The College Football Playoff semi-final first game was a thriller. The back-and-forth game ended with Notre Dame coming out on top 27-24. This is the first time in 11 years that Notre Dame will appear in the championship game. Their last CFB title was in 1988 when they took down the West Virginia Mountaineers. This year they want to add another banner inside of Notre Dame Stadium.
The first quarter did not set the tone for either team during the rest of the game. The first 15 minutes went scoreless with very little excitement. It was a game of who could punt the furthest through the quarter. The only “out of seat” moment at the start of this game was when Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard threw a 32-yard bomb intended for tight end, Mitchell Evans. Evans looked to be in free space for the endzone but stepped out of bounds as he lost his balance making the play on the sideline. With under five minutes on the clock, Notre Dame quarterback Leonard threw an interception right up the middle to Penn State safety Zakee Wheatly. Penn State took this opportunity to drive down the field and enter the red zone. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar threw a lob from the nine-yard line to the corner of the endzone and was picked off. This was a sigh of relief for The Fighting Irish until the play was called back for holding Christian Gray on defensive back. Penn State still had possession in the red zone with the first quarter coming to a close.
Penn State was knocking on the door with a third down play on the three-yard line. Allar threw a short pass to the right for running back Nicholas Singleton which he dropped. Penn State had to settle for a field goal to make the score 3-0. Penn State’s second drive of the quarter was brilliant on the ground. Penn State ran for 85 yards during the entire drive to finally score the first touchdown of the game. There was plenty of frustration for Notre Dame fans.
“There is no way of stopping the run game, they are running all over us and we have no answer,” ACHS Sophmore and Notre Dame fan AJ Rivera said.
Singleton made up for the dropped pass earlier in the quarter with his five-yard monster run. The score was 10-0 Penn State going into the last two minutes of the first half. A worrying moment for the Irish as Leonard took a massive shot to the body that left him walking off the field and into the medical tent. This forced backup Sophmore Steve Angeli to step in for the last minutes of the quarter. He executed perfectly by putting the Irish in field goal range and going six for seven passing for 44 yards. This allowed Notre Dame to get three on the board making it 10-3 going into the half.
With Leonard running out of the tunnel ready to go, the Irish fans all over the nation could now breathe. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is certainly one of the best running backs in the country, proven by stats. The first three touches of the third quarter were all to him. He picked up a six-yard and two nine-yard gains in a row, trying to ignite that flame that was inside of him all season. Right after those impressive runs, Leonard threw another bomb 36 yards for Running back Aneyas Williams. This put them inside the red zone and in a great field position. Immediately after he gets the ball on the ground and picks up a 15-yard gain which sets up the three-yard rushing touchdown for Leonard. The score now sits at 10-10 five minutes into the third. The third was another back-and-forth battle with both teams punting back and forth. Notre Dame ended the quarter with a throw to receiver Jaden Greathouse for 17 hards to put them in Penn State Territory.
The Irish had no choice but to put it in the hands of star running back Jeremiyah Love. He trucked through three players and broke five tackles reaching into the endzone. The play had the stadium roaring. 17-10 was the score just a minute into the last quarter. The Nittany Lions did not take long to respond, scoring with the responding drive, with another rushing touchdown for Singleton making it his second of the day. Immediately after the kick-off to Notre Dame, Leonard threw an interception on the first play to cornerback Dani Dennis-Sutton. After a couple of plays and a called-back interception for pass interference, Singleton rushed in yet again for his third touchdown. With this, Penn State retook the lead 24-17. Seven minutes left and the Irish needed something big. Suddenly, Greathouse found himself wide open in green space after sitting down a Penn State cornerback. Greathouse took the ball one-on-one with another Penn State defender and dropped him as well. Leaving both of the defenders on the ground, Greathouse took the ball to the house for fifty-four yards.
“That was the greatest Notre Dame play I’ve ever seen”. ACHS Student Gavin Hanrahan said.
Penn State turned the ball over again, throwing an interception to Notre Dame Cornerback Christian Gray. This set them up in perfect field position to win the game. They did just that after kicker Mitch Jeater nailed a forty-one-yarder. Notre Dame took in some new fans that day.
“I instantly became a fan, I’m Looking forward to cheering them on in the final.” ACHS Senior Ben Vasquez said.
Notre Dame will compete on Monday, Jan. 20th at 6:30 for the national championship. They will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in Atlanta for their eleventh national title.