22 FEBRUARY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED
BY TYLER HORKA
I
t all seemed to be going to plan.
Notre Dame's offense supplied
more fireworks than the pregame
national anthem production in-
side State Farm Stadium. Notre Dame's
defense made sure the Oklahoma State
offense didn't do the same.
The Fighting Irish were flat out roll-
ing in Marcus Freeman's debut as head
coach in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
Everything was working.
Until they weren't. Until it wasn't.
Freeman's group got out to a 21-point
lead near the end of the first half. Grad-
uate student quarterback Jack Coan
threw for 342 yards and four touch-
downs in the game's first 30 minutes.
From the last minute of the first half,
though, it was all Oklahoma State. The
Cowboys scored 30 straight points to
spoil the inauguration of the Freeman
era in a 37-35 defeat of Notre Dame.
"We obviously didn't finish with the
outcome we wanted, and we're disap-
pointed," Freeman said after the game.
COOLED IN THE DESERT
Notre Dame goes cold in the second half
and allows Oklahoma State to rally
from a 21-point deficit in a 37-35 Fiesta Bowl loss
