Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman used every little thing to beat Penn State – even James Franklin commented

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Before Mitch Jeter's 41-yard field goal sent Notre Dame to the national championship game, before Christian Gray's diving interception set the stage or before Jeremiyah Love's mutant performance ended with a braced right knee, Marcus Freeman was standing inside in front of his team on the Diplomat Hotel on Hollywood Beach on Wednesday afternoon.

Notre Dame's head coach had just returned from a final press conference before kickoff, the form of throwaway media event that will likely be forgotten before the ultimate photo of the bowl trophy might be taken. This wasn't one in all those moments. Not for Freeman, the pinnacle coach at Notre Dame, whose youth went against the grain of what it takes to achieve this sport of old guard and old-fashioned attitudes. A head coach, concerned that he hadn't won enough big games, decided to take a stand along with his counterpart.

Penn State head coach James Franklin playfully asked Freeman how old he was. He praised his hairline. He might as well have patted the 38-year-old on the pinnacle and told him what a very good job he was doing. Because that's how Freeman heard it and gritted his teeth. And now Freeman would channel that energy to a brand new source.

His players couldn't imagine it.

“He was angry. He was angry about the press conference thing, whatever happened in between,” safety Xavier Watts said. “He was angry about it. All the anger went to us and that anger went to the field.”

In a game where Notre Dame needed every little thing from a backup quarterback to 2 backup offensive linemen, Franklin managed to provide the Irish just a little more. There was more to this spectacular College Football Playoff semifinal than Franklin's self-inflicted verbal wounds – the confetti-strewn Hard Rock Stadium told that story. Notre Dame didn't win due to something said from the opposite sideline. It won because this program knows the way to catalyze every advantage and overcome every challenge.

Franklin just offered a bonus.

“I'm not going to talk about their head coach, but we felt like their team didn't really respect us,” Love said. “We wanted to come into this game and make a statement. Be the aggressor. Control her physically. That is the message. Be physical and play violent. The whole game.”

In the top, Notre Dame's 27-24 victory over Penn State was all that and more. The Fighting Irish lost three offensive starters in the primary half, with two offensive linemen missing for the sport and quarterback Riley Leonard suffering a head injury that Notre Dame ruled as something apart from a concussion. In his absence, backup Steve Angeli saved the primary half, if not the day, leading Notre Dame with a field goal after the Irish fell behind 10-0, their first double-digit deficit of the season.

There was more fire at halftime, Freeman urging Notre Dame to follow up its biggest bowl win in a generation against Georgia within the Sugar Bowl with something greater. The Irish were crushed on the bottom in the primary half by Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, not to say tight end Tyler Warren. They didn't set the perimeters, didn't make their drops, didn't get the small print right that they’d mastered all 12 months.

And Notre Dame's offense, a disaster in the primary half, needed Love to play hero when so few others could. Left tackle Anthonie Knapp was already out and was replaced by profession backup Tosh Baker, facing a future top-five pick in Abdul Carter. When guard Rocco Spindler went down, redshirt freshman Charles Jagusah stepped in, a tackle who hadn't played all season, asked to play guard. And he did so for some inexplicable reason, as Notre Dame built a 17-10 record early within the fourth quarter when Love's 2-yard run through 4 Penn State tacklers one way or the other topped his 98-yard rating against Indiana and the College football playoffs opened.

This have a look at Jeremiyah Love's touchdown 😳 pic.twitter.com/oSdhKereqU

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2025

Love aggravated his MCL injury against Georgia to the purpose where his availability seemed to be in query prior to Notre Dame's arrival in Florida. And even through the week, Love didn't know if he would do greater than just take snaps, which wouldn't have been enough for Notre Dame. Not in a game like this.

“I just came out here and said screw it and went out and played,” Love said. “Whatever happens, I trust in God. I trust in His plan for me.”

After two singleton touchdowns gave Penn State a 24-17 lead, making it look like Notre Dame may not have a solution to those latest questions, Leonard shook off a brutal interception and located Jaden Greathouse for a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. It was a part of Greathouse's 105-yard, seven-catch night, the primary 100-yard performance of his college profession.

“This team has faced adversity, challenges and struggles all year long, we have been able to overcome them all,” Greathouse said. “That’s the feeling tonight.”

And then Notre Dame closed the door on Penn State because it does best, luring Drew Allar into an interception that was believed to be coming all night. One from Gray in the primary half was canceled out by a penalty. Another within the second half by linebacker Jack Kiser was taken off the sector by pass interference. Gray kept the third down by playing a coverage that defensive coordinator Al Golden said he hadn't called all night.

“He’ll throw one to us, he’ll throw one to us,” Watts said. “We knew it would come at some point, and it came at the crucial moment.”

Linebacker Jaylen Sneed put barely enough pressure on Allar to provide the quarterback just a little less time to throw, which was all Gray needed. Nice edges again. Some earned money within the film room. Some were taken in the sector. Some are gifted for those who know where to listen when the microphones are on.

Notre Dame converted Gray's pick into field goal range on a seven-play, 19-yard drive. By this point, Franklin had already served his timeouts and was unable to even stop Jeter's game-winning attempt. And perhaps it wouldn't have mattered anyway. The transfer kicker drilled his second 41-yarder of the night, sending Notre Dame to Atlanta, where it captured its first national championship since 1988.

In the Notre Dame locker room, Kiser tried to make sense of all of it, his six-year journey to becoming an Irish captain under this up-and-coming head coach who was hired to take this system where some thought it couldn't go. Kiser didn't need to go into an excessive amount of detail about what triggered Freeman the day before kickoff, when the 38-year-old head coach showed this program has a weapon.

And yet, as Kiser turned back to the locker room, a red digital clock flashed: 12:17 a.m. Midnight had passed. It was not a game night. It happened to be Marcus Freeman's birthday, now the early morning minutes of January tenth.

“Let’s just say Coach Freeman turned 39 17 minutes ago,” Kiser said. “So he’s not the young guy that a lot of people treat him as. Guys want to play for Coach Freeman, and when you add gas to the fire, things can get really explosive in that locker room.”