Stanford shocks Notre Dame on last-second field goal

“They were playing max prevent with three or four guys rushing”, Hogan said.

“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”. Or Stanford going 45 yards in five plays and 30 seconds to beat the Irish at the buzzer? “It’s the same kick we’ve done 100 times in practice”. “I hope there are more big ones and I can capitalize on them as well”.

“They scored late at the end”.

For his efforts on an emotional Senior Night against the team he supported with his late father growing up, Hogan was awarded the game ball and got a heartfelt and emotional congratulations from head coach David Shaw after the game was over.

North Carolina 45, N.C. State 34 – The No. 11 Tar Heels (11-1, 8-0 ACC) rang up 35 points in the first quarter in Raleigh, N.C., to tie the program’s single-quarter scoring record, and the Wolfpack (7-5, 3-5) couldn’t catch up.

Indeed, the Cardinal (10-2), ranked No. 13 by A.P. and No. 9 by the playoff committee, moves to the Pac-12 Championship Game next Saturday at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium against the Trojans.

What a thriller in Palo Alto.

How else can you explain it?

It starts with the fact that the Irish went into Saturday’s game against Stanford by starting a quarterback (DeShone Kizer) and a running back (Josh Adams) who were No. 3 on the depth chart and still in high school, respectively, when the Irish were completing spring practice last April.

Hints were there all along though. Kizer replaced injured starter Malik Zaire in the second week at Virginia and immediately showed his playmaking skills in leading Notre Dame to a last-minute victory. A Florida victory next week would likely leave the SEC out of the playoff.

“We truly thought that we were one of the best teams in the country”, Kizer said.

Sanders finished the contest with 190 return yards and notched his second return touchdown of the season (his first came on a punt return versus UMass Sept. 26). Notre Dame’s failure to execute zone drops and to close on the ball proved costly.

Hogan threw an incomplete pass and then, somehow, found Devon Cajuste for a big 27-yard completion. “I kind of called it”.

“I could feel it”, he said. “I just think he’s really confident”.

“Heisman, whatever those awards, they’re all great”, Shaw said.

McCaffrey’s two-yard run set up Ukropina’s winning field goal.

Students stormed the field and helped Ukropina’s teammates hoist him into the air.

“You’re talking about a young man who’s been through a lot”. “He’s done a phenomenal job and he’s become one of the best kickers in the nation”.

To find out how to watch the Notre Dame vs. Stanford College Football Playoff qualification elimination game live online, see the streaming link in the final paragraph of this article.

“They have an unbelievable defense and some unbelievable players and when they’re stacking the box it makes it’s tough to run”, he said.

But the difference in the game was that Notre Dame couldn’t convert when it needed to most, and Stanford did: The Irish had to settle for field goals on their first three red-zone trips, while Stanford scored touchdowns on all five of its own forays into the red zone.

Martinez collected a team-high 12 tackles, 10 solo.

All of this may not get you a parade at Notre Dame Stadium, but it sure as heck is something to appreciate.

“My parents ran on”, Martinez said. They beat the teams they were supposed to beat. “I’ve never been bombarded with so many people trying to take pictures”.

Cajuste, a senior, played perhaps the finest game of his career. However, the Cardinal came roaring back down the field and Conrad Ukopina struck a field goal as the clock struck zeros.

I suppose in a 2 point loss, that’s a fairly easy assessment, but it doesn’t water down the truth.