College Football Old School Game of the Week: Notre Dame Remains Unbeaten Thanks to Overtime Goalline Stand

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o meets Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor at the goal line at the end of the 2012 matchup between the Irish and the Cardinal.

 There are moments during a football season when fans realize that this could be a special season.

For the fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, that moment came during the end of their game against the Stanford Cardinal where the Notre Dame defense put together a goal line stand for the ages.

The Irish came into the game ranked #7 in the country with a 5-0 record thanks in large part to their defense which led by middle linebacker Manti Te'o had given up just 39 points up to this point in the season and had not given up a touchdown in their previous three games.

On offense, the Irish were led by quarterback Everett Golson who been named the starting quarterback by head coach Brian Kelly before the season as Tommy Rees, the team's starting quarterback from the previous season, had been suspended for the first game of the season after an offseason arrest at an off campus party.

Golson and the Irish looked to remain unbeaten as they hosted the #17 ranked Stanford Cardinal from the Pac-12 who came into the game with a 4-1 record having just come off a 54-48 overtime win over Arizona the previous week.

Stanford was led by second-year head coach David Shaw, who had taken over as head coach of the Cardinal after Jim Harbaugh left to become the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers before the 2011 season.

Shaw's first year was successful as the Cardinal went 11-2 to finish the season #7 ranked in the country as Stanford played in its second straight BCS Bowl game.

But for 2012, the Cardinal would have to rely on a new quarterback as Andrew Luck, the team's starting quarterback for the previous three seasons had also left for the NFL as he was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

Josh Nunes had been given the difficult task of taking over for Luck as he helped Stanford knock off #2 USC three weeks earlier as the Cardinal hoped he could lead Stanford to an upset of Notre Dame on a rainy Saturday in South Bend.

 After the Cardinal went three-and-out to start the game, the Irish got the ball at their 25-yard-line and proceeded to drive to the Stanford 49-yard-line until quarterback Everett Golson fumbled the snap from center as Stanford defensive back Usua Amanam recovered the ball at the Notre Dame 47-yard-line.

A 14-yard pass from Nunes to tight end Zach Ertz and three running plays that totaled 13 yards put Stanford at the Irish 20-yard-line when Nunes lofted a pass intended for wide receiver Kodi Whitfield only to have it intercepted by Irish cornerback Bennett Jackson to give the ball back to Notre Dame at their one-yard-line.

The two teams would trade punts until late in the first quarter when Irish defensive back Matthias Farley picked off a Nunes pass and returned it 49 yards to the Stanford 16-yard-line to help set up a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Brindza to give Notre Dame a 3-0 lead with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Cardinal would begin their next possession at their 25-yard-line as it appeared to go three-and-out as Nunes threw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 10 only for Irish defensive tackle Stephen Tuitt get called for roughing the passer to give Stanford a 1st down at its 40-yard-line.

A 22-yard pass from Nunes to Ertz would help the Cardinal drive down to the Notre Dame eight-yard-line to set up a 25-yard field goal attempt by Jordan Williamson when Tuitt made up for his mistake earlier in the drive as he would block the kick to keep the score at 3-0 in favor of the Irish with 9:46 left in the second quarter.

Manti Te'o would finish the game with a game high 11 tackles.

After another exchange of punts, the Irish got the ball back at their 10-yard-line as a quarterback sack and an incomplete pass would bring up 3rd & 16 when disaster struck as Golson was hit in the end zone by Stanford defensive end Ben Gardner to cause a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Chase Thomas for a touchdown to give the Cardinal a 7-3 lead with 6:06 to go in the second quarter.

The Irish would get the ball back at their 13-yard-line as they quickly drove into Stanford territory as running back Theo Riddick would run for 12 yards to start the drive which was followed by a 20-yard pass from Golson to wide receiver T.J. Jones and then a 23-yard run by Golson to put Notre Dame at the Cardinal 32-yard-line.

Six plays later, the Irish would bring on Brindza to attempt a 27-yard field goal but a bad snap would force the Irish to abandon the field goal attempt and give Stanford the ball back at its 26-yard-line with 1:34 left before halftime.

The Cardinal would go into their hurry-up offense as Nunes would complete four of five passes for 41 yards on a drive which would end with a 48-yard field goal by Williamson as time expired in the first half with Stanford ahead 10-3.

