Notre Dame football: Irish survive major scare, beat FSU in OT, 41-38

Notre Dame football: Irish survive major scare, beat FSU in OT, 41-38

The game goes down to the wire

At the time of Hamilton’s second interception, the Seminoles were still very much in the game, as the score was 24-20 Irish. However, after the interception, Notre Dame dominated the third quarter, as Hamilton’s pick set up a long drive that ended with Kyren Williams finding the end zone for the first time in the game.

On their next possession, Florida State once again completed a pass to a Notre Dame football player, this time Clarence Lewis, who nabbed the first interception of his career. That pick set up a three-play drive highlighted by a nice catch by Braden Lenzy and ending with a one-yard touchdown by Chris Tyree.

The score was now 38-20, and you could feel the air being sucked out of Doak Campbell Stadium. However, this is Florida State, and they were playing with a heavy heart after the death of former head coach Bobby Bowden in early August, so they were not going to go away.

What ensued was a massive collapse by the Irish, who not only allowed the Seminoles back into the game but gave up 18 straight points to go to overtime. Florida State was led by a gutsy effort from McKenzie Milton, a medical marvel who had to come on after Travis’ helmet fell off and nearly led the team to the victory.

In overtime, Florida State appeared to go up 41-38 on a 50-plus yard field goal, but head coach Mike Norvell called a timeout to challenge a fumble, and when it was ruled an incomplete pass, he actually gave kicker Ryan Fitzgerald a much more makeable kick. Unfortunately, he missed, and the Irish were able to knock their field goal try through the upright for a 41-38 victory of their own.