and the Irish. Going to have to get that ball out quicker.

PSU FIELD GOAL (PSU 3-0, 14:52 2Q LEFT)

And the Nittany Lions strike first. Definitely the right call by James Franklin and OC Andy Kotelnicki to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Notre Dame 37-yard line — even if they wouldn’t have made it. But was it the right call to later settle for a field goal?

First Quarter

TURNOVER

Bad throw by Riley Leonard that resulted in an interception. Zakee Wheatley will get all the credit on the stat sheet on that one, but DE Abdul Carter deserves an assist. Carter pressured Leonard and forced him to step up into the pocket.

FIRST DRIVES

After all the questions about Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love and Penn State DE Abdul Carter, both still start for their respective teams. Neither is 100%, but it looks as if both will be factors. Carter’s already been a headache for the Irish, collecting a solo stop on the first drive.

And, uh, Zion Tracy: Why are you fair-catching the ball at the 2-yard line? He’s going to get an earful on the Penn State sideline. Silly special teams mistake that will put PSU in bad field position.

Pregame

PREDICTIONS

Before the game kicks off, let’s make it official:

Jon Sauber: Penn State 21, Notre Dame 20: I could go either way with this game. I don’t think there will be a ton of points scored, and I tend to believe it will come down to the fourth quarter. Beyond that, who’s to say. These teams play very similarly and rely on dominant defenses to carry them. I’ll give Penn State the advantage because it can create more in the passing game, giving the Nittany Lions a better chance at creating game-changing plays.

Josh Moyer: Notre Dame 21, Penn State 17: It’s hard not to see this ending as a close game, and it’s harder not seeing this one decided by defense. We’ve watched Penn State QB Drew Allar struggle in high-pressure situations and, while he is tremendously talented, I see Notre Dame stacking the box and forcing Allar to beat them. I don’t think he can. But we’ll see.

INJURY UPDATE (AGAIN)

Both Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love and Penn State DE Abdul Carter are, as expected, fully dressed and look prepared to play.

COACH CHECK-IN

Marcus Freeman says Notre Dame has to stop the run first, intimating that TE Tyler Warren is not Priority No. 1. James Franklin is preaching patience and protecting the football. He still says DE Abdul Carter is a “gametime decision” but adds that all indications Carter has given this week have been “positive.”

PSU WALKING AROUND

Penn State DE Abdul Carter walked off the team bus with his hood up, meaning he totally missed his chance at an epic entrance by carrying a lightsaber. (If you don’t get it, here’s the backstory.) But the Nittany Lions have arrived at Hard Rock Stadium:

ND ARRIVAL

Looks as if Notre Dame’s greeting wasn’t overly friendly, but at least one reporter believes that fans are split about 50/50.

INJURY UPDATES

The two biggest questions center on Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love and Penn State DE Abdul Carter, both of whom are invaluable to their respective teams.

To elaborate on Carter, Penn State coach James Franklin called him a “gametime decision” on Wednesday. Carter clearly wants to play. He sent an ambiguous tweet a week ago, on Jan. 2, that simply showed Darth Vader from Star Wars in a bacta tank, which quickly heals injuries.

Carter won’t be 100%. But he’s not the type of player to hold himself out to protect his draft stock. If he can play, he will.

FURTHER READING

Check out some stories from us this past week for your pregame reading. And, if you don’t have time for them all, make sure to check out the one about Kotelnicki!