Notre Dame wins the Playoff's best game, plus Deion Sanders' NFL criteria

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Good morning! Make that field goal today.

12 → 3: Notre Dame’s unbelievable win

The best (and sometimes worst) part of being a sports fan is realizing in the moment that you’re living inside a memory already. You know, no matter the outcome for your team, this is a moment you’ll talk about decades from now.

The final two minutes of Notre Dame’s 27-24 win over Penn State in last night’s Playoff semifinal felt that way to me, and I’m not even a fan of either team. Maybe it was because I found myself in a sports bar surrounded by Irish fans. The stress was palpable, and the joy was overwhelming as Mitch Jeter’s (no relation) game-winning 41-yard field goal sailed through the uprights.

Two parting thoughts from a scintillating game:

• Notre Dame is as resilient as it gets. Multiple times, this game looked to be a Penn State romp. But Fighting Irish physicality shone through, and adjustments by the coaching staff were effective. This team, which has won 13 straight since what could’ve been a season-defining loss to Northern Illinois, never loses its cool.
• Drew Allar’s late interception will haunt him and Penn State fans forever. During a reasonable last-minute attempt to win the game aggressively, Allar threw just his seventh interception of the season at the worst time. Poor guy.

Notre Dame advances to its first title shot since 2012, and will face the winner of Ohio State–Texas tonight. Speaking of:

Dale Zanine / Imagn Images

1. Can former Buckeye Quinn Ewers weather this? 

It’s easy to forget about the Texas quarterback’s time as an Ohio State reserve/NIL trailblazer. He left high school early to enroll at Ohio State, spent a semester on the team, made NIL money and transferred to Texas to be the starter. It worked out.

He could be in trouble against his old team, though. The Buckeyes’ defense has been consistently ferocious this season, providing an anchor for an offense that needed to find itself. Texas lost to the only comparable defensive unit it faced, Georgia’s.

2. How will Texas’ defense fare, though? 

The Longhorns have also been exquisite on defense this year, though they have not faced anyone like Buckeyes wideout Jeremiah Smith yet. I suspect this game will not feature the blitzkrieg Oregon suffered immediately against Ohio State in the quarterfinals, but keeping track of Smith will be crucial. Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard has been prone to error at points this season. He will be the key. (Also, the “Until Saturday” pod discussed this QB duel. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.)

Good Bet: Ohio State (-6)
The Buckeyes are just too good. Texas will probably have a great offensive script early, but it will fade late, as the Longhorns did in the narrow win over Arizona State in the quarters. Give me Ohio State by 10. 

Pulse bets record overall: 27-42-1. I thought I had the under sealed up in last night’s game. Sigh.

News to Know

Wildfires continue to rage
Devastating wildfires continue to sweep through the Los Angeles area, and we saw more impacts in the sports world yesterday. The NFL announced it is moving the Vikings-Rams playoff game Monday to Arizona, and some of the newer-developing fires forced the Rams to cancel practice early yesterday. Soccer players Carlos Vela and Ali Riley also lost their homes in the wildfires. Read more here.

Deion’s only NFL lure
Colorado coach Deion Sanders would only leave for an NFL team if he can coach his sons, he said yesterday, while largely rejecting the notion of leading a pro franchise. He emphasized that this scenario would include both of his sons — QB Shedeur figures to be a top-10 pick, but DB Shilo could be an undrafted free agent. Read his full comments here.

Tomorrow:

📺 NFL: Chargers at Texans
4:30 p.m. ET on CBS
The NFL playoffs begin with what feels like a perfectly wild-card matchup. Both of these teams have high ceilings because of their quarterbacks. Both have also looked extremely mediocre at points this year. If Justin Herbert can deal with Houston’s pass rush, expect L.A. to leave with a win.

📺 NFL: Steelers at Ravens
8 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Two division rivals on opposite arcs meet on a cold night in Baltimore. Grit will be served aplenty here by whoever wins. For Mike Tomlin and Russell Wilson, legacies hang in the balance. 

Get tickets to games like these here.

(Top photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)