A strong close to the first half and excellent start to the second half has helped No. 9 Oklahoma State roar back from an early deficit in the Fiesta Bowl as it heads to the fourth quarter with a 31-28 lead against No. 5 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish, playing in their first game under now-full-time coach Marcus Freeman, led 28-7 with 1:16 left in the second quarter. That lead was cut quickly when Spencer Sanders led the Cowboys down the field for a touchdown just before halftime.
Then Oklahoma State got the ball first in the second half and rolled off a 12-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that took four minutes off the clock. When Notre Dame’s offense was back on the field, it looked noticeably less comfortable against the Cowboys defense and had far less success. Jack Coan threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns in the first half — numbers that would already be good enough to be best performance by a quarterback against Oklahoma State this season — but added just 40 yards in a scoreless third quarter for the Fighting Irish offense.
Another long touchdown drive later in the third quarter brought the game to a tie, and then Oklahoma State got right back into scoring range before having to settle for a field goal in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Ultimately, the 24-0 run has totally flipped this game upside down and turned a potential blowout into a Fiesta Bowl that’s setting up for a fantastic finish.
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