It flickered on, a bright light in the distance, despite injuries and underwhelming wins.
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The next Notre Dame drive ran into the 2nd quarter and they had to settle for a 26-yard field goal to make it a 14-10 game, the first of many times they’d struggle in the red zone. An innocent 1-yard run by quarterback Kevin Hogan turned into a 16-yard gain when Isaac Rochell was found guilty of a face-mask penalty that cost the Irish 15 yards. Stanford Cardinal rank at 24 for 235.5 road rushing yards where as Notre Dame Fighting Irish rank at 39 for allowing 144.3 rushing yards at home. Shaw refused to call a timeout to preserve time when (or if) Stanford got the ball back, be it a stop or an Irish score.
As for Notre Dame, both losses came by a combined four points away from home.
No time remaining. No hope remaining. “It’s a culmination of the game, and the reality is, we’re two plays away from being the No. 1 team in the country – one play at Clemson and one play here at Stanford”. Replay officials did not reverse it, and it actually helped Stanford, saving precious seconds on the clock for the Cardinal. “I had so much fun tonight playing with my team…” I’d put this team up against anybody in the country. We asked him to get stronger and be a better blocker.
But Notre Dame would’ve only had itself to blame for missing the playoff at 11-1. “This is the best moment ever”, said fifth-year senior wide receiver Devon Cajuste about the conversation in the huddle.
Where is the Notre Dame game being played today? “That’s why I love this team”.
“I’m completely blank inside”, said Kizer, who with 30 seconds left tied the score on a 2-yard run before Justin Yoon’s go-ahead extra point gave the Irish a 36-35 lead. The truth of the matter is that Notre Dame suffered an enormous amount of injuries this year and the backups played well.
Josh Adams was great, too.
The celebration, however, was short-lived.
There was no bullfighter defense when the Irish were knocking on Stanford’s door on their final drive.
“I mean, who wouldn’t want that guy back next year?”
A week after striking out in an ugly win in Fenway Park, Kizer had to wait – and wait – to earn a shot at redemption.
“And at some point, it was going to come down to making a play to win”. After Sanders’ sudden burst, during another enemy advance, he tossed passes and stretched his dusty arm. Notre Dame is loaded with talent, and even if and even after some of this years stars move on to the National Football League, the next team- team 128 will have a fighting chance at the next mission.
Adam Griffith kicked an Iron Bowl-record and career-high five field goals, including four in a touchdown-free first half as the Crimson Tide led 12-6 at the break.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 40, NO. 22 UCLA 21: Cody Kessler threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and Southern California won the Pac-12 South title with a victory over UCLA. The nation’s most versatile threat is averaging 255.2 all-purpose yards per game and is a threat as a runner, receiver and returner.
Jordan Thomas intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown for the Sooners.
But it wasn’t the end of the scoring.
After finishing five points and two plays shy of a ideal 12-0 football season, Notre Dame – in large part – can only look at freshman quarterback DeShone Kizer as the reason for that.
Asked what he would say on Stanford’s behalf to influence the playoff committee, Hogan responded, “Because we went 8-1 in the toughest conference in America”. And I couldn’t see myself being anywhere else in college.
Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback J.T. Barrett added 139 yards on the ground, 113 yards passing and four total touchdowns.
The Notre Dame offense gave Stanford fits much of the game, prompting senior inside linebacker and team captain Blake Martinez to rally his group on the sideline.
The former quarterback thought he made a smooth transition to defense. Kizer lost a fumble that halted a drive at the end of the opening half.
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“It’s never about one series or one play”, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said.
