“I’M GIDDY!”: Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard’s GF Molly pens heartfelt message after thrilling PSU win

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the Texas Longhorns or the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Fighting Irish got to this stage after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in a thrilling Orange Bowl. One person who helped the Fighting Irish reach the national championship game was quarterback Riley Leonard. After the game, his girlfriend, Molly Walding, posted a photo of the pair and captioned it:

"I'M GIDDY. Turning dreams into reality."

Leonard has made the national championship in his first and only season with the Fighting Irish. In the offseason, he transferred to South Bend from the Duke Blue Devils, where he had limited success, and his time was cut short by injury.

Leonard has thrown for 2,606 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He has nearly the same number of passing yards Leonard had during his 2022 season with the Blue Devils.

His performance against the Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl was one of his best games this season. He threw for 223 yards and one touchdown but did throw two interceptions.

However, the Fighting Irish were able to capitalize on the mistakes made by the Nittany Lions mistake, including a late interception from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, to record a 27–24 win.

If Leonard wants to become a national champion when the Fighting Irish next play, he will need to improve on his play, as any mistakes made will be capitalized on by either the Longhorns or the Buckeyes.

Riley Leonard and his second-half comeback

However, there was a chance that Leonard could not have played for most of the game, potentially denying Notre Dame its chance of victory. During the second quarter, Leonard suffered a late hit and then immediately went into the injury tent with a potential concussion/ head injury. He was replaced by backup quarterback Steve Angeli for the time.

However, Leonard was back for the second half, and he spearheaded the Fighting Irish's comeback to not only keep them in the game but also allow them to win it.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman praised the performance of Leonard after the game:

"No matter what happened the first half or what happened the last play, on this play when we need it the most we know Riley's gonna get it done. He did it again tonight. I'm just glad he's healthy, I'm glad he was able to come back today. But also he'll be healthy for the next one. There's a lot of confidence with him having the ball in his hands in the most crucial moments of the game."

Leonard was able to send his team to the national championship game. Now, he is one good performance away from being a national champion, something many did not expect to say at the beginning of the season.