Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531388
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2025 51 CHRISTIAN GRAY DELIVERS IN THE CLUTCH — AGAIN Christian Gray frolicked through the underbelly hallway of Hard Rock Sta- dium sometime just before midnight as Jan. 9 transitioned into Jan. 10. You could have told the Notre Dame sopho- more cornerback it was Jan. 19 and he'd have believed it. He wouldn't have cared. No care in the world. Like a kid in a candy store. If it was Jan. 19, though, Gray would be one day away from starting for the Fighting Irish defense in the College Football Playoff national championship game. He's a major reason for that. His final-minute interception of Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the Orange Bowl set Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter up for a game-winning field goal, which he nailed. Remember when people were poking fun at Gray for getting torched in the regular-season finale at USC? Well, he got the last laugh that day with an inter- ception returned for a touchdown that effectively put the game out of reach, and he got the last laugh in Miami with his impeccable pick. "That's what Christian Gray does," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man said. "He makes plays when it mat- ters the most." "No matter what happens, Christian is going to get right back up and play the next play," Notre Dame sophomore run- ning back Jeremiyah Love added. "Made a game-saving play, so I'm really proud of him." It's because of players like Gray that Notre Dame withstood a slew of sea- son-ending injuries to reach the final game of the season. The Irish lost their No. 1 corner, Benjamin Morrison, to one of those, and ultimately it didn't mat- ter. Gray slid into Morrison's boundary corner spot, freshman Leonard Moore assumed a starting position in the field, and the Irish have continued on as one of the best passing defenses in college football, if not the very best. Moore and Gray are so good playing in tandem with each other, in fact, se- nior tight end Mitchell Evans thought it was the former who came away with the football in the game's most pivotal play. "I was too busy screaming to see who it was," Evans said. "I just thought it was Leonard. But when I found out it was Christian, I was like, 'Oh, my God, that's awesome.' Just to see our defense cover our butt, it was awesome." That's the beauty of this Notre Dame team, one that has not lost since the first weekend of September. It was only on that day, Sept. 7 against Northern Illinois, that the Irish didn't play win- ning, complementary football. Senior quarterback Riley Leonard's intercep- tions versus NIU were costly. The Irish couldn't overcome them. He threw 2 against Penn State, but Notre Dame still won the game. Guys like Gray — erasers — make up for others' mistakes. They make the types of plays that have them skipping through stadium tunnels around mid- night like the kid who received an en- tire Hershey's bar in their Halloween bag, not just one of those mini ones that takes two seconds to devour. No, this is going to take a lifetime to savor. And there isn't any other program on earth that could ever make Gray feel the way he did after the Orange Bowl. "I just trusted God and I trust the coaches here," Gray said. "They saw potential in me. They saw greatness in me, and I believed them on that. I just came there because of the trust and the community and everything here." JEREMIYAH LOVE PLAYS THROUGH KNEE INJURY, DELIVERS SIGNATURE MOMENT In a brief moment of ecstasy and rage, Jeremiyah Love forgot to do his signa- ture celebration. Since around Week 3, Love has formed a heart with his hands (a nod to his last name) after every touchdown he scored. But his 2-yard touchdown that gave the Irish a 17-10 lead early in the fourth quarter against Penn State was different, because it was the greatest 2-yard run he or anyone else will have. "I just wanted to scream and rage a PENN STATE GAME NOTES BY TYLER HORKA AND JACK SOBLE Gray's diving interception— his third of the season— with 33 seconds remaining the fourth quarter positioned the Irish to kick the game-winning 41-yard field goal with just seven seconds remaining in the game. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER