Notre Dame edges Penn State 27-24 to reach CFP final

The ball came loose from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar's hands with 33 seconds left in the Orange Bowl, a pass he'd meant to throw into the dirt that instead floated into the waiting hands of Notre Dame defensive back Christian Gray. It was the kind of moment that decides seasons—a quarterback's mistake, a defender's instinct, and then the arithmetic of a 19-yard drive that ended with a 41-yard field goal by Mitch Jeter. Notre Dame won 27-24 on Thursday night in Miami Gardens, and with it, the seventh-seeded Irish punched their ticket to the national championship game on January 20 in Atlanta.

Allar, a junior considered by some scouts as a first-round NFL prospect, had been trying to escape pressure when he threw across his body toward the middle of the field. His first two read options were covered. He wanted to get rid of the ball safely, to throw it into the ground and live to play another down. But the pass didn't have enough velocity. It hung in the air just long enough for Gray to recognize what was happening and dive for it. A review confirmed the catch. Penn State's season was over.

The game itself had been a back-and-forth affair, the kind of semifinal that rewards the team that makes the fewest mistakes in the final moments. Notre Dame's quarterback Riley Leonard had taken a hard hit late in the second quarter that sent him to the medical tent for a concussion evaluation. He returned and became the engine of the Irish comeback. In the third quarter alone, Leonard orchestrated two touchdown drives of 75 and 72 yards, moving Notre Dame from a 10-3 deficit to a 17-10 lead. With 4:38 remaining, he hit receiver Jaden Greathouse on a 54-yard touchdown pass—a defender slipped, and the ball found its target—to tie the game at 24.

Penn State had one last chance. After forcing a Notre Dame punt, the Nittany Lions took over at their own 15-yard line with 47 seconds on the clock. A gain of 13 yards put them in field-goal range, or so it seemed. Then Allar dropped back, saw the pressure, and made the throw he would spend the offseason trying to forget. Gray's interception ended it.

Leonard finished with 223 passing yards and 35 rushing yards, accounting for a touchdown in each category. He was the kind of competitor, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said, who finds a way to win when it matters. Penn State's Nick Singleton had run for 84 yards and all three of the Nittany Lions' touchdowns, but it wasn't enough. Penn State finished 13-3, and coach James Franklin fell to 4-20 against top-10 teams during his tenure with the program.

Notre Dame's path to this moment had seemed improbable just four months earlier. The Irish had lost to Northern Illinois in September, a result that looked like it might derail their entire season. Instead, they won 13 straight games to reach the first 12-team College Football Playoff. Now they stand one victory away from bringing home their first national championship since 1988. Freeman, whose mother is South Korean, will become the first Black head coach and the first coach of Asian heritage to win a national title if Notre Dame prevails. Their opponent will be determined Friday night when Texas and Ohio State meet in the Cotton Bowl. The temperature at kickoff Thursday had been 56 degrees, unseasonably cool for South Florida and the second-coldest Orange Bowl on record.