Riley Leonard shares Marcus Freeman's halftime message in Orange Bowl win

On Thursday, Notre Dame defeated Penn State 27-24 to secure its spot in the College Football Playoff championship. After the game, Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard revealed head coach Marcus Freeman‘s message to the team at halftime when they trailed Penn State 10-3.

“History is written by conquerors and we’re holding the pen,” Leonard said. “We decide how we want to write our history. And I’m a firm believer in whether you think you can or you can’t do something, you’re right. We believe that we can do it, and we went out there and did it.”

Leonard and his fellow Fighting Irish wrote a story in the second half that Notre Dame fans will never forget. The team burst out of the halftime break, marching down the field for a score on their first possession.

Alas, they didn’t stop there, ultimately outscoring Penn State 24-14 in the second half. The Fighting Irish’s spectacular second-half performance was capped off by kicker Mitch Jeter’s game-winning 41-yard field goal with only seven seconds left in the game.

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In the win, Riley Leonard completed 15-of-his-23 pass attempts for 223 yards and touchdown while throwing two interceptions. He also recorded 35 rushing yards and a score on 18 carries. While Leonard wasn’t satisfied with his performance in the win, he didn’t hesitate to rave bout his teammates.

“It doesn’t even feel real and like I said, I shouldn’t even be the one on the microphone right now,” Leonard said. “I didn’t do my part tonight. But, heck, these guys did and they carried me throughout the entire game.

“Whenever there was a second of doubt in my mind, I had somebody coming up and telling me that they believed in me. So, to be here on this stage, we’re gonna enjoy it. We got one more left.”

For a moment, it looked like Notre Dame would be without Leonard in the second half. With just under two minutes left in the first half, the standout QB absorbed a massive hit and headed to the tent to be checked for a concussion.

Nonetheless, Leonard refused to sit back and watch his team compete without him.

“I knew I was gonna get back out there,” Leonard said. “Obviously, safety first on the football field. I just had to prove to everybody that was fine. I got up a little wobbly but it was all good.

“I looked up, said, ‘Jesus, whatever your will is for my life, I trust it 100%, and I know that this offense and this team trusts in Jesus and His plan for the season. As far as question goes, I forgot the question, but we got it going in the second half.”

Notre Dame will face off against the winner between Ohio State and Texas for the national title. The game will be on Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.