It took 59 minutes and 53 seconds, but Notre Dame finally put Penn State away for good after Mitch Jeter connected on a 41-yard game-winning field goal that sent the Fighting Irish to their first national championship game since 1988.
In doing so, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman not only extended his own record for most single-season wins in school history to 14, he also made a bit more history in becoming the first Black head coach and the first head coach of Asian descent to reach an FBS national championship game.
Freeman has downplayed the importance of the color of his skin in regard to his ability to do his job, but his historic accomplishment was celebrated by many in the Black community, including Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, who took to social media to applaud Freeman’s accomplishment…