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Notre Dame gets late pick and field goal to beat Penn State
Notre Dame gets late pick and field goal to beat Penn State
Updated: 12:08 AM EST Jan 10, 2025
I train heavy just one, it’s my ego, right? I wanna always be able to bench 315 and squat 315, but the other thing is I wanna be able to show my players that, hey man, no matter how old you get, you can still put some weight on the bar. That’s *** lot of my motivation too. Hey, I’m Marcus Freeman, head football coach at the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Today we’re gonna get into *** little bit of what my workout looks like. I’ve always been *** guy that’s worked out from the time I was little. My father used to wake me up early in the morning, me and my older brother, and make us work out. For me, as I played sports, I realized working out is so beneficial to seeing you have success on the football field or on the track or on the wrestling mat is is those different sports that I did and it’s something when I got done playing football that I continue to do and it’s for setting. Good example for your kids, your players, but more importantly, it’s for personal health. I never train with our players. I don’t want to embarrass myself and I don’t wanna give them the pleasure of knowing they might be stronger or faster than me, but I always train when they’re in here. It’s really important for me that they see me in here training. I might not be able to do their workouts, but they’re gonna know that their head coach is in here early in the morning and he’s training right with them. An average day of practice for the fighting Irish is we’ll have them in here early about 7:30 in the morning. Uh, they’ll they’ll be in here lifting weights and then they go to class and then they come back after class and we have meetings in the afternoon. Then we’re on the practice field for about 2 hours, if not *** little bit more, and we come back and they have *** training table and *** lot of them have to go to study hall after that and so our players, their days are. Pretty filled around here, but um that’s what it takes to have success here at the University of Notre Dame. The philosophy behind my workout depends on the time of the year and how much time I have to work out. Right now it’s more of *** heavy period, so I’m trying to get some type of mild warm up jogging and then come in here and do super set. So like today we’ll do chest and legs. Then tomorrow I’ll come in and do shoulder. And back the next day I’ll get I’ll take *** day off and just do cardio, but the whole philosophy is to to maximize the time that I’m in here and get as many exercises completed that I can. It’s time to get going. We need to go out here and get this warm up jog in, get back in here and start moving some iron. It’s time to go to work. Starting to do *** little mile jog, *** little warm up jog, and uh we’ll see if you guys can stay up with me. My workout when I was *** player, uh, I was *** linebacker and you know, everything was calculated. You were trying to hit *** certain speed or *** certain number or *** certain number of reps, whereas now I don’t do those type of workouts. For me now it’s more I want to get *** jog in and hit *** certain amount of body parts *** day and uh make sure I’m just staying healthy. And I finished and I say *** quick prayer right here in front of Jesus Christ, um, for my gratitude to be alive. And so I say *** quick thank you prayer. I head back and let’s get to work. All right, we’re gonna get ready to do *** super set between heavy squat and uh dumbbell RDL, which is Romanian deadlift. Basically, the, the benefits of the squat to, to try to keep your heels on the ground, stay flat, get as low as you can, big chest, squeeze your lower back. I’m often *** guy that says, do as I say, not as I do. You know, as I get older, man, it gets harder for me to get parallel and below, but um I’ll get as low as I can today. And then we’ll go right into the dumbbell RDLs where again it’s mostly your, your hamstrings, but again it’s so good for your posture, especially for me and and athletes that get out of, um, playing sports, you know, this is *** great exercise for your back half but also for your posture. And then I usually go 225 for 10, uh 275 for 8, and then 3:15, I usually go for about 6. They challenge you *** little bit. This, this weight makes you fight, fight *** little bit, right. OK. My current training goals are just to really lift 5 days *** week, you know, get enough cardio in to stay in shape, and that’s why I’m in this weight room. So that’s what my current training goals. They change depending on the time of the year. If we’re in the middle of the season, I won’t have as much time as I have now to spend in the weight room, so I have to adjust my workouts accordingly. Alright, we’re gonna move on to our second super set basic barbell bench press, which, you know, obviously it focuses on the chest, but I think it hits uh so many other parts of your upper body muscles 10. 86, and usually I try to get about 4 to 5 with 3:15, probably 4, and then we’ll superset that with leg press. And again, leg press the, the benefits of that are, are, are true again they’re focusing on your lower half and it’s actually *** great quad exercise too, um, but also the importance of the the leg press is your seat position, right? Where your seat is, um, making sure it’s in the right position that you can get the full range of motion, but also where your feet are positioned and, and making sure that you breathe throughout the entirety of the exercise. And then I’ll probably go 1210, 8, usually with the leg press and then I finish with *** calf raises. Um, I’ll go 10 straight. 