The defenses would dominate the early part of the third quarter as both teams would go three-and-out on their first two possessions of the second half until the Irish used their running game to drive from their 13-yard-line to the Stanford 37-yard-line when Golson took off and run for 20 yards until he was hit by Cardinal cornerback Alex Carter to jar the ball loose as Gardner would make the recovery to give Stanford the ball at its 17-yard-line.

The Irish defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball at their 48-yard-line as a 23-yard pass from Golson to Riddick would help Notre Dame drive to the Stanford 16-yard-line until a pair of false start penalties on right guard Mike Golic Jr pushed them back 10 yards.

A pair of runs which gained only two yards would set up 3rd & 18 when Golson connected with tight end Tyler Eifert for a 24-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter that with the extra point tied the game at 10.

The Cardinal would begin its next possession at their 25-yard-line as they would drive down the field on the right arm of Nunes who would complete four of six passes for 52 yards on a 16-play, 68-yard drive that took over eight minutes off the clock and culminated with a 27-yard field goal by Williamson to give Stanford a 13-10 lead with 6:12 remaining in regulation.

The Irish would get the ball back at their 16-yard-line as running back Cierre Wood would carry the ball three straight times, picking up 23 yards to set up 3rd & 4 when Golson found Jones for 14 yards to give Notre Dame a 1st down at the Stanford 47-yard-line.

An illegal block penalty would push the Irish back to their 47-yard-line when Golson was struck with a helmet-to-helmet hit by Amanam at the end of a four-yard run to draw a 15-yard penalty and give Notre Dame a 1st down at the Stanford 34-yard-line.

However, Golson would have to leave the game with a concussion as Rees would come on to replace Golson with 3:24 left in regulation and the Irish needing at least a field goal.

A run for no gain and a false start penalty would push the Irish back five yards to set up 2nd & 15 when Rees connected with Eifert to bring up 3rd & 4 when Rees try to hit the tight end again only for Cardinal cornerback Terrence Brown get called for pass interference to give Notre Dame a 1st down at the Stanford 13-yard-line.

From there, the Irish kept the ball on the ground as Wood would run for three yards followed by a five-yard run by Riddick on 2nd down to set up 3rd & 2 when Riddick was stopped for no gain to bring up 4th & 2 as Kelly would send in the field goal unit to try and tie the game.

Brindza would come to kick a 22-yard field goal to tie the game at 13 with 20 seconds left in regulation as Stanford would take a knee to run out the clock and send the game into overtime as the Cardinal would win the overtime coin toss and elected to play defense to start the extra period.

Tommy Rees would complete all four of his passes for 43 yards in relief of Everett Golson.

Things got off to an auspicious start for the Irish as Rees would be sacked by Stanford linebacker Trent Murphy for a seven-yard loss to force a 2nd & 17 from the Cardinal 32-yard-line.

However, Rees would recover as he would complete a nine-yard pass to wide receiver DaVaris Daniels to set up 3rd & 8 when Rees hit Reddick for 16 yards and a 1st down at the Stanford seven-yard-line.

That is when Rees found Jones for a seven-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave Notre Dame a 20-13 lead as its defense would come onto the field hoping to keep the Cardinal out of the end zone and ending the game.

Much like Notre Dame, the Stanford offense would go backwards on its first play of their overtime possession as running back Stepfan Taylor would be dropped for a five-yard loss to set up 2nd & 15 when Nunes would scramble for 13 yards which was followed by a 13-yard run by Taylor to give the Cardinal a 1st & goal at the Irish four-yard-line.

Two more runs by Taylor for three yards would bring up 3rd & goal from the one-yard-line when Taylor was stopped for no gain to bring up a do-or-die 4th & goal when the Cardinal went back to Taylor one more time to get into the end zone and extend the game.

But Taylor would be stopped once again as Jackson and linebacker Carlo Calabarese would stop his progress as Notre Dame came away with the 20-13 victory, though Stanford believed that Taylor had gotten into the end zone after his initial progress had been stopped but to no avail.

While the loss would drop them from #17 to #22 in the polls, the Cardinal would recover as they would not lose another game for the rest of the season as they would go on an eight-game winning streak which included a 17-14 overtime win over 10-0 Oregon, a 27-24 win over UCLA in the Pac 12 Championship Game and a 20-14 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl as Stanford would finish the season with a 12-2 record.

