Notre Dame came up big in the fourth quarter.
Until it doesn't.
With just over 10 minutes left in Thursday's Orange Bowl, Irish struggling quarterback Riley Leonard was picked off by Penn State's Dani Dennis Sutton.
But just four plays later, Leonard appeared to be saved when Penn State's Drew Allard intercepted Notre Dame's Jack Kizer with a lofted pass just outside the end zone.
It appeared to be a game-changing turnover, but the referee called a pass interference penalty on Adon Shuler, who was in double coverage against Tyler Warren.
When the call was made, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman appeared stunned by the call on the sideline, pointing at the officials in near-disbelief.
Notre Dame fans were similarly outraged by the penalty call. throw a beer bottle In the end zone of Hard Rock Stadium.
However, the fan frenzy seemed to subside quickly as the match resumed relatively quickly.
Rules expert Matt Austin agreed with the former Alabama QB's assessment after Greg McElroy defended the officials' call despite Notre Dame's protests on ESPN's main broadcast.
“That was definitely pass interference,” Austin said.
The call gave Penn State some new life, and Nicholas Singleton scored his third touchdown of the game on the next two plays.
An extra point later gave the Nittany Lions a 24-17 lead.
However, Notre Dame bounced back from that tough stretch and won 27-24, moving on to play the winner of Friday's game between Ohio State and Texas in the national championship game on January 20th.