10 with my feet out. And then 10 with my toes pointing in. Alright, we’re gonna go into our 3rd super set. This super set will be dumbbell incline bench press. The benefits of this exercise is to truly work more the upper chest, um, but also you’re getting the the frontiior part of your shoulder tries, um, again *** great upper body lift to coincide with the bench press that we just finished up. And then we’re gonna superset this with uh glue ham exercise, which is, is really an exercise for your hamstrings. Um, we’re really contracting that hamstring instead of like the RDLs. When we did the RDLs was lengthening the hamstring. Now we’re contracting it, right? You’re really lengthening your back, your glutes, um, and then you’re, you’re squeezing, right? You’re, you’re contracting your lower back to this point. Then you take ***, just *** breath, right, about *** half second breath, and then you really have to pull. And, and contract your hamstring from this point to the finished position of this point, right? So, if you think about this entire exercise, you’re starting here in the full range of motion position, you’re lengthening your back, your hamstrings, your glutes, right? You’re pulling to here, which is your lower back, you’re, you’re flexing and contracting your lower back, and then you finish the exercise, contracting down your glutes down into your hamstrings in this position and then back to the start. Uh, so let’s, uh, this is the last exercise dumbbell chest fly. We’ll go, uh, 33 sets of 10 on the, uh, dumbbell chest flies with, uh, dumbbell chest flies and we’ve done 4 legs, we did 3 upper bodies and, and I wanna get the 4th chest in and, and we start off with the compound exercises, the squat, but the bench press, and as you look at the dumbbell bench press, um. You know, again, working your chest, your front of your shoulder, your shoulder, your triceps, now you’re truly isolating the chest, right? It is chest flies are truly an isolated exercise again, really stretching out the muscles and controlling the dumbbells as you go down and then you want to explode and squeeze um as much as you can when you come up and contract your muscles. The weight room can challenge you in ways as an individual that you aren’t challenged all the time and, and no matter how much sleep you get, no matter how you feel, it’s *** chance for you to accomplish *** goal. Some days you’re gonna lift more than others, some days you’re gonna feel better than others, but The accomplishment of waking up. Checking off working out off your list is to me, for me personally so important and it’s *** must do every single day. I wanna be the best version of me. I wanna be the best father the best husband, the best football coach I can be, and that means for me I have to come in here every day and challenge myself. And so I thank you guys for joining me on, uh, my workout. This is Marcus Freeman again, head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, always and forever go Irish.
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Notre Dame gets late pick and field goal to beat Penn State
Updated: 12:08 AM EST Jan 10, 2025
A diving interception off an ill-advised pass set up Notre Dame’s trip to play for the program’s 12th national title after a thrill-a-minute 27-24 victory over Penn State on Thursday night in the Orange Bowl.Defensive back Christian Gray snared Drew Allar’s pass across the middle at the Nittany Lions 42 with 33 seconds left, then the Irish moved 19 yards to set up Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard winner with 7 seconds left.Video above: Train like Notre Dame’s Marcus FreemanThe game featured three ties, three lead changes and 31 points in the fourth quarter alone.Notre Dame (14-1), seeded seventh in this, the first 12-team college playoff, will have a chance to bring its first title since 1988 back under the Golden Dome with a game Jan. 20 in Atlanta against the winner of Friday night’s Texas-Ohio State semifinal in the Cotton Bowl.In the final, Irish coach Marcus Freeman will try to become the first Black coach to win the title at college football’s highest level.“We’ve been right here in this position before, and they believed and got the job done, and I’m proud of them,” Freeman said.No. 6 seed Penn State (13-3) fell agonizingly short in a game it controlled while taking a 10-0 lead over the first 28 minutes. Coach James Franklin fell to 4-20 with the Nittany Lions against teams ranked in the AP Top 10.Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard shook off a hit late in the second quarter that sent him to the medical tent to be checked for a concussion. He came back and led the Irish on four scoring drives in the second half, including the last one.“He’s a competitor and competitors find a way to win, and that’s what Riley does,” Freeman said. “That’s what this team does.”Leonard finished with 223 yards passing, including a key 10-yard dart to Jaden Greathouse to convert third-and-3 on the last drive. Leonard also had 35 yards rushing, and passed and ran for a score each. With 4:38 left in the game, Leonard hit Greathouse for a 54-yard score to tie the game at 24 after a Penn State defender slipped.The game started slow (and boring), but Riley’s injury injected life into things. He led Notre Dame on TD drives of 75 and 72 yards in the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead.At that point, the game was just getting started.Penn State had its chances, and Allar, along with all those Nittany Lions fans, will spend the offseason reliving that last throw — or trying to forget it.Penn State forced a Notre Dame punt and looked assured of at least going to overtime when they took over at their 15 with 33 seconds left.After a gain of 13, Allar dropped to pass and had pressure coming. He threw across his body to the middle of the field, where Gray dove for the pick.“Just catch the ball. Just catch the ball,” Gray said. “That was going through my mind and I knew I was going to make a play.”Allar said he looked at the first two options on the play and saw neither were open, then was trying to throw the ball into the ground.“Honestly, I was trying to throw it at his feet,” Allar said. “I should’ve thrown it away when I saw the first two progressions were not open. I didn’t execute.”Officials reviewed showed it was a catch, and the Irish were onto the next step on a road that looked all but impossible when they fell 16-14 to Northern Illinois back in September.Off target for much of the day, Allar finished 12 for 23 for 135 yards with the interception. Nick Singleton ran for 84 yards and all three Penn State touchdowns.Chilly Orange BowlThe kickoff temperature was 56 degrees, unseasonably cool for South Florida — and making it the second-coldest Orange Bowl ever, next to the Georgia Tech-Iowa game in 2010 that started at 49 and felt like the upper 30s.Meyer, Leinart booedEvidently, Notre Dame and Penn State fans still don’t like former USC quarterback Matt Leinart and former Ohio State and Florida coach Urban Meyer.They were introduced before the game as new members of the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame and were roundly booed — Meyer getting the worst of it.Also introduced as a Hall of Famer: former Miami lineman Vince Wilfork, whose reception was far warmer.Up nextNotre Dame will face either Ohio State or Texas in the CFP national championship game on Jan. 20. Penn State opens its 2025 season at home against Nevada on Aug. 30.
