Northwestern Wildcats vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Match Player Stats On Nov 15, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 15, 2014

Northwestern 43, No. 16 Notre Dame 40 (OT): Jack Mitchell kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime after tying the game late in regulation as the visiting Wildcats stunned the turnover-prone Fighting Irish in one of the biggest upsets in school history.

Northwestern (4-6) entered as a 17-point underdog but rallied from an 11-point deficit late in regulation thanks in large part to a fumble by Irish captain Cam McDaniel when Notre Dame (7-3) was trying to run out the clock with under two minutes to play. Notre Dame's Kyle Brindza missed a 42-yarder in overtime before Mitchell's game-winning kick sent the Wildcats pouring out onto the field in jubilation.

Trevor Siemian passed for 284 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score, Justin Jackson rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown and Kyle Prater racked up 10 catches for 81 yards and a TD for the Wildcats, who committed four turnovers - the same as the Irish - but still snapped a four-game skid. Notre Dame got three touchdown passes from Everett Golson to William Fuller (nine catches, 159 yards) while Tarean Folston and Golson combined to rush for 184 yards and two scores.

The Wildcats trailed 40-29 with under five minutes left in regulation when Siemian scored untouched on a 6-yard TD run but, even after a successful two-point conversion, the Irish appeared primed to run out the clock before Ibraheim Campbell stripped McDaniel with 1:28 left. Siemian then completed five straight passes - four to Prater - to move Northwestern into field-goal range, and Mitchell drilled a 45-yarder with 19 seconds left, even after the Irish tried to freeze him with a late timeout.

Down 20-9 after one quarter, Northwestern rallied with two touchdowns early in the second to go ahead by a field goal before Notre Dame answered with Golson's 23-yard TD strike to Fuller, and the Irish later went ahead 34-26 on another 23-yard hookup from Golson to Fuller with 3:36 left in the third quarter. A 46-yard field goal by Mitchell drew the visitors within 34-29 with 14:18 left in the contest, but Notre Dame answered less than four minutes later by capitalizing on an interception when Golson found Fuller for an 11-yard TD, although the two-point conversion failed.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame has 21 turnovers in the last seven games. ... On Northwestern's tying drive late in regulation, WR Cameron Dickerson (six catches, 97 yards) fumbled and two Notre Dame players had a chance to recover, but it squirted out of bounds, keeping the Wildcats' chances alive. ...Entering the game, Mitchell had not made a field goal of more than 29 yards. He went 4-for-5 in the game, including three kicks of 40-plus yards.