Notre Dame is going to the first College Football Playoff National Championship game of the expanded format era after a comeback 27-24 win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday. 

Fighting Irish kicker Mitch Jeter kicked the game-winning 41-yard field goal to cap off a back-and-forth battle between the two storied programs. 

Notre Dame’s comeback victory may have never materialized had quarterback Riley Leonard not summoned the fortitude to return to the game after an injury.

“He’s a competitor and competitors find a way to win,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in a postgame interview on ESPN right after the game. “It’s an honor to be a part of this with him.”

Leonard had to leave the game in the second quarter, forcing in backup Steve Angeli. At that point, Notre Dame was already behind 10-0. But Angeli helped get the Irish back into it with a field goal drive to give Notre Dame its first points, as the Irish went into halftime down 10-3. 

But Leonard returned to the game in the second half, and led a touchdown drive to tie the game. The two teams then traded score for score in a competitive second half. 

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Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Abdul Carter (11) celebrates a tackle on Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) in the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Leonard had a chance to lead a go-ahead drive with two minutes remaining, but the Penn State defense came up with a big third-down sack to force a Notre Dame punt. 

Then Allar, with a chance to lead a game-winning drive with less and possibly put himself into the conversation for the top quarterback taken in the NFL Draft, came back onto the field for the biggest moment of his career. And in that moment, he threw an interception to give the ball right back to Leonard and the Irish. 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates a touch down with teammates in the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Hard Rock Stadium.  (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Leonard then came back on the field and led the final drive that put Jeter in position to seal the deal. 

“I just trusted in Jesus,” Leonard said in a postgame ESPN interview.

Notre Dame’s storybook run continues after it came up with a historic win against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans just one day after a deadly terrorist attack killed 14 innocent people. 

The Irish will meet the winner of the Cotton Bowl on Friday between Ohio State and Texas. 

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Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson, who was arrested in November, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Robinson is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 24 at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

TMZ.com first reported the charge.

Robinson was arrested on Nov. 25 on suspicion of driving under the influence after California Highway Patrol officers observed him allegedly speeding at more than 100 mph on the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills. He was cited at the scene and released.

Coach Sean McVay did not suspend Robinson, who has 31 receptions for a career-best 505 yards and a career-best seven touchdowns. Robinson is scheduled to start on Monday when the Rams play the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC wild-card game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

A few days after his arrest, Robinson said he made “a bad decision” to drive while impaired.

“It’s a bad look,” he said. “I don’t want to bring that type of light or any type of negative energy toward the team.”

The NFL conducts independent investigations of off-field incidents involving players but does not typically make a decision about suspensions until the legal process concludes.

Robinson, a ninth-year pro, played this season on a one-year $4-million contract that included $1 million in incentives, according to Overthecap.com.

Some members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have to do their best Michael Jordan impression on Thursday.

The flu is reportedly going around the team, just hours before their College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State.

On3 Sports reported that “those who have it have it bad, but it sounds like that’s mostly backups and special teams players.”

Other reports since indicate that the illness has subsided in recent days, but players are not out of the woods yet.

The Fighting Irish are riding high headed into Thursday’s Orange Bowl after taking down the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal last week.

Notre Dame earned the seventh seed in the bracket, which got them to host a home game against No. 10 Indiana. That was a rather easy victory, but Thursday may just be their toughest test yet.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders run down field bearing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo in action during a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinals on Oct. 12, 2024 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

EX-NFL STAR, WITH TIES TO ELI MANNING TRADE, DISCUSSES CHANCES OF SHEDEUR SANDERS REFUSING TITANS FOR GIANTS

Penn State held Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty to just 104 rushing yards last week, his lowest of the season. That is not necessarily great news for the Irish, considering Riley Leonard had just 90 yards passing against the Bulldogs.

The Nittany Lions are the sixth seed in the bracket. 

The Fighting Irish’s season seemed to be dead in the water after losing at home to Northern Illinois in the second week of the season, but they have since rattled off a dozen consecutive wins to find themselves just one victory away from their second national title game in the last 15 years.

However, if they can get by what seemed to be a program-altering loss at the time, a bug seems to be just a minor speed bump.

This is the third time the Fighting Irish are in the playoffs, having lost in the semifinals in both 2018 and 2020.

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