The College Football Playoff continues Thursday night with Notre Dame facing Penn State in a semifinal matchup at the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida. The game is airing on ESPN. Both the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions have been led by their defenses, setting the stage for a physical clash for a spot in the national championship game. Follow along for live updates, highlights and analysis.
9:05 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was told by officials to go the sideline for a medical check after he took a hard hit. Leonard was replaced by backup Steve Angeli, who remains in the game.
8:55 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Penn State has a touchdown on a five-yard Nicholas Singleton run that capped a 15-play, 9o-yard drive. Three plays earlier, on fourth and two from Notre Dame’s 16-yard line, Penn State picked up a first down on a quick pass to star tight end Tyler Warren.
(Penn State 10, Notre Dame 0, 2:18 left in the second quarter)
8:40 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Notre Dame has gone punt-interception-punt on its first three possessions after its most recent drive stalled near midfield. Penn State has the ball again at its 10-yard line.
(Penn State 3, Notre Dame 0, 9:35 left in the second quarter.
8:37 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Notre Dame’s starting left tackle, Anthonie Knapp, limped off the field with an apparent lower-body injury. Backup Tosh Baker replaced Knapp against a Penn State defensive line that has already wreaked some havoc.
(Penn State 3, Notre Dame 0, 12:22 left in the second quarter)
8:29 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Penn State might have scored a touchdown, but quarterback Drew Allar and running back Nicholas Singleton couldn’t quite connect on a pass to the flat. Facing fourth and goal from the 3-yard line, the Nittany Lions opted for a field goal that gave them a 3-0 lead.
(Penn State 3, Notre Dame 0, 14:52 left in the second quarter)
8:25 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
After driving to Notre Dame’s 9-yard line, the Irish nabbed an interception in the end zone, but the play was negated by a defensive holding call. That gave the Nittany Lions first and goal from the 4, but two rushing plays were stopped before the first quarter ended.
(Notre Dame 0, Penn State 0, end of the first quarter)
8:15 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
We have our first turnover, courtesy of Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley, who picked off a deep shot over the middle by Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard. The Nittany Lions get the ball at their 42-yard line, looking to score the game’s first points.
(Notre Dame 0, Penn State 0, 4:43 left in the first quarter)
8:08 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
(Notre Dame 0, Penn State 0, 5:56 left in the first quarter)
8:01 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
As with Penn State, Notre Dame’s first possession ended in a punt after a big play involving a tight end. In the case of the Irish, it was Mitchell Evans with a 32-yard reception on a third-and-seven play. The Nittany Lions have the ball at their 2-yard line.
(Notre Dame 0, Penn State 0, 8:35 left in the first quarter)
7:53 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
On Penn State’s second play, it beat a Notre Dame blitz with a screen pass to running back Nicholas Singleton that went for 23 yards. The drive quickly bogged down, though, and the Nittany Lions punted the ball to the Fighting Irish’s 10-yard line.
(Notre Dame 0, Penn State 0, 12:26 left in the first quarter)
7:45 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Notre Dame won the coin toss and elected to defer, meaning Penn State will receive the opening kickoff.
7:25 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Three generations of Penn State pass-rushers — LaVar Arrington, Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter — gathered at Hard Rock Stadium before the Orange Bowl. Arrington played for the Nittany Lions from 1997 to 1999 before a seven-year NFL career spent mostly in Washington. Parsons plays for the Dallas Cowboys and Carter could join him in the NFL this spring.
7:21 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Orange Bowl live updates: Penn State extends lead over Notre Dame in College Football Playoff semifinal© Marta Lavandier/AP
The winning coach in this game, which pits Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman against Penn State’s James Franklin, will have a chance to make history in the next round. Either could become the first Black coach to win a college football national championship.
“It’s an honor,” Freeman said recently of that opportunity.
7:17 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Notre Dame and Penn State enter tonight tied at 9-9-1 over their 19 previous encounters, which date back to 1908. The tie occurred in 1925, when neither side scored a point, and their one postseason matchup saw the Fighting Irish get a victory in the 1976 Gator Bowl. The Nittany Lions won their most recent meeting, 31-10, in 2007.
7:15 PM: Analysis from Des Bieler, Sports reporter covering national topics, as well as supporting coverage of D.C.-area teams
Both sides have a star player who appears to be a game-time decision. One is Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who suffered a knee injury in the quarterfinal win over Georgia. Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter left his team’s victory against Boise State with an unspecified upper-body injury but had a “positive” week of practices, per Coach James Franklin.
7:06 PM: Pregame reading: What happens after coaches get fired? Lucky ones turn up at the Orange Bowl.
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — In a bizarre country with fired college football coaches running around both loose and well-off, it figures there would come a mini-trend of former head coaches returning to their former domains as defensive and offensive coordinators. These are obsessed, possessed beings whose brain scans might reveal etchings of X’s and O’s. Where else would they go?
Lately, they have gone to the College Football Playoff, which has winnowed itself to four teams with four head coaches (of course) and a steep four former top-tier head coaches as coordinators, one for each semifinalist.
“It’s a different seat, you know?” said three-season Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden, the former head coach at Temple and Miami. “It’s a different seat. I like both seats.”
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By: Chuck Culpepper
6:47 PM: Guest column: For the first time in decades, Notre Dame lives up to its standard
Before this season, when was the last time Notre Dame dominated a postseason game that mattered?
Can you remember thinking, “Wow, the Fighting Irish look like the more talented and better-coached team” within a national title conversation? Can you remember a pass rush succeeding from equal parts physicality and scheme while wearing gold helmets? At least since the Reagan administration?
There’s no parade scheduled in South Bend after the Irish’s 23-10 Sugar Bowl victory over SEC champion Georgia in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal last week. Even when your most recent national title came in 1988, the standard for any 11-time consensus champion is trophy-or-bust, especially at a school self-defined as larger than a state or conference. And if Ohio State continues its wanton pace through the playoff, there probably won’t be a 12th title to brag about, at least this calendar year.
So consider this reductive due diligence in anticipation of the Fighting Irish fan base’s newly rediscovered self-importance: Simply beating Georgia wasn’t the end goal for Irish Coach Marcus Freeman, and the win’s relevance will suffer significantly from a loss to Penn State on Thursday night in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl.
With that out of the way … that was more than a single playoff win. Hardcore Notre Dame fans might be loath to admit it in mixed company, but the actual waking of the echoes sounds a lot like a collective, existential exhale.
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By: Steven Godfrey
6:31 PM: Four titans remain, and the College Football Playoff feels like a time warp
This College Football Playoff final four ought to come with its own slogan, and here’s one suggestion: I’m sorry, but which century is this? Seriously, does that bracket say Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas and Penn State? What is this, 1977? Squint at this thing, and you almost think you can see John Travolta sashaying through Brooklyn with a can of paint.
The daffiest sport hunted its most lavish possibilities with an expanded 12-team playoff concept, and it managed to churn out semifinals of Old Empire vs. Old Empire and Old Empire vs. Old Empire. There’s no Butler around here. There’s no Miami, barging into the kingdoms; no arriviste Florida; no recalibrated Clemson; no fashion-conscious Phil Knight Oregon; no Cincinnati; no TCU; no Arizona State (albeit barely). It’s a bushel of throwback that in some way brings to life Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Joe Paterno and Darrell Royal, who died in 1987, 2017, 2012 and 2012.
