College Football

No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Notre Dame liven up bowl season with Fiesta Bowl classic

Updated Jan. 1, 2022 6:49 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

One could make the case that the College Football Playoff games on New Year's Eve were anticlimactic, with both Georgia and Alabama cruising to easy victories in their semifinal matchups.

On the first day of the new year, though, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 9 Oklahoma State made up for it with a high-octane thriller in the Fiesta Bowl.

Oklahoma State overcame a 21-point first-half deficit to win 37-35 in a game that spectators — not to mention players and coaches — won't soon forget.

After trailing 28-7, Oklahoma State would score 30 unanswered points from the mid-point of the second quarter through the fourth quarter to take control of the game.

They were led by the dominance of their starting quarterback Spencer Sanders, who accumulated 496 yards of total offense and threw four touchdown passes.

That output fell just six yards shy of the record for any Notre Dame opponent, which was set by Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson in 2010.

For Notre Dame, this continued what has been a turbulent last month for the program.

After barely missing out on being selected for the College Football Playoff, the Irish saw head coach Brian Kelly depart to take the same position at LSU, just three days after the Fighting Irish's regular season concluded.

Notre Dame elevated Marcus Freeman from defensive coordinator to take Kelly's spot, making Saturday's game his first as Irish head coach. And while it might not have been the desired result, he at least could note that his Irish didn't go away easily.

Senior quarterback Jack Coan passed for 509 yards — the second-highest total in school history — and four touchdowns.

Five different Irish players recorded at least 60 yards receiving as well, but in the end, it wasn't enough, with the Fighting Irish mustering just seven points in the second half.

This also continues an unfortunate streak of bad luck for Notre Dame in bowl games — the program has now lost its last 10 major bowl games.

Neither one of these programs will be playing for the national championship, but they can make a case for the most exciting game of the bowl season.

Good luck to Georgia and Alabama topping it in the championship game on Jan. 10.

share

Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

College Football

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Spencer Sanders

Jack Coan