Eleven thoughts on Notre Dame’s epic 27-24 victory over Penn State in the Orange Bowl to set the stage for a historic, highly anticipated national title game against Ohio State on Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
1. Of course Notre Dame will play Ohio State for the national championship.
In a sport that runs on narrative — Marcus Freeman vs. his alma mater, Ryan Day vs. Lou Holtz, Midwest vs. Midwest, Will Howard vs. Riley Leonard — college football might have outdone itself here. Oh yeah, the title game will be staged at the site of the SEC Championship Game, too.
One coach is going to win his first national championship. The other will have his heart broken. Notre Dame winning it all would be generational after a 36-year wait. Ohio State winning it all would be a first in a decade, a moderate delay compared to Notre Dame.
Regardless, this is how it has to be. For Notre Dame. For Ohio State.
GO DEEPER
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2. Oh yeah, one of the great wins in Notre Dame history. We should probably talk about that. Because Notre Dame 27, Penn State 24 was the kind of game you’ll be talking about in 25 years. Short of winning a national championship, this Orange Bowl will rank alongside the 1992 Sugar Bowl (the Cheerios Bowl) and the 1979 Cotton Bowl (the Chicken Soup Game) in Irish bowl lore.
In a postseason of firsts, including the first home CFP game and the first major bowl win in 31 yards, Thursday night stood out in history. And to go back-to-back with the Georgia win, this has been a month for Notre Dame football like no other.
3. If Georgia tested Notre Dame physically, Penn State tested Notre Dame physically and emotionally. The game pushed the Irish into a place they had not been all season, dead on their feet in the first half. Down two linemen and one quarterback and unable to stop the run, it all felt like the bridge-too-far metaphor was happening in real time.
“You gotta find that extra juice,” safety Xavier Watts said. “That extra want-to. We found that (Thursday). We pushed through injuries, through missed assignments, just found another way to win.”
4. There was nothing guaranteed when Watts, Jack Kiser, Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills made the decision to come back for a fifth (or sixth) year. Plenty of players return to school. Barely any get this kind of payoff, and even Mills’ came at a huge cost after suffering a massive knee injury against Indiana last month. He watched Thursday night’s celebration on crutches after being driven to the game in an RV by his parents.
For Watts, Cross and Kiser, though, this month is why they pushed off whatever comes next. Kiser will play his 70th game for Notre Dame in the national championship next week.
“I showed up six years ago in a week,” Kiser said. “If you would have told me back then, ‘Hey, you’re gonna be back in a sixth year, playing a 12-team College Football Playoff, have a chance to win a national championship,’ I might have said you’re lying. I’m just so grateful for it.”
5. I’ve run out of adjectives for Jeremiyah Love. He is not of this world.
How can a 2-yard touchdown run be more impressive than a 98-yard touchdown run?
No running back has had a better 11-carry, 45-yard performance in school history.
This view of Jeremiyah Love’s touchdown 😳 pic.twitter.com/oSdhKereqU
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2025
6. I don’t remember the last time I’ve watched two opposing players and come away more impressed than with Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren.
The Orange Bowl asked me to vote for MVPs of the game. I picked Jaden Greathouse on offense and Carter on defense. The edge rusher not only wrecked Notre Dame’s offense, but he negated Riley Leonard as a classic run threat. In the second half, Leonard rolled right after beating a defensive line behind the line. The field was open for Leonard. And then Carter hawked him down, forcing Leonard to just throw it away.
As for Warren, what a fascinating college football player. Fast enough to run by any linebacker. Big enough to run over an All-American safety. And credit Penn State for creatively using him, as a running back, receiver and rub route expert, which helped spring some pass plays to the running backs.
GO DEEPER
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7. If you’re one of the people still wondering what happened to Notre Dame’s defense in the first half, let’s clear that up. Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen happened. That was the best pair of backs Notre Dame had faced all season. And when Singleton stiff-armed Adon Shuler into the ground on the game’s first play, turning a 1-yard loss into a 6-yard gain, it was a warning of what was coming. Sometimes you run into talent just as good as your own. Penn State’s talent in the run game was just as good as Notre Dame’s to stop it.
8. When left tackle Anthonie Knapp went down with a left leg/ankle injury with Notre Dame already struggling, it was hard to see how the Irish offense would function with Tosh Baker at left tackle. Notre Dame’s staff tried every alternative to Baker in camp, including Charles Jagusah and Knapp, a redshirt freshman and a true freshman, respectively. When Jagusah got hurt in early August, Baker’s time with the starters barely lasted a week before Knapp got the job.
Baker played 61 snaps against Penn State, roughly half of his 125 for the season. Last year Baker started the Sun Bowl after Notre Dame lost Joe Alt and Blake Fisher to opt-outs, playing 61 snaps, roughly half of his 118 for the season.
Maybe the sixth-year senior is just a postseason specialist?
9. Would Notre Dame consider moving Jagusah back to left tackle, assuming Knapp is out and guard Rocco Spindler can recover? Because Jagusah might be the best option at left tackle and right guard based on his performance against Penn State. His athleticism jumped off the field. And he made Penn State feel it.
This season has been so long that Jagusah’s season-ending injury in August didn’t last the entire season.
10. That’s the Jaden Greathouse that Notre Dame has been waiting on since spring practice. When I sat down with Mike Denbrock last summer, I asked how the offense would function without a No. 1 receiver. He didn’t disagree with the question’s premise but said if there was a WR1 on this team, it was probably Greathouse. Now he’s put up seven catches for 105 yards and that 54-yard touchdown that left two Penn State defensive backs on the ground.
Worth the wait for the sophomore. Notre Dame probably needs another one against Ohio State.
TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE
5️⃣4️⃣ YARDS #GoIrish☘️ | @jadengreat1
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 10, 2025
11. Notre Dame opened as a 9.5-point underdog against Ohio State, which feels like a hangover from those games against Alabama and Clemson in the four-team CFP and BCS eras. And it’s true, this version of Ohio State is the closest thing to those teams that played Notre Dame off the field. It’s not clear how Notre Dame blocks Jack Sawyer and the Ohio State front. It’s not clear how Love can respond against them with the knee injury. Who knows how the Irish secondary matches up with those Buckeyes receivers? But we’re all going to find out. And unlike those other big-game flops, Notre Dame comes into this one with earned confidence that it can get over the line.
Wins over Georgia and Penn State represent lifetime memories for Notre Dame.
They also should give the Irish confidence they have the platform to make another one.
GO DEEPER
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(Photo of Jeremiyah Love: Rich Storry / Getty Images)