As for the Irish, they would ride their defense to an undefeated regular season which included in another memorable goal line stand in their regular season finale against USC which resulted in a 22-13 win to clinch a spot in the BCS National Championship Game as Te'o would finish second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

However, the Irish would get steamrolled by Alabama as the Crimson Tide won 42-14 to give the Tide its second straight national championship and third in four years.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Tech Stuns FSU With The "Miracle on Techwood Drive"

 

Lance Austin begins to celebrate after completing the "Miracle on Techwood Avenue" in 2015.

In the middle of Atlanta, Georgia lays Bobby Dodd Stadium, the home football stadium for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets located at the intersection of Tenth Avenue and Techwood Drive.

In 2008 a miracle occurred there as the Yellow Jackets stunned the Florida State Seminoles 31-28 when the Seminoles fumbled the football near the goal line while driving for a potential game-winning touchdown in the final seconds, which was dubbed the "Miracle at North Avenue".

Seven years later, another miracle would occur at Bobby Dodd Stadium which would be known as the "Miracle at Techwood Drive" as the Yellow Jackets once again hosted the Seminoles in another key ACC contest.

The Seminoles came into the game ranked #9 in the country with a 6-0 record under head coach Jimbo Fisher, who had taken over for Bobby Bowden following his retirement in 2009 and led the Noles to the 2013 national championship and a berth in the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff in 2014.

The Noles were led on the field by quarterback Everett Golson, who had transferred from Notre Dame, and running back Dalvin Cook who had run for 955 yards in the first six games of the 2015 season as FSU traveled to Atlanta with the Noles hoping to notch their 30th straight ACC win.

While the Noles were looking to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Yellow Jackets were looking to turn around their 2015 season as they came into the game on a four-game losing streak and a 2-4 record, just a season removed from a 11-3 season in 2014 in which the Yellow Jackets defeated their arch rivals, the Georgia Bulldogs for the first time since 2008 and finished the season with a 49-34 win over Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl.

Led by head coach Paul Johnson and his triple option offense, the Yellow Jackets hoped to defeat the Seminoles for the first time since 2009.

 After the Noles went three-and-out to start the game, the Yellow Jackets would get the ball at their 16-yard-line as four straight running plays gained 19 yards until Thomas put the ball in the air as his first pass was caught by Mikell Lands-Davis but lost a yard to set up 3rd & 7 when FSU defensive end Josh Sweat picked off a Thomas pass and returned it six yards to give the Seminoles the ball at the Georgia Tech 19-yard-line.

Cook would run for 17 yards on the first play of the drive to give FSU a 1st & goal at the two-yard-line only for the Yellow Jackets defense to not allow another yard on the next three plays, forcing the Noles to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Roberto Aguayo to give Florida State a 3-0 lead midday through the first quarter.

The Yellow Jackets would respond on their next possession as they ran the ball seven straight times picking up 39 yards until an incomplete pass on 3rd & 6 would lead Johnson to call on Harrison Butker to come on and attempt a 53-yard field goal which he made to tie the game at 3 with 2:38 left in the first quarter.

Following a Florida State punt, the Yellow Jackets would get the ball back at their 25-yard line as four straight running plays would gain 19 yards until Thomas would try to get the first down on 3rd & 5 with a pass, only to have Seminoles defensive back Lamarcus Brutus intercept the pass and return it 57 yards to the Georgia Tech two-yard-line.

It would only take the Noles one play to get into the end zone as Cook punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to give Florida State a 10-3 lead with 11:46 to go in the second quarter.

FSU running back Dalvin Cook ran for 82 yards on 17 carries and caught four passes for 50 yards.

The Noles would force a Georgia Tech punt on its next possession to get the ball back at their 24-yard-line as Golson would complete passes of 22 yards to Kermit Whitfield and 20 yards to Travis Rudolph on a 10-play, 66-yard drive which ended with a 27-yard field goal by Aguayo to increase FSU's lead to 13-3 with 4:18 left in the second quarter.

