MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Before Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard field goal sent Notre Dame to the national championship game, before Christian Gray’s diving interception was set up, or before Jeremiah Love pulled out his right knee and pulled off a mutant performance, Marcus Freeman I stood inside the team. Wednesday afternoon at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood Beach.
Notre Dame’s head coach had just returned from his final press conference before kickoff. This was the kind of throwaway media gathering that was usually forgotten before the final Ball Trophy photos were taken. This was not that time. As Notre Dame’s head coach, Freeman stayed young by going against everything it takes to succeed in a sport that combines an old guard with a vintage attitude. A manager who has been criticized for not winning enough big games has decided to make a point about his opponents.
Penn State coach James Franklin jokingly asked Freeman how old he was. He complimented his hairline. It would have been better to pat the 38-year-old on the head and tell him how well he was doing. That’s because Freeman gritted his teeth and listened. And now Freeman was looking to channel that energy into a new source.
His players could hardly believe it.
“He was angry. He was upset about the press conference and what happened in between,” Xavier Watts said. “He was upset about it. “All the anger was directed at us and it spread to the scene.”
In a game where Notre Dame needed everything from a backup quarterback to two backup offensive linemen, Franklin gave the Irish a little more. There was more to this spectacular College Football Playoff semifinal than Franklin’s self-inflicted verbal wounds. The confetti scattered across Hard Rock Stadium told the story. Notre Dame didn’t win because of what their opponents said. This program wins because it knows how to promote all the benefits and solve all the challenges.
Franklin just offered a bonus.
“I’m not going to talk about their coach, but we felt like their team didn’t really respect us,” Love said. “We wanted to come into this game and make a statement. Be the attacker. Dominate them physically. That’s the message. Be physical and be violent. The whole game.”
In the end, Notre Dame’s 27-24 win over Penn State was more than that. The Fighting Irish lost three offensive starters in the first half, had two offensive linemen go down for the game and quarterback Riley Leonard suffered a head injury that Notre Dame dealt with with something other than a concussion. In his absence, backup Steve Angeli came to the rescue in the first half, leading Notre Dame on a field goal drive after the Irish fell behind 10-0, their first double-digit deficit of the season.
There was more fire in the first half and Freeman called for Notre Dame’s biggest bowl victory in a generation over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Irish were hurt on the ground by Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton in the first half. Never mind tight end Tyler Warren. They didn’t set the edge, they didn’t make the drop, they didn’t get the details right that they had been working on all year.
And Notre Dame’s offense, rated a disaster in the first half, needed Love to play the hero role that others couldn’t. Left tackle Anthonie Knapp was already lost and replaced by career backup Tosh Baker, leaving Abdul Carter facing a future top-five pick. When guard Rocco Spindler went down, redshirt freshman Charles Jagusah stepped in, calling on the tackle who had not played all season to operate at guard. And, inexplicably, he made it 17-10 against Indiana to start the College Football Playoff, with Notre Dame up 17-10 early in the fourth quarter when Love tackled four Penn State tacklers for a 2-yard score. Recorded.
Jeremiah Love’s touchdown 😳 pic.twitter.com/oSdhKereqU
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNFB) January 10, 2025
Love aggravated an MCL injury against Georgia, and his availability seemed questionable before Notre Dame arrived in Florida. And even during the week, Love didn’t know if she could do more than take snaps. This would not have been enough for Notre Dame Cathedral. Not in games like this.
“I just came out here, said ‘yes,’ and went out and played,” Love said. “No matter what happens, I trust in God. I trust His plan for me.”
After two singleton touchdowns gave Penn State a 24-17 lead and made it look like Notre Dame might not answer these latest questions, Leonard broke off a brutal interception and threw Jaden Greathouse for a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. Found it. play. It was part of a seven-catch, 105-yard night, the first 100-yard performance of Greathouse’s college career.
“This team has battled against adversity, challenges and hardships all year long,” Greathouse said. “We were able to overcome it all.” “That’s how I feel tonight.”
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman turned 39 years old on Friday. (Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
Notre Dame then shut down Penn State the way it knew best, baiting Drew Allar for the interception they believed was coming all night long. One of Gray’s players was eliminated on penalty kick in the first half. Another pass interference in the second half by linebacker Jack Kiser took him off the board. Gray had a third man stand while doing coverage that defensive coordinator Al Golden said he hadn’t called all night.
“He’s going to throw one at us. He’s going to throw one at us,” Watts said. “We knew it was coming at some point, and it came at the biggest moment.”
Linebacker Jaylen Sneed put enough pressure on Allar to give the quarterback a little more time to throw, which was all Gray needed. Again, good margins. Some made money in film rooms. Some were filmed on location. Some people can be talented if they know where to listen when the mic rings.
Notre Dame turned Gray’s pick into a seven-play, 19-yard run that headed into field goal range. By then, Franklin had taken a timeout and couldn’t even ice Jeter’s game-winning attempt. And maybe it didn’t matter anyway. The transfer kicker drilled his second 41-yarder of the night to send Notre Dame to Atlanta and its first national championship since 1988.
In the Notre Dame locker room, Kiser tried to make sense of it all. The six-year journey to becoming Irish captain under this promising coach led to his hiring to join a program that some felt would never be possible again. Kiser didn’t want to go into too much detail about the fire and brimstone unleashed by Freeman the day before kickoff when the 38-year-old coach showed he had the weapons to lead this program.
But when Kiser turned to the locker room, the red digital clock flashed 12:17 a.m., past midnight. It wasn’t game night anymore. It happened to be Marcus Freeman’s birthday, and it was now the early morning of January 10th.
“Let’s say 17 minutes ago Coach Freeman turns 39,” Kiser said. “So he’s not the young guy that a lot of people think he is. People want to play for Coach Freeman, and if you light that fire, it can really explode in this locker room.”
deeper
Drew Allar’s late interception in the Orange Bowl loss leaves Penn State with a familiar gut punch.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
