"I was the first one to write them off": CFB Insider accepts defeat at the hands of Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame

Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl 27-24. The clutch 41-yard field goal by Mitch Jeter in the final minute made the difference.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum appeared on "Get Up" on Friday morning to talk about how he thought the Fighting Irish were done at one point but gave credit to Freeman for keeping them in the game.

"Well I'm going to talk about a coach here as well and that's Marcus Freeman," Finebaum said. "Just an extraordinary job of bringing them back. And Greenie, I sat here and I was the first one to write them off and say that they're done. So, let me compliment Marcus Freeman.

"Let me also go back in time three years to another point in time. Notre Dame hasn't been in a National Championship Game since the 12 season. That's when Brian Kelly lost by 28 points to Alabama in Miami. I just couldn't help but think that Brian Kelly said three years ago, 'I'm leaving Notre Dame because I want to win a National Championship and the only place I can do that is LSU.'

"Here is Marcus Freeman who was his assistant, briefly, and now he's brought this team back. So much credit to him and his amazing staff. It was an amazing thing to watch."

Marcus Freeman leads his team to a comeback win over Penn State

The Fighting Irish defeated Indiana 27-17 in the first round, and then Georgia 23-10 in the quarterfinals. However, it was a much more competitive semifinal matchup against Penn State. They needed to overcome two separate deficits to win the game.

Penn State jumped out to a lead in the second quarter, taking a 10-0 lead. However, Notre Dame was able to answer back, tying the game early in the third quarter. They then even took the lead a minute into the fourth quarter.

However, Penn State answered back, scoring two straight touchdowns to retake the lead with eight minutes left in the game. Freeman was able to keep his team with the right mindset.

Notre Dame tied the game with four and a half minutes remaining. They then stopped Penn State from scoring so that they could win with a walk-off field goal at the end of the game.