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Notre Dame star quarterback Riley Leonard returned in the third quarter of the Orange Bowl on Thursday after entering concussion protocol late the first half following a big hit. Leonard’s brief absence injected some uncertainty for the 7-seed Fighting Irish in their College Football Playoff semifinal battle with 6-seed Penn State.
Riley immediately made his presence felt upon his return, leading Notre Dame on an eight-play, 75-yard drive that he capped on his own with a 3-yard rushing touchdown.
Leonard initially tried to re-enter the game before backup Steve Angeli took his place and led a drive that ended with a 41-yard Mitch Jeter field goal that brought the Fighting Irish within 10-3 as time expired in the first half. Upon returning to begin the second half, Leonard immediately led a 75-yard touchdown drive that he capped with a 3-yard run.
The issue that forced Leonard into concussion protocol appeared to occur when 305-pound Penn State defensive tackle Dvon J’Thomas drove Leonard into the ground as he fired an incompletion. His exit came as the Fighting Irish trailed 10-0 and were dealing with injury-related loss of two starting offensive linemen.
Angeli provided a spark in Leonard’s place by completing 6 of 7 passes for 44 yards as the Fighting Irish moved into position for their first points of the game. Entering the game with 19 career appearances, Angeli had completed 52 of 72 passes with 10 touchdowns and just one interception. The most substantive action of his career came in the Sun Bowl last season when he threw three touchdowns in Notre Dame’s Sun Bowl win over Oregon State.
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