FSU football: Notre Dame survives the Noles in overtime

FSU football fans waited a long time to see what kind of product Mike Norvell and the coaching staff would put on the field in 2021.

The opening drive for Notre Dame saw the Noles make some plays, but missed tackles and a blown assignment gave Notre Dame a 7-0 when Jack Coan hit Michael Mayer with a pass on fourth and short.

One of the biggest questions coming into the game would be how would they respond to adversity? Well, the FSU offense had poor field position on every possession, but the FSU defense had a great response to hold Notre Dame scoreless the rest of the first quarter.

FSU’s offense has -19 yards on their first two possessions before Jashaun Corbin broke an 89-yard TD run to tie the game 7-7.

That’s where the score would remain into the second quarter until FSU got a stop on defense and went 45 yards on four plays. Jordan Travis scored a two-yard rushing touchdown on a bootleg to give the Noles a 14-7 lead.

Notre Dame responded with a field goal on their ensuing possession to cut the lead to 14-10, but a Jordan Travis interception put the Fighting Irish in a position to score their second touchdown of the half.

Notre Dame led 17-14 at halftime. Notre Dame’s offense averaged 5.61 yards per play, and FSU’s offense averaged 5.84 yards per play. Notre Dame only had 59 rushing yards at the half, averaging 3.0 yards per rush. FSU had 107 rushing yards, averaging 6.7 yards per rush.

The FSU offense began the second half with the ball and scored a touchdown on a 60-yard pass to Ja’Khi Douglas. The play happened on third and seven with Douglas burning the defensive back with ease.

There was a bad snap on the extra point, and FSU took a 20-17 lead with 13:36 left in the third quarter.
Notre Dame had a questionable reception that didn’t get reviewed on their next possession, and Jack Coan connected on a 37-yard touchdown a couple of plays later to put Notre Dame up 24-20 with 11:52 remaining.

Jordan Travis threw his second interception on the next possession, a carbon copy of the first interception.

FSU’s defense dialed up some pressure with back-to-back sacks to force a third and 17. However, a well-timed screenplay gave Notre Dame 55 yards and first down on the FSU 21-yard line.

Notre Dame capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown to lead 31-20 at the 7:05 mark.
Mike Norvell decided to go for it on fourth down, and Notre Dame got their third interception on a tipped pass deep in FSU territory.

Notre Dame scored a touchdown to push their lead to 38-20 with 4:37 left in the third quarter.
FSU finally put together a drive on their next possession, behind a steady run game with Notre Dame laying back on defense.

A 15-play drive that ended in a seven-yard pass from Jordan Travis to Andrew Parchment helped close the gap to 38-28(two-point conversion was good).

The FSU defense forced a punt on Notre Dame’s next possession, and FSU fair caught the ball on the 12-yard line.

A big run by Lawrance Toafili, followed by a 25-yard scamper by Jordan Travis gave the Noles good field position near mid-field.

Jordan Travis’s helmet came off on a play, and McKenzie Milton came in to deliver a strike to Keyshawn Helton after 1,017 days away from the game.
FSU scored a touchdown on a wildcat run by Treshaun Ward to cut the lead to 38-35 with 5:36 remaining!

The Noles got a stop on Notre Dame’s next possession, and McKenzie Milton was back in as quarterback.

A steady running game and Milton improvising put the Noles in field goal position. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald laced a 43-yard field goal to tie the game with 40 seconds remaining.

Notre Dame got to mid-field and launched a hail mary that Travis Jay intercepted near the 10-yard line to force overtime.

FSU missed their field goal attempt and that cost them the game as Notre Dame kicked a field goal to win it 41-38.

The difference in the game was three FSU turnovers and Notre Dame scoring three touchdowns off those mistakes.