Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/393046
BY DOUGLAS FARMER T hrough 59 minutes against Stan- ford, senior tight end Ben Koy- ack had made one run-of-the- mill catch for a five-yard gain and a first down. Quarterback Everett Golson had tar- geted his classmate only twice. But with 61 seconds remaining, Golson looked for him once more. Koyack made the most of the opportunity, us- ing his 6-5, 254-pound frame to toe the sideline and pull in a 23-yard touch- down that gave No. 9 Notre Dame (5- 0) a 17-14 victory over No. 14 Stanford (3-2). "Don't drop it," Koyack said of his thoughts as the pass seemed to pause in the air prior to reaching him. "I knew how long the ball was in the air and where I was at. I knew there was at least one or two guys coming there. So it was just focus on it. Obviously, there was no reason to take my eyes off it." Sure enough, two defenders hit Koyack, hoping to either knock him out of bounds before he had posses- sion of the ball or prevent him from making the catch entirely. After a brief official review, the big play was con- firmed. "I remember the roar after," Koyack said. "But I don't remember anything while the ball was in the air." In a game rife with offensive mis- takes, miscues and mishaps, the Irish committed two turnovers — a fumble and an interception by Golson, who finished only 20-of-43 passing for 241 yards. Six times Notre Dame was forced to punt, tying a season high. Only four Irish drives covered more than 33 yards, the first of which ended at the Stanford 6-yard line on Golson's interception. Golson's fumble occurred on a de- signed first-down run at the Irish 10- yard line with 4:41 to go in the first quarter, when Stanford cornerback Ronnie Harris knocked the ball loose with a textbook hit. It took the Cardi- nal just two plays to go 12 yards and make it 7-0, with quarterback Kevin Hogan running it in from 10 yards out after faking a pitchout. The Irish pulled even with 3:06 re- maining in the first half on a six-play, 62-yard drive that took just 1:20 off the clock. After Golson ripped off a 33-yard run, he found junior wide re- ceiver Chris Brown on a middle screen for a 17-yard score. "We knew it was going to be this kind of back-and-forth game," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "Certainly, we felt like we had some TRUMP CARD Quarterback Everett Golson leads Irish to clutch 17-14 triumph over Stanford