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under the dome Close Encounters like no other The 2012 Notre Dame team prevailed in tight games The Irish came out on top in several fantastic finishes last season, including a game-clinching goal-line stand in a 20-13 overtime triumph over Stanford. photo by bill panzica By Lou Somogyi otre Dame's 2012 football regular season might be viewed as one of those once-in-a-generation — if not lifetime — campaigns where all the stars seemed to be aligned perfectly, every bounce went its way, and each white-knuckle, nail-biting game ended in victory for the Fighting Irish. Indeed, the 12-0 regular season was highlighted by an unblemished 5-0 record in games decided by seven or fewer points — the first time in the program's 125-year history it achieved such a feat. The close-call victory parade began in the second week, a 20-17 win versus Purdue when No. 2 quarterback Tommy Rees replaced an injured Everett Golson and directed a 55-yard drive that set up Kyle Brin- N dza's game-winning 27-yard field goal with seven seconds left. It continued with pulsating triumphs against Michigan (13-6), Stanford (20-13 in overtime), BYU (17-14) and, most notably, Pitt (29-26 in triple-overtime). Those were hardly the lone late-game dramatics in 2012. The game at Oklahoma was knotted at 13-13 with less than six minutes remaining in the final quarter before a late flurry propelled Notre Dame to its 30-13 victory. At USC in the season finale, the Irish led 2213, but the Trojans had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 2:33 remaining. Notre Dame made the stops, ending USC's upset bid. It was a season of reversals when it came to producing victories in crunch time: • In head coach Brian Kelly's first two years at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish were 5-6 in games decided by seven or fewer points. They were 5-0 in his third year. • Entering the 2012 campaign, Notre Dame was a dismal 3-8 in overtime contests since 1996, the year the NCAA implemented the extra session(s) to break ties. In 2013, Notre Dame was 2-0, winning more than once in overtime in the same season for the first time. • In 2011, Notre Dame committed 19 turnovers in its five defeats while its opponent had only six, a minus-13 deficit. In the five games decided by seven points or less in 2012, Notre Dame had 10 turnovers to the opponents' 12 (six by Michigan), a plus-two advantage. 4 ✦ blue & gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview 4-6,8,10-17.Under The Dome.indd 4 6/25/13 4:50 PM