Greg McElroy hands out first game ball for Orange Bowl to Steve Angeli

For who all played well to help Notre Dame win in the Orange Bowl, Greg McElroy gave the first of his game balls out to the Fighting Irish’s QB2.

After calling the 27-24 win last night in Miami, McElroy broke it down this morning on ‘Always College Football’. That started by him saying several players on both Notre Dame as well as Penn State were deserving for how they played in their semifinal in the CFP.

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“If we’re going to give a game ball tonight, I think there’s a lot of game balls to be had – kind of all over the place, I might add,” McElroy noted.

However, the first of those that he gave went to QB Steve Angeli for the Irish. After Riley Leonard exited with a minute and half left in the first half for an evaluation for a concussion, Angeli checked in to complete six of his seven throws for 44 yards. That drive earned Notre Dame the lone three points of the half for them. From that field goal on, though, they would outscore the Nittany Lions at 27-14, including 17 unanswered following that possession for Angeli.

“First game ball I’m going to give out is to Steve Angeli, the backup quarterback thrust into the lineup when Riley Leonard goes down,” McElroy said. “At first, it looked like Riley Leonard kind of landed awkwardly on his right side and then his head went back and they had to check him for the concussion. He goes into the tent, they check him for a while. Steve Angeli proceeds to lead this group, with backup offensive linemen on the field, right down the field to secure three points right before the half.

“That was massive, especially knowing that Notre Dame would get the ball to start the second half. It just stopped the bleeding and it gave Notre Dame a little life because, for 28 minutes, they were getting buried. Then it gave them a little life, a little reason to believe that they can block them, they can move the ball, and they can find some space if they can just give their quarterback a little bit of time,” said McElroy.

Take away those three points and Notre Dame is in a shutout after the first half. It also, assuming Mitch Jeter is in the same circumstances, would have made their game-winning kick only a game-tying one to send it to overtime.

Instead, Angeli answered off the sideline and played a role in a two-minute drill that, by score and by momentum, helped the Fighting Irish in part to make it into the national championship.

“That was really, really impactful so I do not want to downplay the importance of that end-of-half sequence,” McElroy said.