Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Match Player Stats On Jan 01, 2022

Oklahoma State came back from a 21-point deficit late in the first half to stun Notre Dame 37-35 Saturday in a top-10 battle at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.

Spencer Sanders completed 34 of 51 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns, and wide receiver Tay Martin (10 catches, 104 yards) tied a bowl record with three touchdown catches. The Cowboys' defense held Notre Dame to just one second-half touchdown.

Fifth-ranked Notre Dame lost its fifth straight Fiesta Bowl, despite quarterback Jack Coan throwing for a Fiesta bowl record 509 yards and tying a record with five touchdowns.

Tanner Brown made up for an earlier miss with three field goals in the second half, the first from 38 yards which gave Oklahoma State the lead for good at 31-28 with six seconds left in the third quarter.

But the ninth-ranked Cowboys had to recover an onside kick to ensure the win, which they did with 1:03 to play.

With that, Oklahoma State completed the largest comeback for a win in Fiesta Bowl history, turning a 28-7 deficit late in the first half into a win.

Notre Dame finished the season 11-2.

Four of Coan's touchdown passes and 342 of his passing yards came in the first half. Two TDs were to tight end Michael Mayer and one each to running back Chris Tyree and wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr.

The Cowboys forced punts on Notre Dame's first two possessions of the second half, and Sanders led two third-quarter touchdown drives, with Martin on the receiving end of his third TD of the day that tied the score at 28.

Oklahoma State fumbled at the goal line with a chance to take a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the turnover didn't affect them, as Notre Dame's offense could not capitalize. Nor could it on a late fumble that gave them another chance to mount a touchdown drive down six.

A game of big plays and momentum swings ended with 1,156 total yards of offense between the two teams.

--Field Level Media