Notre Dame beats the flu, Penn State on miraculous last-second field goal to advance to national championship
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A flu outbreak among Notre Dame players proved insignificant at Thursday's Orange Bowl in Miami, where the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish pulled out a miraculous 27-24 win over No. 6 Penn State on a last-minute field goal from kicker Mitch Jeter to advance to the national championship game.
Quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense came back from an early 10-0 deficit to tie the game in the second half and looked poised to drive for a game-winning touchdown with two minutes remaining. But when the Nittany Lions' Coziah Izzard sacked Leonard at midfield on third down, forcing an Irish punt, Penn State looked to be back in the driver's seat.
That's when Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was intercepted by Notre Dame's Christian Gray. Seven plays later, Jeter connected on a 41-yard attempt with just eight seconds remaining to clinch the victory. The win is even more remarkable considering Leonard missed much of Notre Dame's final drive of the first half while being evaluated for a concussion, Irish coach Marcus Freeman told ESPN. Leonard was 'asymptomatic,' ESPN quoted Leonard as saying, and he started what proved to be a memorable second half.
The Irish now advance to the national championship in Atlanta on January 20, when coach Freeman's players will face the winner of Friday's Cotton Bowl matchup between fifth-seeded Texas and No. 8 Ohio State. Mitch Jeter of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates after kicking a game-winning field goal.
