College football is most certainly back.
In what could be called an instant classic – and certainly the wildest game of the season already – No. 10 Notre Dame lost a heartbreaker to the Longhorns in double overtime, 50-47. The game had its fair share of ups and downs on both sides.
“There’s a lot of good things there, but the bottom line is you can’t feel good about losing,” Irish Head Coach Brian Kelly told the media after the game.
The tune of the game changed in the final 3:29 of the game. With Notre Dame (0-1) holding a 35-31 lead, Longhorns (1-0) running back D’Onta Foreman bolted for a 19-yard dash to give his side a 37-35 lead. But before the game even reached the kickoff, Issac Rochell blocked Trent Domingue’s PAT, allowing Shaun Crawford to scoop the ball and run down field for two points.
After falling behind 31-14 early in the second half, sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer helped fuel the Notre Dame comeback with a 29-yard TD run. He followed this with a 5-yard reception by Torii Hunter, Jr. to bring the Irish within three with 5:06 left in the third at 31-28.
About four minutes into the final quarter, Kizer found running back Josh Adams in the endzone for a 17-yard reception, giving the Irish the go-ahead score.
Notre Dame elected to defend for the first overtime period, which ended when Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes made a 3-yard run into the endzone. The Irish answered with a 25-yard Kizer pass to C.J. Sanders.
Kicker Justin Yoon put the Irish ahead 47-44 in the second overtime, but the defense failed to halt Swoopes running prowess. The Longhorn ran over four Notre Dame defenders and laid out Avery Sebastian. Swoopes ran another 6 yards and dove into the endzone to secure his side’s win.
“Swoopes is very difficult to tackle. He’s a big, physical player,” Kelly said. “We weren’t in position to make some tackles and when we were, they ran through some tackles.”
The true story of the game for the Irish, despite the loss, was how Kelly would utilize the dual-quarterback system with Malik Zaire and Kizer.
Kizer finished the game 15-for-24 for 215 yards and five touchdowns. He also carried the ball 13 times for 77 yards and an additional score.
Kizer earned the first snap of the game, and led the Irish on a 78-yard opening drive that ended with a 13-yard connection with Equanimeous St. Brown for a 7-0 lead. The duo would connect again at the 3:44 mark in the second quarter off a massive 30-yard pass that tied the game, 14-14.
Zaire, who started the second drive as well as the second half of the game, was just 2-f0r-5 with 23 yards. Despite three carries, he had no yards gained.
“It’s never easy to play two quarterbacks,” Kelly said. “I think it was really more about getting into a game situation before I could make a decision. I thought DeShone did some pretty good things.”
In between those two Irish scores, Armanti Foreman scored off a 19-yard pass from Shane Buechele with 9:30 remaining in the first, followed by Buechele rushing for a single-yard TD at the 7:13 mark in the second.
Swoopes mimicked Buechele’s run with 72 seconds left in the first half to give Texas a 21-14 lead at the half.
Notre Dame hosts Nevada Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST at Notre Dame Stadium to open a three-game slate at home. Kelly said the Irish haven’t made a decision on full-time starting quarterbacks moving forward.
Notes
- Tarean Folston – making his return to football action after tearing his ACL last year against Texas – had 18 carries for 88 yards.
- Notre Dame’s Shaun Crawford had the sole interception of the game, returning it for 22 yards.
- Torii Hunter, Jr. went down with an apparent head injury in the second half, but appeared near the tunnel undressed with his parents and seemed okay. He had 4 receptions for 37 yards and a TD.
- Equanimeous St. Brown led wideouts with 5 catches for 75 yards and 2 TDs. CJ Sanders had 3 for 55 yards, Josh Adams had 3 for 46 yards and Tarean Folston 1 for 17.
- Josh Adams had 11 carries for 43 yards.
- Texas QB Shane Buechele was 16-for-26 with 280 yards, 2 TDs and an interception. Tyrone Swoopes was 0-for-1 passing but 13 carries for 53 yards and 3 TDs.
- D’Onta Foreman had 24 carries good for 131 yards, leading all rushers on the day. Receiver John Burt had 6 catches for 111 yards and a TD.
DISCUSSION: Have the Fighting Irish found their quarterback in DeShone Kizer or will Brian Kelly continue to use both Kizer and Malik Zaire in game two?
