Riley Leonard admits he gave a lot of different answers when people asked him why he entered the transfer portal after last season and chose Notre Dame.
“But the truth is I came here to win a national championship and to go to the best team that would give me the best chance to do that,” he said.
What a move. And now the quarterback, who reportedly earned more than $1 million in NIL by joining the Fighting Irish from Duke, will get some much-needed rest before playing for that title on January 20.
A day after Leonard emerged from the medical tent after being checked for a concussion to lead Notre Dame to a 27-24 victory over Penn State, he waited to see whether the opponent in the final would be Ohio State or Texas.
That Notre Dame would earn the trip to Atlanta for the championship game felt far-fetched late in the second quarter in the Orange Bowl.
Pursued by Penn State defenders, the Irish had amassed 90 yards, five first downs and no points when Leonard was sandwiched by Zane Durant and Dvon J-Thomas.
With Leonard in the medical tent, backup Steve Angeli came in and quickly put together a drive that led to a field goal and cut the deficit to 10-3.
Leonard returned for the third quarter looking like a new quarterback, and the Fighting Irish looked like a different team.
“When I saw Riley coming back, I said, ‘This guy is a fighter,’” Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans said. “He has the most heart. You could see it in the way he ran the ball. Either way, he’ll find a way to get us there.”
Using his arms and legs, Leonard engineered drives of 75 and 72 yards to lead Notre Dame to two touchdowns in the third quarter.
Trailing 24-17 in the fourth, he made the easiest throw of the night, finding Jaden Greathouse after a Penn State defender slipped. Greathouse’s 54-yard TD tied the score at 24.
The stars at the end were Christian Gray and Mitch Jeter. Gray’s sliding interception of a Drew Allar pass set up a game-winning 41-yard field goal by Jeter.
It gives Leonard and the entire team one more game, and a chance to bring a national title back to the Golden Dome for the first time since 1988.
That’s why Leonard chose Notre Dame.
“Obviously this is the right place and I made the right decision,” Leonard said. “That’s why I finally came here.”
