College Football Old School Game of the Week: Irish Overcome 16-Point 4th Quarter Deficit to Knock Off Spartans

Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn would throw for 316 yards and five touchdown passes in the Fighing Irish's 40-37 comeback win over Michigan State.

When thinking of the great teams that Notre Dame football has rivalries with, many college football fans think of Michigan, USC, and even Miami.
But some often overlook the Fighting Irish's rivalry with the Michigan State Spartans, who they have played every year since 1948, which includes their infamous 1966 "Game of the Century" where the Irish ran out the clock instead of going for the win to settle for a 10-10 tie.
One of their most intense and wildly entertaining meetings in this rivalry occurred on a rainy Saturday night in East Lansing as the Fighting Irish looked to gain some revenge against the Spartans.
Notre Dame entered the game ranked #13 in the country, but were coming off a 47-21 shellacking at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines.
The Fighting Irish had entered the 2006 season with national championship expectations under second-year head coach Charlie Weis as they had a high-powered offense that featured quarterback Brady Quinn, who had thrown for nearly 4,000 yards the year before, and 1,000 yard rusher Darius Walker at running back and 1,000 yard receiver Jeff Samardzija.
For the Irish to get back on track, they needed a win in East Lansing as the Spartans entered the game with a 3-0 record under head coach John L. Smith, who entered the 2006 season on the hot seat after back-to-back losing seasons.
But what made this game so anticipated was the game the year before where the Spartans defeated the Irish 44-41 in overtime and then planted a Michigan State flag at the 50-yard-line of Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.
This gesture by the Spartans angered the Irish and their fans as they hoped for payback when the two teams met on September 23rd in East Lansing where the winner would receive the Megaphone Trophy, the trophy which has been given out to the winner of the game since 1949.

Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton accounted for 167 yards of offense(114 passing, 53 rushing) and two touchdowns in the Spartans' heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame.

After the Irish went three-and-out to start the game, the Spartans got the ball at their 27-yard-line and proceeded to drive for the game's first touchdown in just three plays, culminating with a 34-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Stanton to Kerry Reed to put Michigan State ahead 7-0 just 2:45 into the game.
Following another Notre Dame punt, the Spartans' offense only traveled nine yards in five plays before punting the ball away to the Irish as senior punt returner Tom Zbikowski returned the ball 15 yards until he was stripped of the ball by Spartans sophomore cornerback Kendell Davis-Clark, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Michigan State punter Brandon Fields at the 50-yard-line.
Three plays later, Stanton throw a backward pass to wide receiver Matt Trannon, who then threw a deep pass to a wide open Javon Ringer for a 26-yard touchdown to increase the Spartans' lead to 14-0 with 6:49 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Spartans onslaught continued as they forced another three-and-out from the Notre Dame offense then had a 1st down at the Irish 15-yard-line following a 37-yard run by Stanton.
But that is where Notre Dame finally showed signs of life as they held the Spartans to just one more yard, forcing a 32-yard field goal by by Brett Swenson to extend the Michigan State lead to 17-0 with 99 seconds left in the first quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, Notre Dame took over at their 40-yard-line and put together their best drive of the game as Quinn completed three straight passes for 24 yards to drive the Irish to the Michigan State 32-yard-line where Quinn lofted up a pass to left corner of the end zone that was caught by Rhema McKnight to put the Irish on the board and cut the Michigan State lead to 17-7 with 11:07 left in the second quarter.
The touchdown seemed to turn the momentum in the Irish's favor as they forced the Spartans a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 15-yard-line, only to have Quinn be picked off on the second play of the drive by junior defensive end Ervin Baldwin, who returned the pick 19 yards for a touchdown to push the Michigan State lead back to 17 points, 24-7 with 9:04 left before halftime.
The Irish got the ball back at their 28-yard-line and were faced with a 4th-and-1 at their 37-yard-line when Weis decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.
The gamble paid off as Quinn faked a handoff to Walker and found a wide open John Carlson for a 27-yard gain and a 1st down at the Michigan State 36-yard-line.
Then after two runs by Walker for 19 yards, Quinn threw a screw pass to  Samardzija, who then ran in untouched to complete the 17-yard touchdown that helped cut the Spartans lead to 24-14 with 6:45 left in the first half.
The Spartans responded with an eight-play, 59-yard drive with culminated with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Stanton to Reed to push the Spartans' lead back up to 17 points at 31-14 with over 2 minutes left before halftime.
The score would remained 31-14 as the first half came to a close as both teams could not mount a scoring threat on their final possessions of the first half.

Michigan State wide receiver Kerry Reed only caught two passes for 49 yards, but both went for touchdowns.

