Last-play field goal lifts No. 9 Stanford over No. 6 Notre Dame, 38-36
Stanford’s Kevin Hogan throws under pressure from California’s Cameron Walker (3) and Cameron Saffle (51).
Kevin Hogan put quite a capper on his Stanford career on senior day.
Hogan threw four touchdown passes and drove the No. 9-ranked Cardinal to the winning 45-yard field goal by Conrad Ukropina on the last play of a 38-36 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame in a playoff elimination game Saturday night.
Hogan threw for 269 yards and led the winning drive in the final 30 seconds for the Cardinal (10-2), which kept its slim playoff hopes alive. Stanford needs to beat USC in the Pac-12 Conference championship game and then get help in the other title games to make the four-team playoff.
DeShone Kizer had given the Fighting Irish (10-2) a one-point lead with a two-yard run with 30 seconds left.
The winning drive was aided by a facemask penalty on Isaac Rochell on the first play and then Hogan connected on a 27-yard pass to Devon Cajuste to get Stanford in field-goal range. After a short run by Christian McCaffrey, Ukropina kicked the field goal.
McCaffrey had 228 all-purpose yards to become the third FBS player top 3,000 in a season, but was held to 94 yards rushing, ending at nine a streak of 100-yard games.
Kizer threw for 234 yards and ran for 128. Josh Adams had 168 yards rushing for Notre Dame.
The game was a contrast in styles, with Notre Dame thriving on big plays and Stanford moving the ball efficiently down the field.
The Irish were held to field goals on their first three trips inside the 20. Notre Dame got three touchdowns of more than 60 yards.
The Cardinal turned all five of their red zone trips into touchdowns.
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