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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, October 4, 2009

Notre Dame stops Washington in overtime, 37-30


Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame waited even later than the last minute to pull out this finish.

Robert Hughes scored on a 1-yard run in overtime and safeties Harrison Smith and Kyle McCarthy jarred the ball loose from Washington receiver D'Andre Goodwin near the goal line on fourth-and-19 as the Fighting Irish beat the Huskies, 37-30, yesterday.

It was the fourth straight game decided in the final 60 seconds for the Irish, the last three of which were wins.

"I'm just happy, really happy for these kids. They just keep fighting and fighting and fighting," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said.

The Irish (4-1) stayed in it with a pair of goal-line stands in the second half.

The first was late in the third quarter when the Irish held the Huskies (2-3) for no points on two plays from the 1-yard line on a pair of keepers by Jake Locker.

Chris Polk appeared to give the Huskies a 30-22 lead with a 6-yard TD run with 7:07 left, but after a review he was ruled down on the half-yard line.

The Huskies were unable to cross the goal line and Erik Folk kicked a 24-yard field goal to cap the 19-play drive that ate up 9 minutes and 19 seconds on the clock.

"The whole game came down to that double goal-line stand," Weis said.

Sarkisian said he could hardly believe the Huskies couldn't get the ball in.

"I've never seen so many guys get tackled so close to the goal-line that many times," Sarkisian said. "Obviously it's frustrating when you had an opportunity like we had there in the fourth quarter to put the game in a situation to be a two-score game, and we weren't able to do it."

IA INDEPENDENTS

Tulane 17, Army 16: Andre Anderson ran 42 yards up the sideline setting up the 23-yard field goal by Ross Thevenot with 2:20 left, and the visiting Green Wave (2-2) watched as Black Knights' kicker Alex Carlton missed wide right from 37 yards with 11.6 ticks left.

ACC

Maryland 24, Clemson 21: Chris Turner passed for two touchdowns and the host Terrapins (2-3, 1-0 ACC) snuffed the Tigers' (2-2, 0-2) final drive at the 28 with a sack and fumble recovery by Demetrius Hartsfield with 27 seconds left.

Virginia 16, North Carolina 3: Robert Randolph kicked three field goals and Mikell Simpson ran eight yards for a touchdown with 5:49 left to play, lifting the visiting Cavaliers (1-3, 1-0 ACC) over the Tar Heels (3-2, 0-2).

Wake Forest 30, North Carolina State 24: Riley Skinner threw three touchdown passes to become the host Demon Deacons' (3-2, 1-1 ACC) career leader with 45, while the Wolfpack's (3-2, 0-1) Russell Wilson's NCAA record streak of passes without an interception ended at 379.

Boston College 28, Florida State 21: Montel Harris broke free up the middle for a 42-yard touchdown run with 4:07 left as the host Eagles (4-1, 2-1 ACC) held off the Seminoles (2-3, 0-2) after blowing an 18-point lead.

BIG 12

Kansas State 24, Iowa State 23: Raphael Guidry blocked the extra point after the Cyclones' (3-2, 0-1 Big 12) Austen Arnaud had thrown a 23-yard TD pass with 32 seconds remaining to tie it, allowing the host Wildcats (3-2, 1-0) to escape with the victory.

Texas Tech 48, New Mexico 28: Backup quarterback Steven Sheffield threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Taylor Potts, who was shaken up in the second quarter, helping the host Red Raiders (3-2) beat the Lobos (0-5).

Arkansas 47, Texas A&M 19: Ryan Mallett threw four touchdown passes and the visiting Razorbacks (2-2) rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to take a 30-10 halftime lead in routing the Aggies (3-1).

Baylor 31, Kent State 15: Third-string quarterback Nick Florence, pushed into his first career start because of injuries, rushed for two touchdowns to lead the host Bears (3-1) over the Golden Flashes (2-3).

BIG EAST

South Florida 34, Syracuse 20: B.J. Daniels hit Carlton Mitchell on scoring passes of 33 and 85 yards, and the host Bulls (5-0) had five interceptions to beat the Orange (2-3) in the Big East opener for both teams.

BIG TEN

Northwestern 27, Purdue 21: Joey Elliott overthrew Aaron Valentin in the end zone on fourth-and-goal in the closing seconds, allowing the visiting Wildcats (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) to hold off the Boilermakers (1-4, 0-1).

CONFERENCE USA

East Carolina 21, Marshall 17: Patrick Pinkney scored on a 30-yard run and the visiting Pirates (3-2, 2-0 CUSA) forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter to beat the Thundering Herd (3-2, 1-1).

Tulsa 27, Rice 10: G.J. Kinne completed 21 of 32 passes and threw a 39-yard touchdown to A.J. Whitmore as the visiting Golden Hurricane (4-1, 2-0 CUSA) beat the Owls (0-5, 0-2).

Central Florida 32, Memphis 14: Brynn Harvey ran for a career-high 219 yards as the host Knights (1-4, 1-2 CUSA) outscored the Tigers (1-4, 0-2) 29-7 in the second half to earn a victory.

MID-AMERICAN

Toledo 37, Ball State 30: Aaron Opelt hit Stephen Williams for a 51-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left, lifting the visiting Rockets (3-2, 1-0 Mid-American) over the Cardinals (0-5, 0-1), who had taken a 30-29 lead 15 seconds earlier with a TD and a two-point conversion.

Temple 24, Eastern Michigan 12: Bernard Pierce ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns, and the visiting Owls (2-2, 2-0 MAC) raced to 21-0 lead in turning back the Eagles (0-4, 0-1).

PACIFIC-10

Stanford 24, UCLA 16: Toby Gerhart ran for three touchdowns, quarterback Andrew Luck passed for 198 yards and the host Cardinal (4-1, 3-0 Pac-10) snapped a five-game losing streak to the Bruins (3-1, 0-1).

Oregon State 28, Arizona State 17: Jacquizz Rodgers ran for two touchdowns, Sean Canfield threw for two more scores and the Beavers (3-2, 1-1 Pac-10) earned their first road win over the Sun Devils (2-2, 0-1) in 40 years.

SEC

Auburn 26, Tennessee 22: Chris Todd threw for 218 yards and a touchdown, Ben Tate ran for 128 yards and a score as the visiting Tigers (5-0, 2-0 SEC) never trailed and beat the Volunteers (2-3, 0-2) for the fifth straight time — their longest streak in the series.

South Carolina 38, South Carolina State 14: Stephen Garcia threw two touchdowns, rushed for another score and the host Gamecocks (4-1) matched their best start of coach Steve Spurrier's five seasons with a victory over the Bulldogs (3-1).

SUN BELT

Wyoming 30, Florida Atlantic 28: Alvester Alexander scored three touchdowns, including a 15-yard run with 4:29 left, as the visiting Cowboys (3-2), despite missing the extra point, held on to beat the Owls (0-4).