In a battle of top-five defenses, No. 5 Notre Dame rallied late to defeat No. 4 Penn State 27-24 in the Orange Bowl CFP semifinals at Hard Rock Stadium. Thanks to an impressive second half from quarterback Riley Leonard, the Fighting Irish were able to overcome a 10-3 halftime deficit.

Penn State scored first with a 20-yard field goal by Ryan Barker and then extended its lead to 10-0 with a touchdown run by Nicholas Singleton. Leonard briefly went out after a hard tackle, but returned and orchestrated two touchdown attempts. His three-yard draw tied the game early in the third quarter before Notre Dame took its first lead in the fourth quarter when Jeremiyah Love crossed the goal line.

Singleton, who scored three rushing touchdowns, gave the Nittany Lions a 24-17 lead midway through the final quarter. But the Irish responded again, tying the score with a 54-yard bomb to Jaden Greathouse after the Penn State secondary slipped. After a costly interception by Drew Allar, Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter kicked a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left to seal the victory.

Notre Dame (14-1) will face the winner of the Ohio State-Texas matchup for the national championship, while Penn State ends its season at 13-3 after narrowly falling short of a chance at the title.

2025 ORANGE BOWL CHAMPIONS#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/V6Q4YLQA5h

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 10, 2025