3 Things We Saw in Notre Dame’s win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl

Reflections amid disbelief

Although I called it before the game and believed in it all week since the Sugar Bowl, I sit here now still in disbelief that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish emerged victorious over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever seen Notre Dame win this game on this stage, and I don’t just mean a CFP semifinal. I mean a game with those stakes where the Irish got punched in the gut multiple times and had to respond – and did. There was no challenge too big, no blow too powerful for the Irish to shake off. Let’s get into three ways they made this happen.

Greathoused

After a critical leaping catch on third and long that moved the chains on Notre Dame’s first touchdown drive I texted a couple Domer pals, “Guys – we have Jaden Greathouse!” It’s been an easy thing to forget given Notre Dame’s issues with downfield passing over the last couple seasons, as the sophomore has periodically flashed brilliance but often disappeared for games at a time. But in this game we saw the Jaden Greathouse that Texas 6A football defenses learned to fear, who brought the term “Greathoused” into the local lexicon.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

At halftime, Kirk Herbstreit wondered aloud who for Notre Dame would make the plays on the perimeter they needed to break the iron grip of Penn State’s defense. After a first half in which none of Notre Dame’s normal offensive strategies were working, it was as though the Irish – and Greathouse himself – suddenly remembered who he was and what he was capable of, and rose to answer that question. He outclassed the Penn State secondary throughout the second half, making physical contested catches on a pair of critical third-down conversions and iconically humiliating a pair of Nittany Lion defenders on a 54-yard touchdown that ended with both of them on their rear ends.

Greatness called Greathouse out of obscurity, and he never missed a single target – an almost divine revelation on a night where it very much felt like that was needed.

Digging Deep (On the Depth Chart)

Greathouse was far from the only unexpected hero for the Irish in Miami. Despite entering down multiple key starters and with others playing hurt, Notre Dame found a way to sustain yet more injuries on nearly every part of the field, requiring them to dig even deeper into their bench.

The results were not all salutary – Tosh Baker had some tough moments against a really, really good PSU pass rush – but by and large the Irish reserves held their own and then some. Charles Jagusah, who had not played a minute of football in over a year, entered the game for an injured Rocco Spindler and did yeoman’s work in the interior of the Penn State defense. Love’s fellow running back Aneyas Williams was forced by the former’s injury to step into a prominent role for the Irish offense and made huge plays, including a 36-yard hands catch and a 15-yard tote to put the Irish in the red zone on their first possession of second half.

Photo by Michael Pimentel/ISI Photos/Getty Images

But perhaps most crucial was Steve Angeli, who came in for a temporarily sidelined Leonard at a time when the game felt like it was unraveling and faced down a terrifying Penn State pass rush. Any number of backup quarterbacks around the country would have been dead meat, and no one would have blamed them. But Angeli was poised, smart and accurate with the ball. The field goal drive he led seemed like a pittance at the time it happened, but was absolutely crucial to the middle-eight chess match that Marcus Freeman’s team ultimately won and carried to victory. We often talk about depth in terms of physical capabilities of second- and third-string players, but this game showed the importance of developing character and mental toughness down the depth chart as well. The care Marcus Freeman has shown to coach every single one of his players individually and develop an internal belief in them was on clear and beautiful display.

Marcus Freeman’s Halftime Adjustments

The thing about this game that still has me in disbelief is the way the Irish came out of halftime – angry, focused, utterly unbothered by their ugly start and unafraid of the finish to come. Jeremiyah Love, contained and limited for the entire first half, suddenly burst through the line of scrimmage with rage in every step. The offensive line got a push in the running game and suddenly held its own against Penn State’s fierce pass rush. Riley Leonard suddenly found receivers open downfield who made incredible catches. On defense, an Irish front seven that looked near dead on successive PSU drives suddenly held its ground, getting crucial stops in short down and distances and driving back ball carriers who had previously run through them.

This difference was the result of halftime adjustments by Marcus Freeman, and I don’t mean X’s and O’s here. I mean belief elbowing aside a growing despair; fearlessness and resolve in the face of overwhelming odds. I don’t know what the conversation at halftime looked like, but I have some ideas:

I considered many other candidates when I settled on including movie clips in this article – feel free to suggest your own in the comments.

The impact of morale is often dismissed in the modern sports world, where seemingly everything can be measured and optimized for performance. But I don’t know how else to understand Love’s touchdown run or the second-half turnaround on both sides of the trenches other than as expressions of pure, indomitable will. This game showed more than anything else that Notre Dame has a head coach who can access another gear – mentally, emotionally, and physically – in his players, and the power of that belief and resolve to overcome material obstacles on the field. This should be an encouraging thought to Irish fans as they mull a daunting CFP final matchup.