MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Before Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard field goal sent Notre Dame to the national championship game, before Christian Gray’s diving interception, or before Jeremiah Lowe’s Marcus Freeman stands in front of his team before Jeremiyah Love braces his right knee for a mutant performance Wednesday afternoon at the Diplomat Hotel on Hollywood Beach.
Notre Dame’s head coach had just returned from his final press conference before kickoff, the kind of one-time media gathering that’s usually forgotten before the final bowl trophy photo is taken. This is not one of those times. That’s not the case for Freeman, the head coach at Notre Dame whose younger years have eroded what it takes to succeed in a sport of old guard and throwback attitude. A manager who has been criticized for not winning enough big games has decided to make a point about his rivals.
Penn State head coach James Franklin jokingly asked Freeman how old he was. He complimented his hairline. He might as well give the 38-year-old a pat on the head and tell him how well he’s doing. Because that’s what Freeman heard, gritting his teeth the whole time. Now Freeman plans to give that energy a new source.
His players couldn’t believe it.
“He was angry. He was angry about the press conference, whatever happened in between,” safety Xavier Watts said. “He was angry about it. All the anger was directed at us and the anger spilled onto the pitch.
In a game where Notre Dame needed everything from a backup quarterback to two backup offensive linemen, Franklin managed to give the Irish more. There was more to this exciting College Football Playoff semifinal than the verbal trauma Franklin himself inflicted — the confetti scattered at Hard Rock Stadium told the story. Notre Dame didn’t win because of something the other side said. It wins because the program knows how to exploit every advantage and how to meet every challenge.
Franklin just offered a bonus.
“I’m not going to talk about their head coach, but we felt like their team didn’t really respect us,” Love said. “We want to go into this game and make a statement. Be the aggressor. Dominate them physically. That’s the message. Be physical, play violent. The whole game.
In the end, Notre Dame achieved all of this and more by defeating Penn State 27-24. The Fighting Irish lost three offensive starters in the first half, with two offensive linemen sidelined and quarterback Riley Leonard suffering a head injury that Notre Dame determined was for reasons other than a concussion. In his absence, substitute Steve Angeli saved the first half, if not the day, after Ireland fell 10-0 down, their first double-digit deficit of the season. Led Notre Dame in field goals.
The game was even tighter at halftime, with Freeman asking Notre Dame to pull off its greatest bowl victory in a generation against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and build on an even bigger victory here. The Irish were outgunned by Ketron Allen and Nicholas Singleton in the first half, not to mention tight end Tyler Warren. They didn’t set the edges, didn’t get the job done, and didn’t iron out the details they’d been hammering out all year.
Notre Dame’s offense was a disaster in the first half and needed Love to play the hero, something few can do. Left tackle Anthony Knapp has lost his starting job to career backup Tosh Baker, who will face future top-five overall pick Abdul Carter. When linebacker Rocco Spindler went down, redshirt freshman Charles Jagusah stepped in and a tackle who hadn’t played all season asked to be moved to guard. Inexplicably, he did, with Notre Dame up 17-10 early in the fourth quarter when Love’s 2-yard rush passed through four Penn State tacklers and somehow outpaced him against Indiana University’s 98-yard score kicked off the College Football Playoff.
Jeremiah Love touchdown view 😳 pic.twitter.com/oSdhKereqU
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2025
Love aggravated his MCL injury against Georgia to the point where his availability appeared to be in doubt before Notre Dame arrived at Florida State. Even this week, Love didn’t know if he could do more than just take snaps, and that wasn’t enough for Notre Dame. Not in a game like this.
“I just came out here and said, ‘Fuck it,’ and went out there and played ball,” Love said. “No matter what happens, I trust God. I trust His plan for me.
After two singleton touchdowns, Penn State led 24-17, and it looked like Notre Dame might not have a response to these latest questions, as Leonard shook off a brutal interception with 4:38 to play Found Jaden Greathouse for a 54-yard touchdown play. It was part of Greathouse’s seven-catch, 105-yard night and the first 100-yard performance of his college career.
“This team has battled adversity, challenges and struggles all year long, and we have the ability to face it all,” Greathouse said. “That’s what it feels like tonight.”
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman turns 39 on Friday. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Then Notre Dame shut the door on Penn State in the way it knows best, luring Drew Allar into an interception it believed would happen all night long. Gray’s goal in the first half was resolved by a penalty kick. In the second half, another offensive play by linebacker Jack Kiser was picked off for pass interference. Gray made sure the third down stood up, and defensive coordinator Al Golden said he didn’t call in coverage all night.
“He’ll throw one to us, he’ll throw one to us,” Watts said. “We know it’s going to come at some point, and it’s going to come at the most important moment.”
Linebacker Jalen Snead put enough pressure on Allar to give the quarterback less time to throw the ball, which was exactly what Gray needed. Again, fine margins. Some were earned in the movie room. Some were taken on the field. Some people are very talented, if you know where to listen when the microphone comes on.
Notre Dame turned Gray’s pick into a seven-play, 19-yard drive into field goal range. By then, Franklin had exhausted his timeouts and couldn’t even stop Jeter’s winning attempt. Maybe it doesn’t matter anyway. The transfer kicker completed his second 41-yard field goal of the night to send Notre Dame to Atlanta for its first national title since 1988.
In the Notre Dame locker room, Kizer tried to make sense of it all, having spent six years as an Irish captain under an up-and-coming head coach hired to join a program that some thought might not. Will do it again. Kizer didn’t want to reveal too many details about Freeman’s fire-and-brimstone outburst the day before tipoff, when the 38-year-old head coach showed the program had a weapon to lead it.
However, when Kize turned around and returned to the locker room, the red digital clock flashed and it was past 12:17 midnight. It’s not game night anymore. It happens to be Marcus Freeman’s birthday, it’s the early morning of January 10th.
“Let’s put it this way, Coach Freeman was 39 years old 17 minutes ago,” Kizer said. “So he’s not the young man that a lot of people think he is. Guys want to play for Coach Freeman, and when you add fuel to the fire, it gets really explosive in the locker room.
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Drew Allar’s late interception in Orange Bowl loss gives Penn State a familiar punch
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
