"Worst call ever" "Rigged": Fans trash referees as Marcus Freeman visibly unhappy with controversial call

College football fans and Marcus Freeman were not happy with the officiating of the Orange Bowl showdown between Notre Dame and Penn State. In the fourth quarter, both teams were tied 17-17. Nittany Lions QB Drew Allar then lobbed a long pass toward the end zone hoping to give his team the lead. However, his pass was intercepted by LB Zack Kiser.

However, the officials threw a flag on the play and called pass interference, which left Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman visibly unhappy.

This fan felt that the game was rigged in favor of Penn State.

"Rigged"

Another fan made a big claim about the call.

"Worst call I ever seen"

This fan stated that the officials made a terrible call at a crucial moment of the Orange Bowl showdown.

"Absolutely the worst call ever Penn State with the gimme"

Another fan argued that the decision by the officials looked bad because the pass from Allar was horrible.

"Right call but it happened because the throw was awful"

This fan was not impressed with the decision to flag that play as a pass interference.

"Unbelievably bad call"

This fan did not hide the fact that he thinks the refs were favoring one side.

"Penn State refs for you..."

Despite this, Notre Dame managed to clinch home the victory in a thrilling finale during the fourth quarter of the CFP semifinal game. Penn State took the lead with a 24-17 score thanks to two consecutive touchdowns by Nicholas Singleton.

James Franklin and his team had to hold out for just a few more minutes to advance to the natty finals. However, QB Riley Leonard had other plans as he leveled the score with a 54-yard TD pass to Jaden Greathouse.

With around four minutes left, it looked like the game would go into overtime. But Mitch Jeter scored a 41-yard field goal with around seven seconds left to win the game for Marcus Freeman's team.

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Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman expresses gratitude for making history as a black coach in the playoffs

With this victory against Penn State in the Orange Bowl, Freeman became the first black head coach to compete in the natty final. After the game, the Notre Dame head coach spoke with ESPN's Holly McGrath during the Orange Bowl ceremony.

He expressed his gratitude for the honor and went on to praise his team for their efforts on the field.

"I'v said this before. I don't ever want to take attention away from the team," Marcus Freeman said. "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. But this ain't about me. This is about us. And we're going to celebrate what we've done because it is something special."

Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame will now have to wait for the Cotton Bowl Classic showdown between Texas and Ohio State to find out their opponent in the national championship game.