Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 FEBRUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT With three lead changes in the game, all in the second half, finding a turning point took some time. But it came late in the fourth quarter with the game tied 24-24, when Irish sophomore cor- nerback Christian Gray intercepted a pass from Penn State junior quarterback Drew Allar at the Nittany Lions 42-yard line. Gray's interception — his third of the season — gave the Irish offense a short field with 33 seconds remaining in the game, which it capitalized on by moving the ball 19 yards to set up the game- winning 41-yard field goal from graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter. Gray has been a common target for opposing pass offenses to pick on during the postseason, and he came up big again with his game-changing and game-winning play. STATS OF THE GAME A tale of two halves, Notre Dame was outrushed 141-15, outgained 194-122, and beaten in time of possession 17:13-12:47 through the first two quarters. Yet, it still only trailed 10-3 at the break, even with the statistical beatdown. The Irish flipped the script in the second half and outgained Penn State 261-145, outrushed the Nit- tany Lions 101-63, and averaged 6.2 yards on its 42 plays, aiding a 17-0 scoring run that turned a 10-0 Penn State lead into a 17-10 Irish advantage early in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame went 11 of 17 on third-down con- versions, compared to only 3 of 11 for a Penn State offense that never found its footing in the second half. The Irish lost the sack battle 5-1 and the turnover battle 2-1 to the Nittany Lions, but Notre Dame made the big plays at the critical times to prove that statistics don't always tell the whole story. NEW TERRITORY Leaning on a high-powered offense and an op- portunistic defense on its way to mainly blowout wins all season, concerns persisted as to how the run-reliant Irish would handle adversity if they fell behind by more than one score. Those answers finally came against Penn State when Notre Dame trailed 10-0 to the Nittany Lions in the second quarter. It marked the first time all year that the Irish trailed by more than seven points in a game, and Notre Dame handled this unfamiliar territory well. In a second quarter that felt like Notre Dame should've been behind much worse than 10-0 — Penn State had back-to-back scoring drives of 14 and 15 plays — Irish backup junior quarterback Steve Angeli led a field goal drive before halftime to pull the Irish within 10-3, calming nerves and building momentum. Notre Dame scored a touchdown on its first drive off of the second-half kickoff to tie the game 10- 10, and the Irish were back in business. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE OL TOSH BAKER AND CHARLES JAGUSAH With Notre Dame trailing 10-0 and Penn State in control of game momentum, circumstances seem- ingly couldn't have gotten any worse for Notre Dame when it lost starting offensive linemen Rocco Spindler and Anthonie Knapp in the second quarter. But, by sticking to the "next man up" mantra, the graduate student tackle Baker and the sophomore guard Jagusah stepped in and gave the Notre Dame running game the necessary boost to pull out this win. The Irish managed only 15 rushing yards in the first half. Then, with Baker and Jagusah in the game, Notre Dame went for 101 rushing yards in the final 30 minutes to help spark the comeback win. WR JADEN GREATHOUSE Playing the best game of his season, the sophomore wide receiver finished with 7 catches for 105 yards — both career highs — and added a touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 24-24 and kept hopes alive for a Notre Dame comeback victory. The 54-yard touchdown catch by Greathouse was the longest pass play of the season for Notre Dame, and only his second touchdown grab of the year. More of a complementary receiver most of this season, Greathouse had caught only 6 passes for 49 yards in the previous five Irish games. QB RILEY LEONARD In another gritty performance, the senior quarterback finished the game 15-of-23 passing for 223 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He also added 35 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, and an unmistakable leadership quality that lifted Notre Dame to the comeback win. Trailing 10-3 at halftime, Leonard led the Irish on three touchdown drives, the most critical one com- ing when he hit Greathouse with the 54-yard scoring toss that tied the game at 24-24, and then set up the Irish in good position for the game-winning field goal. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE The play of graduate student Tosh Baker and sophomore Charles Jagusah (No. 56, above), who was seeing his first action on offense since suffering what was thought to be a season-ending pectoralis injury in early August, after the starters at left tackle and right guard suffered injuries proved criti- cal to the Irish offense's success in the second half. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER