Stanford topples Notre Dame on field goal as time expires

“To have the opportunity to go down and finish the game with the ball on our hands”. The play was ruled a touchdown on the field, but replay appeared to show Kizer’s knee hitting the turf just before the ball crossed the plane.

“For us to come up short of our goal is very disappointing, but man am I proud to be a part of this”, Kizer said.

Leading by 10 going to halftime, 20-10, Michigan State took firm control of the game right out of the halftime break by driving right down the field on Penn State for an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to build a 27-10 lead.

“I looked at (holder Dallas Lloyd) and said, ‘Shoot, we might as well just make it”, said Ukropina, a former walk-on. Yeah, this hurts. I wish we could have had a different outcome…. Both of Notre Dame’s losses were by two points.

No time remaining. No hope remaining.

“We exchanged pleasantries there that only the coach and quarterback can”, said Stanford coach David Shaw.

The quarterback might be done playing down on The Farm, but he still has football left in one of the greatest careers in program history, as he reminded Shaw on Saturday. Kizer lost a fumble that halted a drive at the end of the opening half. Stanford needs to beat Southern California in the Pac-12 Conference championship game next week and then get help in the other title games to make the four-team college football playoff. “One play at Clemson and one play here at Stanford”.

How else can you explain it?

Josh Adams, the lightly-recruited true freshman running back, rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown against Stanford to give him four games with at least 130 yards in his first collegiate season.

Hints were there all along though. The Spartans will play for the Big Ten championship after wrapping up the Big Ten East Division on its home field with a convincing victory over Penn State (7-5, 4-4 Big Ten) Saturday in East Lansing, 55-16.

“Now, once we go back and evaluate how the last couple games have been in the red zone, we’re going to try to put together a better plan to try to end up with six points at the end of the drive rather than three”.

According to oddsmakers from online sports book Mybookie.ag, the Cardinal opened as a 2-point home underdog but the line has jumped the fence and now the Irish is a 3.5-point underdog. Hogan connected on a 27-yard pass to Devon Cajuste to get Stanford in field goal range.

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. Perhaps it died in Death Valley, or in Fenway Park, or in some leather clad room with massive egos in Texas last week, or perhaps the death of that dream just happened in Palo Alto with a swift kick to the ass. “I’m still smiling from it”.

“Thanks Coach”, Hogan said. 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. I feel like I’m really, really back now.’ And it showed in practice.

However, Stanford (10-2) still had three timeouts left after Notre Dame scored and used those to orchestrate the drive which ended in the game winning field goal. Students poured onto the field and surrounded Ukropina and other players.

If you’re the kind of fan who craves chaos, familiarize yourself with the two-deeps of Florida and North Carolina. “He’s done a phenomenal job and he’s become one of the best kickers in the nation”.

Ukropina’s ensuing no-doubter made sure that Stanford’s seniors didn’t walk out the tunnel for the final time with the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths and made sure that Stanford didn’t put to waste titanic efforts from Hogan and Cajuste that were still barely enough to hold back an injured yet supremely talented Notre Dame squad.