It came down to the final seconds of the College Football Playoff game. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, down 10-3 against Penn State at halftime, had rallied to tie the game at 24. And with less than a minute left on the clock, the Irish forced a turnover, leading to a field goal attempt at 41 yards, per Athlon Sports. As kicker Mitch Jeter sent the ball through the uprights, he not only propelled his team to the Division I national title game, but helped third-year head coach Marcus Freeman make history. Freeman, whose father is Black and mother is South Korean, is now the first Black coach as well as the first coach of Asian descent to reach the CFP National Championship.
"It is an honor, and I hope all coaches—minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesn't matter, great people—continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this," said Freeman, whose record improves to 34-9, per CBS Sports. "But this ain't about me," added the coach, who served a season in the role of defensive coordinator before his 2021 promotion. "This is about us." The Fighting Irish also made history as the first team to win multiple bowl games in the same season. Before Penn State's defeat in the Orange Bowl, they defeated No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2. The team (14-1) will face the winner of Friday's Cotton Bowl game between No. 8 Ohio State (12-2) and No. 5 Texas (13-2). The CFP National Championship is set for Jan. 20 in Atlanta. (More college football stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
