Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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TURNING POINT The game turned on a roughing the snapper penalty seldom called — although it happened against Notre Dame in 2002 versus Stanford and 2009 against Washington. After squandering a 35-26 lead and falling behind 36-35, Notre Dame was set to punt from its 42 with about a minute left in the third quarter. Two illegal motion penalties pushed the Irish back to their 32, and they seemed to be unraveling. But on fourth-and-18, North Caro- lina linebacker Norkeithus Otis hit junior long snapper Scott Daly il- legally — which occurred earlier in the game, leading Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly to alert the offi- cials. This one drew a 15-yard personal foul call and an automatic first down. That gave Notre Dame new life, and the Irish drove for the go- ahead touchdown with 10:42 left to take a 43-36 lead (after the two-point conversion). STAT OF THE GAME On the 84th birthday of Notre Dame Stadium — which was offi- cially dedicated on Oct. 11, 1930 with a 26-2 victory versus Navy — Notre Dame and North Carolina combined for the most points ever scored in a football game at the edifice in the 50- 43 Fighting Irish victory. The 93 points topped the previous standard of 92 set in Notre Dame's 59-33 win against Air Force during the 2011 season. Other games to hit the 90-point mark were a 46-44 loss in triple overtime to Navy during the 2007 campaign and a 61-29 victory versus Southern Methodist in 1986. It was the most points Notre Dame ever surrendered in any victory, eclipsing the 48-42 win at Hawaii in 1991. The Irish had been 0-19 all time previously in games when the opponent scored 43 or more points. ESCAPING THE TRAP This is the third consecutive sea- son that Notre Dame escaped the perfect trap situation, having to face a struggling North Carolina team (al- though the Heels were a preseason top-25 squad) between rival Stan- ford, which was ranked No. 14 at the time of its game versus the Irish, and defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Florida State. Last year, the Irish survived against Arizona State, winning 37-34, in between a loss to Oklahoma and hosting top rival USC. In 2012, Notre Dame eked out a 17-14 win at home versus BYU in between an emotional overtime win over Stanford and a trip to Oklahoma. College basketball is "survive and advance" only in the NCAA Tournament. In college football it's a four-month endeavor, even with the implementation of the four-team College Football Playoff for the first time this season. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI