DeShone Kizer had led Notre Dame on a 15-play, 88-yard march that took 6:18, with his 2-yard touchdown run giving the Irish a 36-35 lead with 30 seconds left.
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A 30-point second quarter from the Sooners put any drama to rest.
“He’s a great player”, Irish Wide Receiver Chris Brown said. “We were all excited”.
Hogan threw for 269 yards and calmly led the winning drive in the final 30 seconds for the Cardinal (10-2, No. 9 CFP), who kept their slim playoff hopes alive with the win.
Derrick Henry ran 46 times for 271 yards and Adam Griffith kicked five field goals to propel No. 2 Alabama to the SEC West title with a victory over rival Auburn on Saturday.
And while it was a spectacular performance from Hogan, for much of the night it was a defender he was facing – Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith – who was the best player on the field.
“With Conrad out there, I had no doubt he would make it”, Hogan said.
“Shoot, man. Might as well make it”.
Notre Dame is 7-2 ATS in its last nine visits to Stanford Stadium according to the OddsShark College Football Database. “We want to run the ball, we want to be physical, ground-and-pound style”, Hogan said.
“I don’t know a better quarterback in college football in the two-minute drill”, Shaw said.
“It’s kind of a blur right now”, Cajuste added. I love my team. McCaffrey and the gang can have a big game against an athletic Notre Dame front, but also an Irish team that has surrendered nearly 168 yards on the ground per game to opponents (though they have faced tough running teams in Georgia Tech and Navy).
McCaffrey didn’t have his biggest night, rushing 27 times for 94 yards and catching three passes for 19 yards without much damage on kick returns, but he still set the Pac-12’s single-season all-purpose record, a mark previously held by Reggie Bush.
The former quarterback thought he made a smooth transition to defense.
Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan played well all game long, tearing up the Notre Dame defense.
Notre Dame was able to do that in part because it was winning at the line of scrimmage and was able to effectively run the ball at will, averaging 8.5 yards per carry as it rushed 35 times for 299 yards.
When Kizer dove in from the two-yard line, he accomplished something the Irish hadn’t done all game: score a touchdown from the red zone. The Irish were ranked No. 6 by the Associated Press entering the game. The score that put Notre Dame ahead – a two-yard Kizer run – was not without controversy. Devon Cajuste’s 6 yard touchdown catch gave the Cardinal the lead back near the end of the first, as Notre Dame initially struggled to keep up with Stanford’s physicality.
A first-quarter touchdown pass to Remound Wright on a play-fake from the heavy set was followed by a fade touchdown to Cajuste and a perimeter touchdown pass to senior Michael Rector, who broke a tackle before sprinting into the end zone. On the first play of the 4th quarter Hogan found Austin Hooper for a 10 yard touchdown.
After the kickoff, a fortuitous face-mask penalty on first down moved the ball within 7 yards of midfield.
“I could feel it”, he said. “I’m sitting on a pretty good situation with the quarterbacks that we have coming back”.
I don’t know what can be done to fix these issues, nor do I know whether they’re endemic to some failing of Kelly or just a statistical oddity.
The victory was an emotional one for Hogan, whose late father Jerry was a Notre Dame graduate. Still, given the myriad injuries with which the Domers have had to deal, it’s a minor miracle that they were even in the playoff discussion this late in the season, and a testament to Brian Kelly and his coaching staff.
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“Thanks, coach”, he said. But it didn’t matter to Notre Dame in a strong effort that ultimately went for naught.