The Spartans got the ball to start the second half but promptly went three-and-out, punting the ball back to Notre Dame who took over at their 20-yard-line.
After four plays gained 18 yards, Quinn found Carlson wide open again as the senior tight end made the catch at the Michigan State 45-yard-line and then outran the Spartans defense to complete the 62-yard touchdown to bring Notre Dame to within 10 points again at 31-21 with 11:13 left in the third quarter.
The Irish were poised to cut further into the Spartans' lead after forcing a three-and-out and then getting the ball at the Michigan State 41-yard-line following a 26-yard punt by Fields.
But the Irish turned the ball over on downs as Quinn threw an incomplete pass intended for Samardzija on 4th-and-7 at the Spartans' 38-yard-line.
From there, the Spartans ran four straight running plays, with the last one being a 30-yard touchdown run by junior running back Jehuu Caulcrick to push the lead to 37-21 as holder Brett Swanson could not handle the snap on the extra point.
Both teams would exchange punts as the game moved into the fourth quarter when the Irish began a drive at their 20-yard-line as Quinn connected with Carlson for another big gain, this one for 32 yards on the first play of the drive.
But three plays later the Irish were faced with a 4th-and-5 at the Michigan State 43-yard-line when Weis decided to go for it on 4th down for the third time in the game.
Quinn found Samardzija for the 1st down, who then made a Spartan defender miss a tackle at the 35-yard-line and then outran the rest of the Michigan State defense for a 43-yard touchdown to pull the Irish to within 10 points.
Weis decided to go for the two-point conversion in hopes of making it an eight-point game but Walker was stopped on a toss sweep, keeping the score 37-27 with 8:18 left in the fourth quarter.
The Spartans got the ball back at their 20-yard-line and after two runs by Ringer gained only one yard, Stanton ran the ball on 3rd down, only to be stripped of the ball by Notre Dame senior safety Chinedum Ndukwe, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Ndukwe at the Michigan State 24-yard-line with 6:10 left in regulation.
It seemed that Notre Dame was going to waste the opportunity as back-to-back penalties pushed them back 17 yards to the Spartans' 41-yard-line until Samardzija drew a pass interference penalty on a pass intended for him in the end zone, giving the Irish 15 yards and an automatic 1st down at the Michigan State 26-yard-line.

Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija caught seven passes for 113 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Then after connecting with Samardzija for a 12-yard gain, Quinn fired his fifth touchdown pass of the game, a 14-yarder to McKnight that pulled the Irish to within four points with 4:57 to go.
But kicker Carl Giona pulled the extra point wide left, keeping the score 37-33, meaning the Irish could not settle for a field goal for their next score as they would have to get a touchdown to take the lead.
The Spartans began their next drive backed up at their 12-yard-line, hoping to put together some 1st downs and run out the clock.
Ringer picked up seven yards on 1st down, which was followed by a run by Stanton for no gain, setting up a 3rd-and-3 at the 19-yard-line.
That is when Stanton dropped back to pass and lofted a pass that was intercepted by Notre Dame junior defensive back Terrail Lambert, who proceeded to weave through the Michigan State offense for a pick-six as his 27-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Notre Dame its first lead of the game at 40-37, after Giona's extra point, with 2:53 left in regulation as the Irish had scored three touchdowns in 5:25.
The Spartans got the ball back at their 23-yard-line with a chance to save themselves and either tie the game or drive for the winning score.
Stanton hit Trannon for a 13-yard gain on 3rd-and-6 from the 27-yard-line, then ran for seven yards on a quarterback option on 4th-and-1 to put Michigan State at the Notre Dame 42-yard-line with 32 seconds left.
But on the very next play, Stanton was intercepeted by Lambert again, ending the Spartans' chances and giving the Irish a remarkable 40-37 comeback win.
The Spartans never recovered from the meltdown against Notre Dame as they only won one game the rest of the season, which ironically is the greatest comeback in college football history as they overcame a 35-point deficit to defeat Northwestern 41-38, to finish the season with a 4-8 record, which led to the firing of Smith as head coach.
He was replaced by Mark Dantonio, who has since led the Spartans to great heights as Michigan State as they have won two Big Ten titles, a win in the 2014 Rose Bowl against Stanford, and a trip to the 2015 College Football Playoff.
As for the Irish, their comeback against the Spartans sparked a seven-game winning streak that helped earn a second straight trip to a BCS Bowl game, only to be blown out by LSU 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl to finish the season with a 10-3 record.
But Weis and the Irish could not find the success they had during his first two seasons as Notre Dame went 16-21 the following three seasons, leading to Weis' firing after the 2009 season and hiring Brian Kelly as head coach, who led the Irish to an undefeated regular season in 2012 and a trip to the National Championship Game.
As for Quinn, he would end finish the 2006 season with 3,426 yards and 37 touchdown passes, as he would wrap up his career in South Bend as the all-time leader in passing yards with 11, 762 and touchdown passes with 95 along with 18 other school records.
Quinn would bounce around the NFL for the next seven years before going into the broadcast booth as he now serves as a analyst for FOX's college football coverage.