IT WAS A DONE DEAL WHEN
D.J. McPhearson scrambled for a first down on 4th and 6 on our final field goal drive. We were deep enough in that a punt wouldn't have done much, and a FG wouldn't have been realistic. So we rolled the dice and went for it on 4th down, praying to keep the ball so we could keep chewing up clock and hopefully tack on point. The Irish ended up losing by 8 points, but if not for that FG drive, they'd have only need a simple six points to take the lead later in the game. It was crucial.

GAME BALLS
Sophomore CB Nick Stanley was in on a lot of tackles and deflected a pass. ... CB Mike Blair broke up 3 passes. ... HB Aaron Baker obviously was the lightning to David Taylor's thunder.

KEY STATISTICS
Notre Dame's passing offense didn't complete their first pass until there were only 2 minutes left in the first half. Their QB threw 10 incompletions on the night -- 7 of them were deflected and 2 of them were intercepted. Our pass coverage really rose to the challenge.

NOTES
K Casey Gipson broke the record for most career field goals, despite only being a sophomore. ... HB David Taylor set a new record for most carries in a game, besting Charles Bakkel's old record of 32 (set against Navy in 2007).