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Marcus Freeman never lost faith in Riley Leonard. Now Notre Dame is 1 win from a national title
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MIAMI GARDENS — Riley Leonard knew his mistakes put Notre Dame in the position they found themselves in, down 7 with just 8 minutes to play in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal Thursday night.
Marcus Freeman, his head coach, knew Leonard was the only player who could lead the Fighting Irish back.
“He just came over and told me he knew who I was and the team believed in me,” Leonard said after the game when asked what Freeman told him before the game’s final possessions.
“We have a resilient group. I knew it was time to go and execute,” Leonard said.
Execution and resiliency.
That’s how Leonard — with the assist of an important cameo from his backup, Steve Angeli — led Notre Dame to a thrilling 27-24 Orange Bowl victory over Penn State, giving the Fighting Irish the chance to win the program’s first national championship since 1988.
The story of Notre Dame’s comeback win truly begins on the final possession of the opening half.
Stolid and listless offensively throughout the first half, Leonard was hammered by Penn State’s Dvon J-Thomas on what promised to be Notre Dame’s final possession until intermission. Leonard got to his feet, but was woozy enough for an official to whistle for an injury timeout. As Leonard was examined for a potential concussion, Angeli, a modestly recruited fringe 4-star quarterback from New Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic, came off the bench and led the team he dreamed of playing for his entire life on a 13-play field goal drive to cut Penn State’s lead to 7 before the break. Angeli completed 6-of-7 passes on the drive, throwing for 44 of the 52 yards it took to set up Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard kick.
“We have a lot of confidence in Steve and what he can do, and we weren’t going to put him in there and hand off and give up a possession in a national semifinal,” Freeman said after the game. “This is a player who won a Sun Bowl for us last year. We were going to let him out go out there and throw the ball and score, and we ended up scoring three points.”
Angeli was so effective that when Leonard cleared concussion protocol after the half, many of the geniuses like yours truly in the press area wondered if he should stay in the game over the ineffective Irish starter.
Freeman knew better.
Behind powerful running from Jeremiyah Love and a great long throw from Leonard to Aneyas Williams, Notre Dame found itself in the red zone in 5 plays. Leonard scored on a 3-yard run 3 plays later and suddenly the game was tied at 10 again.
The Irish took the lead on a symbolic, bulldozer of a run by Love early in the 4th quarter and suddenly, it looked like Notre Dame would overwhelm Penn State and cruise into a trip to Atlanta for the national title game.
But Penn State was resilient too, and the game was tied again minutes later when Nicholas Singleton barreled in from 7 yards out with 10:20 to play.
Leonard misread a zone coverage and threw his second interception of the night one play later, and when Penn State scored again with 7:55 remaining, Leonard paced the sideline wondering if his mistakes might doom the Irish this time.
“You have to keep playing, but you know you put your team in a tough spot,” Leonard said after the game.
It was the lowest point for Notre Dame since their stunning 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7.
That loss humbled Notre Dame, and made their run to an 11-1 regular season largely an afterthought nationally.
Same old Notre Dame, or so people thought.
Another team under another leadership group might have let the season get away from them.
Not this Notre Dame team. They are cut differently.
The Northern Illinois loss became a rallying cry in every aspect of Notre Dame’s organization. If they had a bad practice, Freeman reminded them of how it felt “after the Northern Illinois game.” If they played without purpose with a big lead, team leaders preached about “the failure to finish” against the Huskies. When a national outlet dismissed the Fighting Irish as overrated this week, Love channeled Freeman, telling Leonard, “what do you expect after the Northern Illinois game,” before adding, “let them sleep.”
The rallying cry reared its head again on a chilly Thursday night in South Florida.
No panic. Just resolve.
Leonard got a single high look with 5 minutes to play and saw Jaden Greathouse on the boundary lined up against Cam Miller without safety help. As Leonard stepped up in the pocket to avoid Penn State’s pass rush, Miller fell. Suddenly, Greathouse had one safety, Jaylen Reed, and green grass between him and the end zone. Greathouse juked Reed and just like that, Notre Dame was level.
“He’s a competitor,” Freeman said of Leonard after the win. “He’s a resilient kid and a competitor and competitors find ways to win. That’s what Riley does. That’s what this football team does.”
The Fighting Irish weren’t done finding ways.
Notre Dame only sacked Penn State quarterback Drew Allar once all night, but they pressured him enough to force him into frequent errant throws.
On the game’s penultimate possession, Jaylen Sneed, the lone 5-star on Notre Dame’s roster, blew past Olaivavega Ioane on a delayed blitz, causing Allar to panic to avoid a sack that almost assuredly would force overtime. Allar threw quickly across his body and Christian Gray picked it off.
Leonard and Love took it from there, gaining just enough yards to set up Jeter’s winning field goal and ignite a celebration that went deep into the Fort Lauderdale night.
The Fighting Irish know that whoever wins Friday night’s Cotton Bowl semifinal will likely be a huge favorite in the national title game on Jan. 20.
They also know that they have been in survive and advance mode in the face of doubts for 4 months. They like it that way.
“You can’t be afraid to fail,” a smiling Leonard said last night, sitting next to his second consecutive Offensive MVP award in 7 days. “We will be ready to go, I know that in my heart.”
Freeman knows it, too.
“When we lost to Northern Illinois, it was the lowest point of my career. We all had a decision to make. Do we want to play for individual glory and for ourselves? Or do we want to be selfless and play for Notre Dame? I think the nation sees what this group decided,” Freeman said.
Now, the nation will see one Notre Dame one more time. Playing for a national championship behind a quarterback who refused to surrender.
Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
