Notre Dame football relied on defense and the legs of Riley Leonard to keep their season alive on Jan. 2. The Fighting Irish are now positioned to clinch their first national championship game appearance since the 2012 season. Penn State is now on deck in the Orange Bowl, with the Nittany Lions also looking to end their title drought.

The quarterback Leonard delivered one of his worst passing performances of the season against Georgia. He settled for a season-low 90 yards in the Sugar Bowl. But he produced one his best outings as a runner — accumulating 80 yards on the Bulldogs. His physical and determined running powered the 23-10 victory in New Orleans.

Notre Dame needs more than Leonard's legs to will the Irish past PSU. Leonard also will need to avoid a similar passing yardage outing from the quarterfinals matchup for ND to advance. The senior QB plays an integral role for the Irish's chances to advance past the semifinals down in Miami.

Except he's not the biggest x-factor on Notre Dame's side. That title belongs to one of the other breakout stars from that Sugar Bowl romp.

Junior Tuihalamaka, not Riley Leonard, is Notre Dame's x-factor

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka (44) celebrates after a sack against Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) during the second half at Caesars Superdome.
Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Leonard raised his mobility another level. But Junior Tuihalamaka simply elevated his entire game another notch down in the trenches.

Georgia had trouble containing the powerful 6-foot-2, 256-pound ball of fury. He's the reason Gunner Stockton spent his afternoon running for his life.

The Granada Hills, California native snatched one sack of the Georgia backup QB. But that's not all from the junior defender. Tuihalamaka grabbed three solo tackles and pounced on a loose football for the fumble recovery.

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Notre Dame thrashed Georgia in the trenches. Watching No. 44 create havoc emerged as a big reason behind the Irish's onslaught at the line of scrimmage.

Tuihalamaka can set the tone for Notre Dame defense

Tuihalamaka's edge pursuits ignited the ND sideline and the Irish fans who flocked to the Superdome.

That fiery play is what ND needs to rattle an explosive Penn State offense. The Nittany Lions are walking in averaging 436.3 yards per game — ranking them third among a loaded group of Big 10 Conference teams. Penn State also ranked fourth with scoring 33.7 points per contest. And the Lions have already dropped 38 and 31 to SMU and Boise State, respectively, in the playoffs.

But this PSU offense featuring quarterback Drew Allar, plus his dynamic two-headed monster at running back Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, is facing one of the best defenses in the nation. Notre Dame is allowing only 13.6 points per game — second best among teams at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

This Orange Bowl contest is capable of ending in a defensive slugfest. But Tuihalamaka has risen on the Irish's depth chart in recent weeks. He just exploded on one of the favorites to win the national title. He's also grabbed a combined six tackles against nationally ranked foes Indiana and Army.

Notre Dame needs to get after the passer. Tuihalamaka is now the x-factor to perform just that — and help keep Notre Dame's national title hopes alive.