The Notre Dame Fighting Irish can thank St. Louis football talent for its thrilling 27-24 victory over Penn State in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game Thursday night.
Jeremiyah Love, who starred at CBC, broke multiple tackles and bulled his way into the end zone to give Notre Dame a 17-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
With the score knotted at 24-24, DeSmet product Christian Gray intercepted a pass with 33 seconds left in the game. The crucial pick led to a Notre Dame field goal that sealed an amazing 27-24 win.
Love battled through a knee injury suffered in last week’s quarterfinal win over Georgia.
“I kind of just kind of came out here and said (forget) it and went out there and played,” Love said following the game.
Gray, who also had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in Notre Dame’s win over USC in the final game of the regular season, said “I didn’t think anything after I [intercepted] the ball – just that I’m blessed.”
“That’s what Christian Gray does. He makes the plays in the big moments,” said head coach Marcus Freeman, who will be the first Black coach to compete for college football’s national championship.
Love, Gray and Notre Dame will face the winner of the Texas – Ohio State Cotton Bowl semifinal game on Friday. The championship game is on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.