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Penn State Falls to Notre Dame in Orange Bowl Heartbreaker

Drew Allar throws a late interception, which the Fighting Irish turn into the game-winning field goal.

Mark Wogenrich

Penn State Nittany Lions fans reacts in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions fans reacts in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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MIAMI GARDENS | Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter made a 41-yard field goal with 7 seconds remaining, lifting the Fighting Irish over Penn State 27-24 in an epic Orange Bowl on Thursday. Notre Dame advanced to its first College Football Playoff national championship game, and Penn State ended the most prolific season in school history at 13-3.

Penn State, which took a 10-3 lead after a mostly dominant first half, grasped at the game's edges for the remainder. A superb defensive effort fell prey to a slip in coverage, and a strong early run game went wayward in the third quarter. Then, the interception. Here's the recap from Hard Rock Stadium,

The biggest interception of the season

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar walked off the field for the last time this season slapping his helmet and tugging at the straps. He so desperately wanted that throw back, perhaps more than any other in his career.

Notre Dame's Christian Gray intercepted Allar's pass intended for Omari Evans, flipping the field in the final minute and giving the Irish possession at Penn State's 42-yard line. It was Allar's first interception of the playoff, though he had played with fire all night. Notre Dame intercepted Allar twice in the end zone, though both plays were overturned by penalties (holding and pass interference).

Allar had a truly difficult game, going 11-for-22 for 139 yards. He did not complete a pass to a wide receiver. And even though he struggled, Allar had an opportunity to turn in a game-winning drive. Coziah Izzard sacked Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard late in the fourth quarter, leading to a punt. Penn State too kver from its own 15-yard line with 47 seconds remaining. Two plays later, Gray intercepted Allar.

A crucial slip

The Jeremiyah Love leap, as it will become known, catalyzed a remarkble tying series for Notre Dame. But it also benefitted from a backpedal slip. Penn State cornerback Cam Miller lost his footing at midfield, leading to a 54-yard touchdown pass from Leonard to Jaden Greathouse. The receiver had the wide side of the field to himself and beat Jaylen Reed to the end zone to tie the game at 24-24.

An amazing interception

Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton was a front-line menace all night. He also made perhaps the game's best catch. Dennis-Sutton dropped into coverage, leaped and put two hands onto a ball that Leonard expected to go complete. It was a phenomenally athletic play from anyone, let alone an edge rusher.

Two end-zone interceptions overturned

Allar certainly caught two breaks in the red zone. The quarterback underthrew a pair of passes, both of which were intercepted but called back by penalties. The first was for holding of receiver Trey Wallace, the second for pass interference against Tyler Warren. Penn State capitalized on the second, with Singleton scoring his third touchdown. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman argued the play through the TV timeout after Penn State's touchdown.

The answer Penn State needed

After Notre Dame took a 17-10 lead, Penn State confronted one of its biggest must-have moments since the USC game. The offense rose up, with Singleton capping the drive with a 7-yard run. The most important play was a 20-yard completion to Khalil Dinkins. Kaytron Allen's

Notre Dame scores 17 unanswered points

The Fighting Irish picked themselves off the mat after getting tuned up in the first half, despite trailing only 10-3 at halftime. The catalyst was Leonard, who returned after Dani Dennis-Sutton knocked him from the game in the second quarter. Leonard led a pair of touchdown drives, completing four of five passes in the process. He made a beautiful back-shoulder throw to Jaden Greathouse on the second touchdown drive, which Jeremiyah Love capped with a bruising 2-yard touchdown run on which he broke three tackles. Crucially, the drive also covered 5:19 and burned through the third quarter.

Before that, Leonard led a must-have series that tied the game at 10-10. He threw downfield to Aneyas Williams, recognizing that Penn State linebacker Kobe King was in coverage, and capped the drive himself with a 3-yard touchdown run. Notre Dame exploited King in coverage again on its second touchdown drive, getting a pass-interference penalty in the end zone.

Penn State's run game felt it in the first half

On its 15-play, 90-yard touchdown drive, Penn State ran the ball 13 times for 86 yards. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki pressed the wide-zone button often and successfully, with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen really grooving. Once again, Allen has entered postseason beast mode. He finished the first half with 63 yards on 13 carries, jumpstarting the scoring drive with a 20-yard burst.

Allen and Singleton combined for 115 first-half rushing yards, and Penn State had 141. That already was more than Notre Dame allowed to Georgia and Indiana combined (125) in its first two playoff games.

An unsung game

Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley played beyond his reach, making an otherworldly 16 tackles and his third interception of the season. Wheatley was spectacular for a defense that lapsed in just several small areas.

A critical stat

Penn State will lament its third-down play on both sides of the ball. The offense went just 3-for-11 on third down, while Notre Dame converted 11 of 17 attempts. The Irish were 11-for-14 before Izzard's third-down stop late in the fourth quarter.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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