ESPN's Ryan Clark Shares Emotional Reaction to Son Making Notre Dame National Title Game

The No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish triumphed over the No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in dramatic fashion on Thursday night, securing a 27-24 victory after a late interception by cornerback Christian Gray set kicker Mitch Jeter and the Fighting Irish up in prime position to attempt a game-winning field goal and advance to the national championship.

It was a complete team effort by Notre Dame to mount the comeback, and a key player in their success this season has been sixth-year senior Jordan Clark, the son of 13-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl-winning safety Ryan Clark, who is now a well-known analyst on ESPN.

This is Jordan's first season with Notre Dame after spending the previous five years at Arizona State with the Sun Devils. He's embraced his role, and following the team's win on Thursday night, his father shared an emotional reaction, proud to watch his son succeed during the Orange Bowl against Penn State.

"My stress level is extremely high." Clark said. "It was just so exciting, and I’ve never been on that side of it. But to watch Jordan and his teammates continue to find answers, for us to win the middle eight of that game, and the tenacity to keep fighting over and over when faced with insurmountable odds at different times—it’s just incredible. And I’m going to be honest, as a father, when we were down 10-0, I was freaking out. When they went up 24-17, I was freaking out. The last two games, I’ve seen him more excited than I’ve ever seen him about football in my entire life. There is no better feeling for a father. This is better than winning a Super Bowl ... better than anything I’ve ever done in my career, because it’s my actual heart living out there on the field."