Recap: Penn State loses heart breaker to Notre Dame in Orange Bowl, 27-24

Penn State is unable to convert anything late, losing a heart breaker to Notre Dame in the Colllege Football Playoff semifinal, 27-24.

The Fighting Irish are able to convert a 41-yard field goal to give Notre Dame the lead. There’s 8 seconds left in the game.

ND: 27
PSU: 24

7 seconds to play

Drew Allar gets too aggressive and throws an interception to Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray. The Fighting Irish will take over at Penn State’s 42-yard line with 33 seconds to play.

PSU: 24
ND: 24

33 seconds left in the 4th Quarter

Following a personal foul on Zane Durant, Notre Dame crossed midfield. However, DT Coziah Izzard comes up a massive sack on 3rd and 5 to force a punt. James Franklin called a timeout with 52 seconds to play. They’ll have 47 seconds and two timeouts from their own 15-yard line to potentially avoid overtime.

PSU: 24
ND: 24

47 seconds left in the 4th Quarter

Penn State goes three-and-out deep in its own territory and is forced to punt. Riley Thompson boots it 44 yards and the Fighting Irish take over at their own 24-yard line. Game is on the line with just over two minutes to play.

PSU: 24
ND: 24

2:34 left in the 4th Quarter

Cornerback Cam Miller trips during his backpedal, allowing Notre Dame wide receiver Jaiden Greathouse to get wide open for a 54-yard touchdown. The drive goes 7 plays, 81 yards to tie this game up with less than five minutes to play.

PSU: 24
ND: 24

4:38 left in the 4th Quarter

Just like that, the Nittany Lions have the lead again and Nick Singleton has his third touchdown of the game, rushing it in from 7 yards out. PSU goes 5 plays, 39 yards. A pass interference call on safety Adon Shuler played a big role in that score.

PSU: 24
ND: 17

7:55 left in the 4th Quarter

Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton is playing one of the best games of his career tonight (4 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF) and he just came up with a massive interception, dropping into coverage on the first play of Notre Dame’s drive. Penn State takes over at the Irish 39-yard line.

PSU: 17
ND: 17

10:15 left in the 4th Quarter

Massive drive for the Nittany Lions right when they needed it. Following a 27-yard reception by Tyler Warren that saw him briefly exit the game, Nick Singleton rushes in the touchdown to finish off a 7-play, 75-yard drive. Penn State and its fans are back in it.

PSU: 17
ND: 17

10:20 left in the 4th Quarter

Following a pass interference in the end zone, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love breaks multiple tackles to punch it in from two yards out. The Fighting Irish have now scored 17 straight points following a 10-play, 72-yard drive.

PSU: 10
ND: 17

14:07 left in the 4th Quarter

Notre Dame WR Jaiden Greathouse converts a big third down to keep their drive alive as we close out the third quarter. The Fighting Irish have the ball at Penn State’s 35-yard line to start the fourth quarter.

PSU: 10
ND: 10

End of the 3rd Quarter

Drew Allar completed a 22-yard pass to tight end Tyler Warren to open the drive, but Allar is then sacked on third down. The punt goes 48 yards, followed by an 8-yard return. Notre Dame will start their next drive at Penn State’s 27-yard line.

PSU: 10
ND: 10

4:26 left in the 3rd Quarter

Notre Dame got a first down to start the drive but a great play by Abdul Carter on second down, followed by a big hit by Cam Miller forces the Irish to punt. Penn State will start this drive at its own 15-yard line.

PSU: 10
ND: 10

6:32 left in the 3rd Quarter

Notre Dame has all the momentum at the moment, forcing Penn State to go three-and-out on its first drive of the second half. A 40-yard punt from Riley Thompson will give the Fighting Irish the ball at their own 30-yard line.

PSU: 10
ND: 10

8:41 left in the 3rd Quarter

The Fighting Irish finish off an 8-play, 75-yard drive to tie this game up at 10-10. The big play was a 36-yard reception from RIley Leonard to running back Aneyas Williams. Leonard then rushed it in from three yards out.

PSU: 10
ND: 10

10:46 left in the 3rd Quarter

RIley Leonard is back in at quarterback for the Fighting Irish as we start the second half. Notre Dame starts the drive then with a delay of game. 1st and 15.

PSU: 10
ND: 3

The Fighting Irish go 12 plays for 52 yards with backup quarterback Steve Angeli taking over for RIley Leonard. Kicker Mitch Jeter converts a 41-yard attempt to give Notre Dame its first points of the game as time expires.

PSU: 10
ND: 3

End of the first half

Massive drive for Penn State, as the Nittany Lions go 90 yards in 15 plays to get the first touchdown of the game. Running back Nick Singleton rushed it in from five yards out. Penn State is currently outrushing Notre Dame 141 to 27 after rushing the ball 13 times for 86 yards on that drive.

