MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Penn State quarterback Drew Allar said he was trying to throw the ball into the ground. Notre Dame defensive back Christian Gray dove for it anyway and — luck of the Irish — the ball ended up right in his hands.
A few seconds later, Gray and Notre Dame found themselves with a spot in the national title game after a thrill-a-minute 27-24 victory over Penn State on Thursday night in the Orange Bowl.
Gray’s snag of Allar’s ill-advised pass across the middle at the Nittany Lions’ 42 with 33 seconds left set up a 19-yard drive that ended with Mitch Jeter‘s winning 41-yard field goal.
The Irish (14-1), seeded seventh in this, the first 12-team college playoff, will have a chance to bring their 12th title and first since 1988 back under the Golden Dome with a game Jan. 20 in Atlanta. Their opponent will be the winner Friday night of the Texas-Ohio State semifinal in the Cotton Bowl.
“Just catch the ball. Just catch the ball,” Gray said about his interception. “That was going through my mind, and I knew I was going to make a play.”
Allar explained he saw his first two options covered on the play, then wanted to throw the ball into the turf. But the throw, under pressure and across his body, didn’t have enough zip on it to reach either receiver Omari Evans or the ground before Gray slid in.
“Honestly, I was trying to throw it at his feet,” said the junior quarterback, considered by some to be a first-round pick if he leaves for the NFL. “I should’ve thrown it away when I saw the first two progressions were not open. I didn’t execute.”
It was the most memorable play of a game that was the best of what has been a sleepy few weeks of playoff football. It featured three ties, three lead changes and 31 points in the fourth quarter alone.
In the final, Irish coach Marcus Freeman will try to become the first Black head coach to win the title at college football’s highest level. Freeman, whose mother is South Korean, also is the first coach of Asian heritage to get this far.
“We found a way to make a play when it mattered the most,” Freeman said. “In my opinion, great teams, great programs, find a way to do that.”
Penn State coach James Franklin fell to 4-20 with the Nittany Lions against teams ranked in the AP Top 10.
“Everyone wants to look at a specific play,” Franklin said. “But there’s probably eight to 12 plays in that game that could have made a difference. I’m not going to call out specific plays or specific players. There are a ton of plays where we could have done better.”
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard shook off a hit late in the second quarter that sent him to the medical tent to be checked for a concussion. He came back and led the Irish on four scoring drives in the second half, including the last one.
“He’s a competitor and competitors find a way to win, and that’s what Riley does,” Freeman said. “That’s what this team does.”
Leonard finished with 223 yards passing, including a key 10-yard dart to Jaden Greathouse to convert third-and-3 on the last drive. Leonard also had 35 yards rushing, and passed and ran for a score each.
With 4:38 left in the game, the senior quarterback hit Greathouse for a 54-yard score to tie it at 24 after a defender slipped.
The game started slow, but Riley’s injury injected life into things. He led Notre Dame on TD drives of 75 and 72 yards in the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead.
At that point, the fun was just getting started.
Penn State had its chances, and Allar, along with all those Nittany Lions fans, will spend the offseason reliving that last throw — or trying to forget it.
Penn State forced a Notre Dame punt and looked assured of at least going to overtime when it took over at their 15 with 47 seconds left.
After a gain of 13, Allar dropped to pass and had pressure coming. He threw across his body to the middle of the field, where Gray dove for the pick.
A review showed it was a catch, and the Irish were onto the next step on a road that looked all but impossible when they fell 16-14 to Northern Illinois back in September.
Nick Singleton ran for 84 yards and all three Penn State touchdowns. Off target for much of the day, Allar finished 12 for 23 for 135 yards with the interception.
“He’s hurting right now. He should be. We’re all hurting,” Franklin said.
The quarterback didn’t duck questions about the play or his role in the loss.
“We didn’t win the game so it wasn’t good enough, it’s plain and simple,” Allar said. “I’ll try to learn from it, do everything in my power to get better and just grow from it.”
When Leonard went out, backup Steve Angeli came in and injected life into the Fighting Irish offense on the way to its first score.
Angelli went 6 for 7 for 44 yards and moved Notre Dame to field goal range to trim its deficit to 10-3 just before halftime.
“We have a lot of confidence in Steve,” Freeman said when asked why he allowed the Irish to play aggressively when he entered.
The kickoff temperature was 56 degrees, unseasonably cool for South Florida — and making it the second-coldest Orange Bowl ever, next to the Georgia Tech-Iowa game in 2010 that started at 49 and felt like the upper 30s.
