Game Notes: No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (Orange Bowl, CFP Semifinal)Game Notes: No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (Orange Bowl, CFP Semifinal)

Game Notes: No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (Orange Bowl, CFP Semifinal)

No. 6 seed Penn State faces No. 7 seed Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff semifinal game in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla. on Thursday, January 9. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 6 seed Penn State faces No. 7 seed Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff semifinal game in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla. on Thursday, January 9. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets Notre Dame for the 20th time in program history. The series is even at 9-9-1. The Nittany Lions and the Fighting Irish meet in a bowl game for the second time. The two teams previously played in the 1976 Gator Bowl, a 20-9 win by Notre Dame. In the last matchup in 2007, Penn State won 31-10. PSU held Notre Dame to 0 rushing yards on 26 attempts and 144 total yards, while Derrick Williams scored on a 78-yard punt return.

SINGLETON, ALLEN REACH 1,000 RUSHING YARDS: In Penn State's 31-14 win over Boise State, Kaytron Allen (1,026 yards) and Nicholas Singleton (1,015) both went over 1,000 rushing yards on the season. They became the first Penn State duo to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. Allen and Singleton is the first Big Ten duo since Iowa's Akrum Wadley (1,081) and Leshun Daniels Jr. (1,058) in 2016 and the ninth Big Ten running back duo to run for 1,000 yards in the same season. Allen and Singleton is the only running back duo with 1,000 rushing yards in the FBS this season.

TAKEAWAYS: After recording three interceptions against SMU in its CFP first round game, Penn State followed up with four takeaways against Boise State. In the first quarter, Kobe King forced a fumble along the sideline, which was recovered by Zakee Wheatley. The fourth quarter featured three interceptions, starting with a pick by Wheatley, who returned it 28 yards to help him earn Fiesta Bowl Defensive Player of the Game honors. CB Zion Tracy secured an interception with 3:44 left in the game and S Tyrece Mills tallied an interception in the end zone to stop Boise State's final drive of the game. Mills' interception was one of PSU's three red-zone stops in the fourth quarter.

THE OPPOSITION: Notre Dame is the No. 7 seed in the College Football Playoff and earned a quarterfinal win, 23-10 over No. 2 seed Georgia, in the AllState Sugar Bowl. The Fighting Irish are 13-1 overall this season. Riley Leonard threw for 90 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 80 yards. Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. On defense, Notre Dame held Georgia to 62 rushing yards and collected nine tackles for loss.

 

BY THE NUMBERS

34 - Penn State has collected 34 wins over the last three seasons (2022-24), the most wins in any three-year span in program history.

13 - The Nittany Lions reached 13 wins in a season for the first time in program history.

7 - Through two CFP games, Penn State has forced seven takeaways, including six interceptions and one fumble.

6th - Penn State will make its sixth appearance in the Orange Bowl and has a 4-1 mark in the previous five appearances.

 

NOTRE DAME SCOUTING REPORT

  • Marcus Freeman is in his third full season as head coach at Notre Dame.
  • Freeman is 32-9 as head coach at Notre Dame, including 10 wins in 2023 and 13 wins in 2024.
  • He has led Notre Dame to a 4-1 mark in postseason games, including wins in the 2022 Gator Bowl (45-38 vs. South Carolina), 2023 Sun Bowl (40-8 vs. Oregon State), 2024 CFP First Round (27-17 vs. Indiana) and 2024 Sugar Bowl/CFP Quarterfinal (23-10 vs. Georgia).
  • Prior to becoming head coach, Freeman served as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach in 2021-22.
  • Notre Dame is 13-1 this season, including 12-straight wins.
  • The Fighting Irish entered the College Football Playoffs as the No. 7 seed and No. 5 in the CFP rankings.
  • Notre Dame opened the playoffs with a 27-17 win over No. 10 seed Indiana in the CFP First Round and a 23-10 victory over No. 2 seed Georgia in the CFP Quarterfinal/AllState Sugar Bowl.
  • Notre Dame ranks fourth in the nation in scoring offense (37.7), 49th in total offense (406.6), 11th in rushing offense (217.5) and 108th in passing offense (189.1).
  • Leonard has completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 2,383 yards and 18 touchdowns, while rushing for 831 yards and 15 scores.
  • RB Jeremiyah Love ranks second in the nation in yards per carry (7.27) and 14th in rushing touchdowns (16).
  • The Fighting Irish sits second in the nation in scoring defense (13.6), eighth in total defense (295.4), fifth in passing defense (167.4) and 34th in rushing defense (127.9).
  • S Xavier Watts is second in the country with six interceptions, while totaling 66 tackles and nine pass breakups.
  • LB Jack Kiser leads the squad with 75 tackles, while DE Rylie Mills paces the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

