Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Pat McAfee Randomly Brings Up Notre Dame’s Orange Bowl Classic

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 10:22 AM ET

We're all guilty of it. Sitting there at some point during the off-season and thinking of a magical moment from the football season a year before. For Notre Dame fans, there were plenty of them during the 2024 campaign to look back on, but one game seems to top them all.

On Tuesday morning, one of the biggest names in sports media experienced a flashback. Pat McAfee took to X right before 10:00 a.m. ET and reminded his 3.2 million followers just how memorable the 2025 Orange Bowl between Notre Dame and Penn State was.

The Orange Bowl was a CLASSIC pic.twitter.com/p8l9rCF40n
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 8, 2025

The back-and-forth affair turned in Notre Dame's favor late after a Christian Gray interception helped set up Mitch Jeter's game-winning field goal that McAfee shared above.

The game had so much more than the last-second heroics, though. Penn State's dominating first half before Steve Angeli's memorable drive, Jeremiyah Love's incredible touchdown, and Jaden Greathouse breaking ankles en route to the end zone.

I could live to be 105, but it will be tough to find even a handful of games that were more exhilarating to experience as a fan. The back and forth with a spot to the national championship on the line - man, college football can't get back soon enough.