The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are on their way to the National Championship! In what will go down as the greatest game of the 2024 season, the Irish beat Penn State 27-24 in the Orange Bowl. They’re currently in one of the most important streaks in program history. Notre Dame has re-established itself as one of the most formidable teams in college football. Putting them back at the top of the college football landscape.
The credit for this turnaround is all thanks to Marcus Freeman. When Brian Kelly left for LSU, it was believed that Notre Dame couldn’t win in the modern era. That to win they would have to give up their traditional way of doing things and adapt to what everyone else was doing. However, Freeman has proven that wrong. The way he’s led and coached this team should be what every coach strives for. We’ll never know what Freeman said at halftime, but whatever it was changed the way this team played.
A big reason why the Irish won this game was because they did exactly what Freeman has been preaching all season. That was winning the middle 12 of the game, the last four minutes of the first half, and the first eight minutes of the second. Just like they had all season, Notre Dame dominated that portion of the game. Although it’s not the reason they won, it was a major turning point and flipped momentum to Notre Dame. Here are the major takeaways.
Notre Dame Offense Answered Lingering Question
Going into the playoffs there was one major concern most had about the Irish offense, how will they play when their behind? Sure their offensive attack has been working for them this season, but this came when the game was tied or they were winning. They never had to run their offense when trailing. Many thought that this offensive style wouldn’t work if Notre Dame was trailing. This is a fair concern as run-heavy offenses do struggle to overcome big deficits.
However, the Orange Bowl proved that those concerns were overblown. Penn State had a 10-0 lead at the two-minute warning. To make things worse, starting quarterback Riley Leonard had to come out of the game to be evaluated for a concussion. However, Steve Angeli executed a perfect two-minute drill to get the Irish a field goal right before halftime. Then coming out of the half, Leonard returned and marched right now the field to tie the game at ten.
This performance silenced all the doubts surrounding the offense. Sure it’s not the greatest offense in the world. But, they can still keep them in games regardless of the score. They can overcome any deficit regardless of how the team has looked. This is another example of what good coaching can do. Not letting the outside noise get to the players, and keeping them believing they’re still in the game.
Christian Gray Gets Signature Moment
For as good as this Notre Dame defense has been this season, one of the weak points was the play of Christian Gray. The sophomore corner had been what team passing attacks have been targeting since the game against USC. In that game, he was consistently exposed and had several costly penalties. After that game, teams started targeting Gray and tried to make him have a similar performance as he did against USC.
That was even true for much of the game against Penn State. However, all of that will be forgotten now, after Gray made the defining play of his Irish career. With the score tied at 24 with less than a minute to go, Gray picked off Drew Allar at Penn State 42. This gave Notre Dame the ball, and they kicked the game-winning field goal 26 later. Gray’s interception is a major reason for the win. He’s now etched himself in Notre Dame lore with it. We won’t remember the bad game against USC. Instead will remember the pick to send the Irish to the national championship.
It was a good day for the Notre Dame secondary all around. They held Penn State wide receivers to zero receiving yards. Granted wide receiver is one of the weakest positions on their roster. However, when you take them out of the game, it’s much harder for their offense to execute and get down the field.
Brian Germinaro is a sportswriter for Belly Up Sports. Follow him on Twitter/X for more sports coverage and Belly Up Sports for even more college football content. Feature image credit: Michael Pimentel/ISI Photos.
