As the first quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal came to a conclusion, Penn State was in prime position to score at the 1-yard line.
Two plays later and Penn State was kicking from the 3-yard line as the Nittany Lions took the first lead of the game with a 20-yard field goal.
🦁FIELD GOAL IS GOOD!🦁
Kicker @RyanBarker111 hits the 20yd Field Goal as the Nittany Lions strike first!
PSU: 3 || ND: 0
👉 https://t.co/MKU1F0Jk9s pic.twitter.com/XdOZfO15RH
— Penn State Nittany Lions | Happy Valley Insider (@PennStateRivals) January 10, 2025
It was an interesting decision for Penn State head coach James Franklin to kick from the 3-yard line. The Nittany Lions were getting a good push up front on Notre Dame’s defensive line as the ground game was averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Instead, Franklin opted for the safe decision to send Ryan Barker out for the 20-yard field goal.
On Penn State’s third drive of the game, Drew Allar and company moved the Nittany Lions deep into Fighting Irish territory. On third-and-four from the Irish 9-yard line, it looked like the drive would come to an end after Allar tossed an interception in the end zone. However, a holding call on Notre Dame’s Christian Gray set up the Nittany Lions on the door step.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.From the four, Kaytron Allen picked up three yards, but a play later would take a loss of two yards before the end of the first quarter.
On third down, Allar’s pass fell incomplete to Nick Singleton at the goal line.
Look away Nick Singleton first TD bettors (+550) 🥶 pic.twitter.com/D5AIxMGuo2
— SportsLine (@SportsLine) January 10, 2025
