Notre Dame is moving onto the national championship after defeating Penn State 27-24.

Fighting Irish cornerback Christian Gray intercepted Penn State quarterback Drew Allar’s pass at the Nittany Lions’ 42-yard line with 30 seconds remaining. Mitch Jeter soon nailed a 41-yard field goal with eight seconds left for the win.

A defensive battle turned into a shootout in the fourth quarter, when both teams combined for 31 points.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love’s two-yard touchdown run helped give his team a 17-10 lead, but PSU running back Nicolas Singleton responded with two rushing touchdowns for a 24-17 Nittany Lion edge.

Leonard then connected with Jaden Greathouse for a 54-yard touchdown to tie the game.

Notre Dame is now 14-1, with its Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois (16-14) long in the rearview mirror. This is a tremendous, well-balanced team that’s battle-tested and ready for the national title. The defense has been lights-out more often than not, and the run game has been tremendous. Leonard struggled at times Thursday but he came through when the team needed him most.

The Fighting Irish await Ohio State or Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State limped into the College Football Playoff after losing 13-10 at home to arch-rival Michigan, and that naturally raised the ire of the Buckeye fans, particularly at head coach Ryan Day, whose teams have lost four straight times to the Wolverines.

But Ohio State has been on fire in the playoffs, particularly the offensive triumvirate of quarterback Will Howard, running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

The No. 8 seed Buckeyes destroyed No. 9 seed Tennessee 42-17 at home before taking down No. 1 seed Oregon 41-21.

Howard completed 41-of-55 passes for 630 yards, five touchdowns and just one pick. Henderson has amassed 248 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. And Smith has caught 13 passes for 290 yards and four scores.

The defense has fared well, too. Ohio State shut previously undefeated Oregon out for the entire first half until the Ducks scored a touchdown with no time remaining. And Tennessee only had 10 points until a garbage-time touchdown with under two minutes remaining.

Simply put, the Buckeyes are firing on all cylinders right now.

That’s scary news for Texas, who has encountered more trouble reaching the semifinal. The Longhorns were heavy favorites against Clemson in the first round but were up just 31-24 early in the fourth quarter. A Jaydon Blue 77-yard touchdown run gave Texas the breathing room it needed for the eventual 38-24 win, though.

In the quarterfinals, Texas blew a 24-8 fourth quarter lead against another heavy underdog in Arizona State, which got 242 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) from running back Cam Skattebo.

The Sun Devils later took a 31-24 lead in overtime and forced Texas into a do-or-die 4th-and-13, but quarterback Quinn Ewers found Matthew Golden for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

In double OT, Ewers found Gunnar Helm for a 25-yard touchdown, and Andrew Mukuba ended the game with an interception.

Texas deserves credit, though. The Longhorns have weathered the storm to advance to the semifinals, and now this battle-tested crew will do battle in its home state. On offense, Texas has eight players with 400 or more scrimmage yards, including running backs Tre Wisner (1,287) and Jaydon Blue (1,023 and a team-high 12 touchdowns).

Ewers has been clutch when called upon en route to his 29 touchdowns, and he’s found great connections with wideout Matthew Golden (936 yards), among others.

The defense has some menaces in Mukuba and Jahdae Barron (both with five interceptions, the latter an All-American) and Anthony Hill Jr. (107 tackles, 16 TFL and four forced fumbles).

Kickoff in AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday. The winner plays Notre Dame in Atlanta for the national title on Jan. 20.