September 17, 2005
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A Thriller in Overtime Ends With the Irish Losing the Fight
Joe Raymond/Associated Press
Michigan State running back Jason Teague heads toward the end zone with the winning touchdown in the Spartans’ 44-41 overtime victory over Notre Dame
September 18, 2005
A Thriller in Overtime Ends With the Irish Losing the Fight
By JOE LAPOINTE
SOUTH BEND, Ind., Sept. 17 – Among the colorful messages worn on fans’ shirts at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday were some that proclaimed that the Fighting Irish were “Putting the ‘Nasty’ Back in Dynasty.”
The sentiment may be presumptuous so early in the first season of Coach Charlie Weis, who sometimes uses the word in a positive sense to suggest aggressive play. But the No. 10 Irish gave their fans an exciting show before losing in overtime, 44-41, in their home opener against Michigan State.
Notre Dame rallied from a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter to tie the score, 38-38, with 2 minutes 31 seconds remaining in regulation. Irish quarterback Brady Quinn completed his fifth touchdown pass of the game and his third to Jeff Samardzija.
On the first possession of overtime, D. J. Fitzpatrick of Notre Dame kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the Irish a 41-38 lead. When the Spartans got the ball back, they won the game with an 18-yard run by Jason Teague, who took a pitch from Drew Stanton and high-stepped into the end zone.
The Irish could have won the game earlier, and they also seemed to lose it earlier. They gave up a Michigan State touchdown on an intercepted pass, and they squandered one chance for a touchdown with a fumble at the Michigan State goal line. The Irish’s tackling was inconsistent, and one of their punts was blocked.
Despite all this, they appeared to tie the score in the fourth quarter when running back Darius Walker ran 30 yards into the end zone. But the play was nullified by a holding penalty on a downfield block by wide receiver Maurice Stovall and the drive ended at the Michigan State 20 with no gain on fourth down and a yard to go.
Walker finished with 116 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown reception. Quinn completed 33 of 60 passes for 484 yards.
Stanton, the Michigan State quarterback, passed for three touchdowns in regulation and carried for one of his own while completing 16 of 27 passes for 328 yards. Two of Stanton’s touchdown passes in regulation were to Matt Trannon.
The Spartans improved to 3-0 going into their Big Ten opener next week at Illinois. The Irish fell to 2-1 as they prepare to meet their previous coach, Tyrone Willingham, next Saturday in Washington.
The Spartans have won their last five games on this field. After the game, the players gathered on the 50-yard line and displayed their green and white flag. They have won seven of their last nine meetings with Notre Dame.
Michigan State held a 24-17 lead at halftime, and it could have been bigger. The Spartans were helped by seven penalties against Notre Dame for 57 yards in the first half, poor tackling by Fighting Irish defenders and erratic passing by Quinn.
Accounting at least in part for Michigan State’s three touchdowns in the first half was Stanton of the Spartans, who completed a 20-yard scoring play to Trannon early in the first quarter and an 11-yard passing play to Kellen Davis late in the first quarter.
Notre Dame got two first-half touchdowns on passes from Quinn to Samardzija of 18 yards late in the first quarter and 31 yards midway through the second quarter. D. J. Fitzpatrick kicked a 48-yard field goal for Notre Dame, which led, 17-14, even while being outplayed.
John Goss kicked a 21-yard field goal for Michigan State to tie the score, 17-17, with 5:26 remaining in the second quarter but, later in the second quarter, Stanton carried the ball into the end zone from the 3-yard line to give the Spartans a 24-17 lead.
The Spartans increased their lead to 31-17 on Notre Dame’s first possession of the third quarter when Sir Darean Adams, a Michigan State defensive back, cut in front of Samardzija, tipped Quinn’s pass, controlled the ball and raced untouched down the right side of the field and into the end zone.
Notre Dame’s next possession also ended with a turnover when Asaph Schwapp, the Irish fullback, fumbled at the Spartans goal line as he tried to carry over from the one.
Trannon of the Spartans scored his second touchdown of the game with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter when Stanton, reacting to a blitz, found his receiver open over the line of scrimmage with a quick, short toss.
Cradling the ball, Trannon ran for 65 yards to the end zone without an Irish defender catching up to him to make it 38-17 for the Spartans.
Notre Dame cut the lead to 38-24 with 1:23 left in the third quarter when Quinn’s pass connected with running back Darius Walker for a 6-yard scoring play.
The Irish cut it further to 38-31 when Quinn connected with Maurice Stovall in the end zone to finish a drive of five plays and 64 yards with 12:29 left in the fourth quarter.
The Irish tied it, 38-38, when Samardzija caught his third touchdown pass of the game, a 4-yard play from Quinn. After Quinn play-action faked to Walker, he threw a wobbly ball that Samardzija caught with his fingertips.
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