Notre Dame defeats Penn State in Orange Bowl thriller, advances to title game

In a battle of top-five defenses, No. 5 Notre Dame rallied late to defeat No. 4 Penn State 27-24 within the Orange Bowl CFP semifinal at Arduous Rock Stadium. The Preventing Irish overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit because of quarterback Riley Leonard’s spectacular second half.

Penn State opened the scoring on a 20-yard Ryan Barker subject purpose, then prolonged its result in 10-0 on a Nicholas Singleton landing run. Leonard briefly exited after a tough sort out however returned, orchestrating a pair of landing drives. His three-yard draw tied the sport early within the third quarter earlier than Notre Dame grabbed its first lead within the fourth when Jeremiyah Love powered throughout the purpose line.

Singleton, who completed with three speeding touchdowns, gave the Nittany Lions a 24-17 benefit halfway by the ultimate quarter. However the Irish responded once more, tying it on a 54-yard bomb to Jaden Greathouse after Penn State’s secondary slipped. Following a pricey Drew Allar interception, Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter drilled a 41-yard subject purpose with seven seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Notre Dame (14-1) advances to face the winner of the Ohio State-Texas matchup for the nationwide championship, whereas Penn State finishes its season at 13-3 after falling simply in need of a title alternative.

2025 ORANGE BOWL CHAMPIONS#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/V6Q4YLQA5h

— Notre Dame Soccer (@NDFootball) January 10, 2025