Live updates, highlights, game score: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Penn State in Orange Bowl
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. — It’s time. No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 6 Penn State are set to face off in the Orange Bowl, with the winner earning a trip to the national championship.
Follow along for Blue & Gold‘s live updates, highlights and game score as the Irish take on the Nittany Lions.
FINAL: Notre Dame 27, Penn State 24
01/09/2025 10:13:05 PMThe Irish are headed to the national championship.
SCORE: Notre Dame takes the lead with 7 seconds to go
01/09/2025 10:12:10 PMIt’s Money Mitch Jeter from 41 yards out. The Irish take a 27-24 lead.
HIGHLIGHT: Christian Gray picks off Allar with 37 seconds to go
01/09/2025 10:04:44 PMWow. Notre Dame has it at the Penn State 42-yard line.
UPDATE: Irish have 1:27 for the rest of their lives
01/09/2025 09:56:23 PMFirst-and-10 from its own 36, Notre Dame can win the game and head to the national championship with a score here.
SCORE: Notre Dame ties it
01/09/2025 09:43:04 PMRiley Leonard. Jaden Greathouse. 54 yards to the house. It’s tied at 24.
SCORE: Singleton punches it in again, Notre Dame trails by 7
01/09/2025 09:32:18 PMThanks in large part to a second Irish interception wiped out by a pass interference penalty, the Nittany Lions have the lead back. Singleton scores for the third time and Penn State takes a 24-17 lead. Notre Dame has 7:55 to tie the game.
HIGHLIGHT: Leonard intercepted again
01/09/2025 09:26:58 PMIt’s his first multi-INT game since NIU. Penn State takes over in Notre Dame territory.
SCORE: Penn State quickly evens it up
01/09/2025 09:21:52 PMNick Singleton matched Love’s tough goal-line running with a terrific play of his own. He scores from 7 yards out and very quickly, it’s 17-17.
SCORE: Jeremiyah Love carries defenders into the end zone for Notre Dame lead
01/09/2025 09:14:53 PMHo. Ly. Cow. Jeremiyah Love broke approximately 15 tackles and stretched across the goal line for a 2-yard touchdown run. He was too fired-up to do the heart hands celebration. Somehow, some way, the Irish lead 17-10.
UPDATE: Third quarter ends 10-10, but Irish are driving
01/09/2025 09:08:46 PMThanks to a third-and-9 conversion to sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse, Notre Dame has the ball in Penn State territory. Third-and-2 from the 32-yard line is coming up, and the game remains tied.
SCORE: Notre Dame offense wakes up, ties the game
01/09/2025 08:41:48 PMIt was Jeremiyah Love, Riley Leonard and Aneyas Williams, with the last two connecting on a deep shot for 36 yards. Leonard punched it in for a 3-yard touchdown, and the Irish went 75 yards in eight plays. It’s 10-10.
UPDATE: Riley Leonard re-enters the game
01/09/2025 08:35:40 PMLeonard suffered an apparent head injury, but he’s back in to start the second half.
SCORE: Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard field goal is good at halftime
01/09/2025 08:12:19 PMAs much as it does not feel like it from Notre Dame’s perspective, this is a one-score game. Jeter’s kick makes the score 10-3 at half, as Steve Angeli took the Irish into Penn State territory but did get sacked twice.
SCORE: Penn State runs all over Notre Dame, takes two-score lead
01/09/2025 07:52:15 PMThe Irish had not been down two scores all season, until now. Singleton ran it in for a 5-yard touchdown to complete a 15-play, 90-yard drive and the Nittany Lions lead 10-0.
SCORE: Notre Dame catches huge break, holds Penn State to field goal
01/09/2025 07:27:02 PMPenn State running back Nick Singleton is having a tremendous game, but he and quarterback Drew Allar just cost the Nittany Lions 4 points. Allar threw a bad but catchable pass behind Singleton, who dropped it. Ryan Barker’s ensuing 20-yard field goal is good, and the Nittany Lions lead the Irish 3-0.
UPDATE: First quarter ends 0-0, but Notre Dame must make a goal-line stand
01/09/2025 07:23:11 PMPenn State has third-and-goal at the 3-yard line after the break, following a defensive holding penalty on Christian Gray. Massive play coming up.
HIGHLIGHT: Leonard makes games’s first major mistake
01/09/2025 07:12:04 PMLeonard threw high, intended for Jayden Harrison, and Zakee Wheatly intercepted it for the Nittany Lions. It looked like he had Mitchell Evans open underneath. That’s the one thing Notre Dame couldn’t afford in that moment. Penn State will take over at its own 42-yard line.
UPDATE: Three possessions, three punts
01/09/2025 07:04:59 PMNotre Dame is winning the field position battle because Penn State fair-caught an excellent James Rendell punt at the 2-yard line. But even though the Irish and Nittany Lions picked up first downs in each of their first three drives, they all ended in punts. Most recently, Jordan Clark broke up a pass to stop Penn State on third-and-5.
Notre Dame wins the coin toss, elects to defer
01/09/2025 06:43:35 PMPenn State will start with the ball.
