Riley Leonard has Notre Dame on the cusp of its first national championship in 36 years. A former star at Fairhope High School near Mobile, Leonard quarterbacked the Fighting Irish to a 27-24 victory over Penn State in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game on Thursday night.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish extended their fine form of the ongoing season in the recently concluded Orange Bowl, registering a win by a narrow margin against the Penn State Nittany Lions. However,

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard briefly went out of the game, then returned to find the end zone in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State on Thursday night at the Orange Bowl.