 

BOISE STATE NOTES

  • Penn State won its first ever meeting against Boise State.
  • The Nittany Lions are now 8-0 in Fiesta Bowl appearances.
  • The Nittany Lions have played 15 games in a season for the first time in program history.
  • Penn State reached 13 wins in a season for the first time in program history.
  • With the victory, Penn State has won 34 games over the last three seasons (2022, 2023, 2024). It marks the first time in program history that Penn State has won at least 34 games over a three-year span.
  • TE Tyler Warren’s two touchdown receptions are tied for Penn State’s bowl/CFP record with Bobby Engram (2; 1996 Outback Bowl), Chris Godwin (2; 2017 Rose Bowl) and DaeSean Hamilton (2; 2017 Fiesta Bowl). Warren was named the game's offensive MVP
  • RB Kaytron Allen (1,026 yards) and RB Nicholas Singleton (1,015 yards) became the first Penn State duo to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
  • Allen and Singleton is the first Big Ten duo since Iowa’s Akrum Wadley (1,081) and Leshun Daniels Jr. (1,058) in 2016 and the ninth Big Ten RB duo to run for 1,000 yards in a season.
  • Allen and Singleton is the only RB duo in the FBS this season with 1,000 rushing yards.
  • On a 23-yard run in the third quarter, Allen hit the 1,000-rushing yard mark for the season. He is the 18th Penn State player (28th occasion) to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season.
  • On a 58-yard touchdown run, Singleton went over 1,000 rushing yards on the season.
  • Singleton went over 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the second time in his career, joining John Cappelletti (1972, 1973), Curt Warner (1981, 1982), Blair Thomas (1987, 1989), Ki-Jana Carter (1993, 1994), Curtis Enis (1996, 1997), Tony Hunt (2005, 2006), Evan Royster (2008, 2009) and Saquon Barkley (2015, 2016, 2017) as Nittany Lions with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
  • On the 13-yard touchdown reception, Warren hauled in his 98th reception of the season, breaking the Penn State season record held by Allen Robinson (97; 2013).
  • Penn State forced four takeaways, including three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
  • PSU held Boise State to 108 rushing yards on 40 carries (2.7 per rush). Boise State entered the game ranked fifth in the FBS, averaging 250.5 rushing yards per game.
  • The Nittany Lions forced one fourth-down stop and held Boise State to 1-of-4 in the red zone, including stops on all three red zone possessions in the fourth quarter.
  • S Zakee Wheatley posted three tackles (2 solo), an interception, and a fumble recovery. He was named Defensive Player of the Game for his efforts.

 

PENN STATE IN THE ORANGE BOWL

  • Penn State has a 4-1 record in five previous appearances in the Orange Bowl.
  • Penn State participated in the 1969 (Kansas), 1970 (Missouri), 1974 (LSU), 1986 (Oklahoma) and 2006 (Florida State) editions of the prestigious game.
  • Penn State's six appearances in the Orange Bowl tied with the Citrus/Capital One Bowl for PSU's second-most frequent bowl game, behind only the Fiesta Bowl (eight appearances).
  • Penn State (4-1) and Georgia (4-1) are tied for the best win percentage among teams who have made at least five appearances in the Orange Bowl.
  • In 1969, Penn State earned a 15-14 win over Kansas in dramatic fashion. Trailing 14-7, Neal Smith partially blocked a punt to give PSU the ball at the 50 yard-line with 1:16 left. Chuck Burhart hit Bob Campbell on a 47-yard completion and three plays later, Burkhart scored with eight seconds left. On the two-point conversion attempt, a pass by Burkhart was knocked away, but Kansas was flagged for 12 men on the field. With another chance, Campbell took a sweep into the end zone.
  • In 1970, Penn State claimed a 10-3 win over Missouri. PSU forced nine takeaways, including seven interceptions and two fumbles. The Nittany Lions completed back-to-back undefeated seasons.
  • In 1974, PSU won 16-9 over LSU, highlighted by a 72-yard touchdown from Tom Shuman to Chuck Herd. The Nittany Lions finished off a 12-0 season.
  • In 2006, Kevin Kelly knocked through a 29-yard field goal to cap off a three-overtime thriller, 26-23, over Florida State. Ethan Kilmer caught a 24-yard touchdown. PSU took a 16-13 lead in the fourth quarter on a safety on an intentional grounding in the end zone, but Florida State answered with a field goal to tie the game. After trading touchdowns in the second overtime, Kelly converted the game-winner.