On Thursday night, Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish survived a thrilling Orange Bowl showdown against the No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions, as Notre Dame came away with a 27-24 victory that elicited a ton of reactions from all corners of the football world.

Notre Dame outlasted Penn State in a 27-24 thriller to reach the program's first national championship game since 2012 in the Orange Bowl. Thanks to the 12-team College Football Playoff format, the Fighting Irish officially became the first team to win multiple bowl games in the same season.

Denbrock left the Bearcats for the LSU offensive coordinator position after the 2021 season. He coached quarterback Jayden Daniels to a Heisman Trophy and No. 2 overall draft pick before returning to lead Notre Dame’s offense in 2024, where he coached from 2010-16.