How Notre Dame WR Jaden Greathouse stole the show in epic College Football Playoff win over Penn State
It's official. Notre Dame is moving on to play in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish defeated James Franklin's Nittany Lion's 27-24, sealing the tight victory on a field goal kick that soared between the yellow posts with less than 10 seconds to go in the game.But how […]
It's official. Notre Dame is moving on to play in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish defeated James Franklin's Nittany Lion's 27-24, sealing the tight victory on a field goal kick that soared between the yellow posts with less than 10 seconds to go in the game.
But how did Notre Dame actually pull this off? Was it Riley Leonard's arm? His legs? The phenomenal Fighting Irish run game? Nope. It was wide receiver Jaden Greathouse when we all least expected him to shine his brightest.
Greathouse, a highly touted former four star recruit, burst onto the seen back in 2023 scoring two touchdowns in his first career game. However, since then he's only averaged 22 yards per game, finding the end zone just five times in the last 25 contests.
Greathouse had largely disappeared within the offense in the last five games too, catching a total of six passes for 49 yards in that span. Against Penn State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal? He caught seven receptions for 105 yards, including the game-tying touchdown for the Irish.
He was unstoppable. Breaking ankles with his routes. High-pointing crucial 3rd down receptions. Jaden Greathouse was doing it all when most fans and analysts had left the Notre Dame wide receiver corps for dead.
ESPN's Greg McElroy himself was completely blown away by the performance of Greathouse. He was one of two commentators calling the game alongside Sean McDonough. McElroy came into the game ready to talk about every single one of the players for either Notre Dame or Penn State, but expressed just how surprised he was that the player to take over the game was in fact Greathouse:
"Wide receiver had been a position coming into this year [where fans were like], 'Yeah, they've got tight ends. They've got running backs. I like Riley Leonard, but I don't know about the wide receivers.' Of all the guys listed on our sheet tonight that we anticipated potentially taking over the game or having a huge contribution, Jaden Greathouse would have been what, tenth or twelfth? Potentially including a couple defensive players that would have been in front of him?"
And it wasn't just surprising that it was Greathouse who broke out. Like McElroy mentioned, the wide receivers as a whole for Notre Dame have been perceived to be more of a liability than an asset this season.
Greathouse' 107 receiving yards marks the most by any Notre Dame wide receiver all season long and it came at just the right time. Irish fans have known Greathouse had the potential all along, but it was amazing to see him put all his talents together into one epic performance. Even former NFL stars couldn't help but admire the performance, as you can see Robert Griffin III remarking upon Greathouse' ability to break ankles with ease on his 54-yard touchdown score in the post below.
Riley Leonard failed to find consistent success on the ground and threw two interceptions. Jeremiyah Love scored a touchdown, but never broke free for a run longer than nine yards. The team's key strengths weren't clicking on offense. Sometimes all a team needs is a spark, and Greathouse gave Notre Dame exactly that.
If Greathouse and Notre Dame's passing attack can continue to come together making clutch plays like they did in critical moments against Penn State the Irish might just have a chance against the winner of Ohio State and Texas.
We'll be back with more Notre Dame Fighting Irish coverage here at A to Z Sports here soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
