No. 6 seed Penn State basically had one final chance to try and block a game-winning field goal from Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter during their matchup in the College Football Playoff semifinal, and they screwed it up.
The senior kicker would make the biggest kick of his life as he would give the Fighting Irish a 27-24 win in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in front of more than 66,000 fans.
PSU head coach James Franklin did not make things any better for his team, and it is all based on his decision to defend the field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Instead of the special teams unit going for an all-out field goal block, the Nittany Lions had nine guys on the line to try and block while two members of Penn State were ready to defend a fake field goal.
Seeing that it was 4th-and-8, there was literally no chance that Notre Dame would try something so shocking with the game on the line.
Any time you can have 2 less guys attempt to block the biggest kick of the season you simply have to do it pic.twitter.com/xmjUJa11e9
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) January 10, 2025
Penn State Screwed Themselves With Terrible Late-Game Interception
Defensive back Christian Gray is the most loved man right now after his defensive play set his Fighting Irish team up in the final minute of the Orange Bowl.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was not at his best in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame.
With the game tied at 24-24 with under a minute to go, Allar dropped back to pass and fired an errant pass that found the hands of Gray. The turnover gave Notre Dame the ball just about 10 yards away from field goal range.
Mitch Jeter made a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left to give the Fighting Irish a 27-24 win.
The Irish will play the winner of Friday’s Cotton Bowl featuring Ohio State vs. Texas.
