The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are heading to the National Championship game for the first time in 12 years after a nail-biting 27-24 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday night.
Senior kicker Mitch Jeter secured the win with a 41-yard field goal, drilled through the uprights with just eight seconds remaining on the clock. The thrilling finish sent Notre Dame fans into a frenzy and punched the Irish’s ticket to the title game in Atlanta.
Head Coach Marcus Freeman commended his team for stepping up in key moments. “Great teams, great organizations – they’re able to, at that moment that they need to do their job or make a play, they do it,” Freeman said after the game.
Freeman also praised the culture of selflessness within the team. “You have to be selfless to achieve anything great,” he said. “We have a locker room full of selfless players and selfless coaches.”
Senior quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred from Duke to join the Irish, expressed gratitude for his decision after the victory. “I came here to win a national championship…to go to the best team that would give me the best odds to do that,” Leonard said. “This is the right place, and I made the right decision.”
Notre Dame will face either Ohio State or Texas, the winner of the Cotton Bowl, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20. The Irish are seeking their first national championship since 1988 and hope to become the inaugural champion of the new 12-team playoff format.