MIAMI —
A diving interception off an ill-advised pass set up Notre Dame’s trip to play for the program’s 12th national title after a thrill-a-minute 27-24 victory over Penn State on Thursday night in the Orange Bowl.
Defensive back Christian Gray snared Drew Allar’s pass across the middle at the Nittany Lions 42 with 33 seconds left, then the Irish moved 19 yards to set up Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard winner with 7 seconds left.
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Video above: Train like Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman
The game featured three ties, three lead changes and 31 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Notre Dame (14-1), seeded seventh in this, the first 12-team college playoff, will have a chance to bring its first title since 1988 back under the Golden Dome with a game Jan. 20 in Atlanta against the winner of Friday night’s Texas-Ohio State semifinal in the Cotton Bowl.
In the final, Irish coach Marcus Freeman will try to become the first Black coach to win the title at college football’s highest level.
“We’ve been right here in this position before, and they believed and got the job done, and I’m proud of them,” Freeman said.
No. 6 seed Penn State (13-3) fell agonizingly short in a game it controlled while taking a 10-0 lead over the first 28 minutes. Coach James Franklin fell to 4-20 with the Nittany Lions against teams ranked in the AP Top 10.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard shook off a hit late in the second quarter that sent him to the medical tent to be checked for a concussion. He came back and led the Irish on four scoring drives in the second half, including the last one.
“He’s a competitor and competitors find a way to win, and that’s what Riley does,” Freeman said. “That’s what this team does.”
Leonard finished with 223 yards passing, including a key 10-yard dart to Jaden Greathouse to convert third-and-3 on the last drive. Leonard also had 35 yards rushing, and passed and ran for a score each. With 4:38 left in the game, Leonard hit Greathouse for a 54-yard score to tie the game at 24 after a Penn State defender slipped.
The game started slow (and boring), but Riley’s injury injected life into things. He led Notre Dame on TD drives of 75 and 72 yards in the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead.
At that point, the game was just getting started.
Penn State had its chances, and Allar, along with all those Nittany Lions fans, will spend the offseason reliving that last throw — or trying to forget it.
Penn State forced a Notre Dame punt and looked assured of at least going to overtime when they took over at their 15 with 33 seconds left.
After a gain of 13, Allar dropped to pass and had pressure coming. He threw across his body to the middle of the field, where Gray dove for the pick.
“Just catch the ball. Just catch the ball,” Gray said. “That was going through my mind and I knew I was going to make a play.”
Allar said he looked at the first two options on the play and saw neither were open, then was trying to throw the ball into the ground.
“Honestly, I was trying to throw it at his feet,” Allar said. “I should’ve thrown it away when I saw the first two progressions were not open. I didn’t execute.”
Officials reviewed showed it was a catch, and the Irish were onto the next step on a road that looked all but impossible when they fell 16-14 to Northern Illinois back in September.
Off target for much of the day, Allar finished 12 for 23 for 135 yards with the interception. Nick Singleton ran for 84 yards and all three Penn State touchdowns.
Chilly Orange Bowl
The kickoff temperature was 56 degrees, unseasonably cool for South Florida — and making it the second-coldest Orange Bowl ever, next to the Georgia Tech-Iowa game in 2010 that started at 49 and felt like the upper 30s.
Meyer, Leinart booed
Evidently, Notre Dame and Penn State fans still don’t like former USC quarterback Matt Leinart and former Ohio State and Florida coach Urban Meyer.
They were introduced before the game as new members of the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame and were roundly booed — Meyer getting the worst of it.
Also introduced as a Hall of Famer: former Miami lineman Vince Wilfork, whose reception was far warmer.
Up next
Notre Dame will face either Ohio State or Texas in the CFP national championship game on Jan. 20. Penn State opens its 2025 season at home against Nevada on Aug. 30.
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