The Nittany Lions also now have 194 yards of offense. That most recent drive also took up over 7 minutes of game time, giving Notre Dame just 2:18 left in the half to answer.

PSU: 10
ND: 0

2:18 left in the second quarter

Zakee Wheatley makes two nice tackles on 1st and 2nd down to help end an 8-play, 24-yard drive for Notre Dame. Zion Tracy called for a fair catch on the punt to give Penn State the ball at its own 10-yard line to start the next drive.

PSU: 3
ND: 0

9:35 left in the second quarter

A low pass from Drew Allar fell incomplete when Nick Singleton was unable to secure it down around his knees. He would’ve scored. Ryan Barker is able to convert, however, giving Penn State and early lead. The drive went 14 plays for 55 yards and took up 4:43 of game time.

PSU: 3
ND: 0

14:52 left in the second quarter

Penn State is knocking on the door to score its first touchdown. It’ll be 3rd and Goal at the 3-yard line when we return to action.

PSU: 0
ND: 0

End of the 1st Quarter

The Nittany Lions get the first turnover of the night, as quarterback Riley Leonard sails a throw too high and safety Zakee Wheatley is able to secure the catch. Abdul Carter also had a nice pass rush on first down that forced an incompletion.

Penn State takes over at their own 42-yard line.

PSU: 0
ND: 0

4:43 left in the first quarter

Running back Kaytron Allen picked up a first down for the Nittany Lions to give them breathing room, but two incompletions to Trey Wallace forced Penn State to punt the ball again. Punter Riley Thompson kicks it 45 yards and Zion Tracy makes a nice tackle on punt coverage to ensure there was no return. Notre Dame will get the ball at their own 35-yard line.

PSU: 0
ND: 0

5:56 left in the first quarter

A 32-yard reception by tight end Mitchell Evans flips the field for Notre Dame, but Amin Vanover gets a big pass deflection on 2nd and 8 and the Irish are unable to convert on third down from PSU’s 35-yard line. However, punt returner Zion Tracy elected to fair catch the ball at Penn State’s 2-yard line, pinning the Nittany Lions very deep.

PSU: 0
ND: 0

8:35 left in the first quarter

Running back Nick Singleton picked up a first down on a 23-yard screen pass, but the drive ultimately stalls out Notre Dame’s 44-yard line. A 33-yard punt from Riley Thompson pins the Irish at the Penn State 11-yard line.

PSU: 0
ND: 0

12:26 left in the first quarter

Penn State and Notre Dame have both taken the field. Dominic DeLuca, Vega Ioane, Jaylen Reed and Kobe King are tonight’s captains for the Nittany Lions. Notre Dame has won the toss and they’ve deferred their choice until the second half. Penn State will open the game on offense.

Pat McAfee and Desmond Howard both took the Nittany Lions, while Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit picked Notre Dame to win tonight’s Orange Bowl.

Miami Dolphins edge rusher Chop Robinson joined Micah Parsons and LaVar Arrington down on the field to support Penn State during pregame. Both teams have now headed back to the locker room as Notre Dame’s band takes the field. We’re currently 25 minutes from kickoff.

As expected, Abdul Carter is preparing with the first-team defense ahead of tonight’s Orange Bowl. ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that Jeremiyah Love is about 80% tonight. Thamel said he also expects Carter to potentially play fewer snaps tonight but added that Carter will give it a go.

Penn State’s entire team is now out on the field and Abdul Carter is in full pads. His left shoulder is wrapped, but he looks ready to give it a go. We’ll continue to monitor him during warm-ups.

Also, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love now has a brace on his right knee.

Blue White Illustrated’s Greg Pickel, Sean Fitz, Nate Bauer and Ryan Snyder are all in Miami tonight for the Orange Bowl. BWI subscribers can join them inside The Lions Den now to chat about tonight’s game.

Link: Penn State-Notre Dame Pregame Chat

Notre Dame climbed to as high as a 2.5-point favorite on Tuesday, but the spread has now shifted in Penn State’s favor, with the Nittany Lions now a 1.5-point favorite at FanDuel.

Nittany Lion fans can head over to FanDuel now before the start of the game.

Penn State’s star defensive end has joined the stretching lines with his teammates.

We’re approximately 80 minutes from kickoff and the Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish have both taken the field for warmups. Penn State DE Abdul Carter hasn’t been spotted yet, but Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love was spotted on the field without a knee brace. Also defensive lineman Howard Cross was also spotted on the field during warm-ups. His left ankle is taped, but he’s preparing as if he plans to play. We’ll continue to monitor both players over the next hour.