An illegal block on the ensuing kickoff would force the Yellow Jackets to start their next possession at their six-yard-line as Isiah Willis was dropped for a three-yard loss on 1st down to make it 2nd & 13 at the three-yard-line when Thomas would complete a 33-yard pass to Ricky Jeune to give Tech a 1st down at its 36-yard-line.

Then after a four-yard run by Marcus Marshall on 1st down, Thomas would keep the ball on a quarterback option around the right side and run it for a 60-yard touchdown to cut the Seminoles' lead to 13-10 with 2:22 left before halftime.

The Noles would come back with a nine-play, 54-yard which saw Golson completing five of six passes for 50 yards on the drive which culminated with a 38-yard field goal by Aguayo on the final play of the first half to extend Florida State' s lead to 16-10 after the first 30 minutes.

Tech would get the ball to start the second half as the Yellow Jackets would keep it on the ground for the first nine plays of the drive as they drove from their 25-yard-line to the FSU 23-yard-line until an incomplete pass on 3rd & 8 would bring up another field goal attempt for Butker, this one from 40 yards out which was successful to get cut the Seminoles' lead to 16-13 with 8:27 left in the third quarter.

After a Florida State punt, the Yellow Jackets would drive from their 14-yard-line to the Florida State 28-yard-line with nine straight running plays to end the third quarter as the fourth quarter would begin with Tech facing a 3rd & 11.

That is when Sweat made his second big play of the game as he sacked Thomas for an 11-yard-loss to push the Yellow Jackets out of field goal range and force Tech to punt the ball back to the Seminoles whose next possession would begin at their 26-yard-line.

The Noles would drive down to the Yellow Jackets' 10-yard-line until Golson was intercepted when a pass was tipped and landed in the arms of Tech defensive back Jamal Golden in the end zone for a touchback as Tech would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line.

Following an exchange of punts, the Yellow Jackets got the ball at their 37-yard-line with 4:25 left in regulation and needing a field goal to tie the game.

Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas ran for 88 yards on 13 carries and completed four of 10 passes for 67 yards.

Three plays netted only four yards to force a 4th & 6 when the Yellow Jackets went for the 1st down which they got as Thomas completed a 36-yard pass to Brad Stewart to give Tech a 1st down at the Seminoles' 23-yard-line easily in field goal range.

Three straight runs would pick up five more yards to set up 4th & 5 when Butker was called on to attempt a 35-yard field goal that would tie the game.

Butker's kick would sail through the uprights to tie the game at 16 with 54 seconds left in regulation as the Noles would start their next possession at their 25-yard-line with two timeouts in their pocket and enough time to drive for a potential game-winning field goal.

Two runs by Cook picked up 11 yards to give FSU a 1st down at its 36-yard-line as Golson would complete a 22-yard pass to Cook to put the Noles in Georgia Tech territory with a 1st down at the Yellow Jackets' 42-yard-line.

A false start penalty would push the Noles back five yards to the Tech 47-yard-line as Golson would find Jesus Wilson for nine yards as the clock wound down to six seconds as Fisher sent in the field goal unit as Aguayo would attempt a 56-yard field goal that would allow FSU to escape with the win.

The kick never had a chance as Georgia Tech defensive tackle Patrick Gamble blocked the kick as the ball would bounce forward to the Yellow Jackets' 22-yard-line until it was picked up by defensive back Lance Austin, who turned to his left and ran down the sidelines then avoided Aguayo's tackle attempt at the FSU 15-yard-line as Austin took it into the end zone for the 78-yard touchdown as time expired to give Tech the shocking 22-16 win.

The "Miracle on Techwood Drive" ended Florida State's 29-game winning streak against ACC opponents as the Noles would finish the regular season with a 10-2 record as the Noles would earn a trip in the Peach Bowl where they would be upset by the Houston Cougars to finish the season with a 10-3 record

and #14 ranking in the final AP and Coaches polls.

As for the Yellow Jackets, the win over Florida State would be the high point of the 2015 season as they would lose their remaining four games of the season to finish with a 3-9 record, the worst season during Johnson's 11-year tenure as the Georgia Tech head coach.

The Yellow Jackets would rebound the following season with a 9-4 record which included a 28-27 win over the University of Georgia which featured another big play by Austin as he intercepted a pass to set up the game-winning touchdown, a six-yard run by Qua Searcy with 30 seconds left in the game.