Football defeats No. 10 Notre Dame, 50-47, in 2-OT thriller

Sunday, September 4

Austin, Texas

6:30 p.m.

University of Texas

1-0

Notre Dame

0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Notre Dame

Texas

Football defeats No. 10 Notre Dame, 50-47, in 2-OT thriller

09.05.2016 | Football

Box Score

Tyrone Swoopes scored three rushing touchdowns, including the game-winner in the second overtime.

AUSTIN, Texas—A six-yard rushing touchdown by Tyrone Swoopes in the second overtime gave Texas a 50-47 win over No. 10 Notre Dame in front of a record-setting home crowd on Sunday night at Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Fighting Irish struck first in the opening minutes to jump out to a 7-0 lead, but the Longhorns responded in short order with a scoring drive of their own.

In his first start at Texas, true freshman quarterback Shane Buechele marched the team downfield to the Notre Dame 19-yard line before finding receiver Armanti Foreman in the end zone to tie the game.

On Texas' first possession of the second quarter, Tyrone Swoopes and the 18-wheeler package propelled the Longhorns into Notre Dame territory, where Buechele took over quarterback duties. A 21-yard pass to junior Jake Oliver, the first reception of his career, positioned the Longhorns at the Irish 13-yard line.

After finding Oliver for another first down, Buechele tucked the ball and barged into the end zone from the one-yard line to give Texas a 14-7 lead.

Notre Dame evened the score on its ensuing drive with a 30-yard pass from quarterback DeShone Kizer to receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. The Longhorns once again answered, this time in the form of a deep 68-yard pass from Buechele to quarterback-turned-receiver Jerrod Heard. With Texas facing a third down at the Notre Dame one-yard line, Swoopes sprinted into the right corner of the end zone to put the Longhorns up 21-14.

The Texas defense stymied Notre Dame's final offensive stand of the half, allowing the Longhorns to take the 21-14 lead back to the locker room.

It took less than a minute into the second half for Texas to extend its lead to 28-14, as Buechele connected with receiver John Burt for a 72-yard touchdown. Buechele's touchdown pass is tied for the fourth longest by a true freshman quarterback in Texas history.

On Texas' next possession, a 25-yard field goal off the leg of kicker Trent Domingue gave the Longhorns a 31-14 lead, their largest of the game. Notre Dame wasted no time in countering, scoring touchdowns on their next two drives to cut Texas' lead to three.

The Fighting Irish began the fourth quarter by scoring again, this time on a touchdown pass from Kizer to receiver Josh Adams to put the Irish up 35-31. The reception gave Notre Dame its first lead since the opening five minutes of the game.

Texas regained the lead with a 68-yard drive to the end zone, capping it off with a 19-yard run by running back D'Onta Foreman. The six points from the score put the Longhorns ahead 37-35, but the Fighting Irish blocked the extra point attempt and returned it for a safety to even the score at 37.

Neither team was able to put up the decisive points in the final 3:23 of regulation, and the Longhorns entered overtime locked in an offensive battle with the Irish.

Texas took advantage of its first possession in overtime, piecing together a 20-yard completion to receiver Jacorey Warrick and a three-yard rush from Swoopes to score the first touchdown. The 44-37 lead was short-lived, as Kizer completed a screen pass to receiver C.J. Sanders to send the game into the second overtime.

The Longhorns limited the Irish to a field goal on the following drive, setting up the opportunity for a winning touchdown to close out the game.

On the next possession, Swoopes scrambled from the Notre Dame six-yard line to punch in the final touchdown of the game, setting off a raucous celebration from the crowd of 102,315.

The win over Notre Dame marks the first Longhorns win over a Top-10 opponent at home since Oct. 25, 2008 against No. 7 Oklahoma State. The Longhorns will face UTEP at home next week.