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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Glenn Earl wasn't supposed to jump.
Notre Dame's season would have taken a precipitous drop if he
didn't.
|  | | Julius Jones had 111 yards rushing on 27 carries in the Irish victory. |
Earl was supposed to be guarding against a fake when Air Force
kicker Dave Adams attempted a game-winning 28-yard field-goal
attempt as time expired in regulation.
"I was really supposed to give Tony (Driver) a push and watch
for the fake," Earl said.
Earl jumped instead and got a hand on it, clearing the way for
Joey Getherall to score his third TD of the game in overtime as No.
19 Notre Dame beat Air Force 34-31 on Saturday.
"You dream about that your whole life. Especially as a kicker,
you don't get many opportunities like that," Adams said. "When it
came off my foot it felt like I hit it straighter and higher than
any of my previous kicks. It felt like my best kick of the day."
Getherall said he couldn't watch.
"I was just praying, hoping that they blocked the kick,"
Getherall said.
While Irish players celebrated around him, Notre Dame coach Bob
Davie rose from a crouch and calmly removed his headset.
"I was so calm I almost passed out," he said.
Air Force beat the Irish 20-17 in overtime the last time they
played four years ago when Notre Dame was ranked No. 8.
"No doubt that was in the back of our minds the whole week,"
Getherall said.
It marked the fourth time this season that special teams have
played a key role in Irish victories.
The game-winning play was a fake option right, but Matt
LoVecchio pitched back to Getherall, who ran around the left end
and dove into the end zone for the 9-yard score.
"Once he got the ball, we knew he was going to score,"
LoVecchio said.
The Irish players piled on Getherall in the end zone.
"I thought I was going to die under there," Getherall said.
"There was probably 5,000 pounds on me."
It was the first overtime victory ever for Notre Dame (6-2) in
four tries and the first overtime loss for Air Force (5-3) in four
tries. The victory also made the Irish bowl eligible and buoyed the
hopes of the Falcons despite their second straight loss.
"It definitely hurts, but if nothing else I want it to show
people that we deserve to play in a bowl," said Ryan Fleming, who
had eight catches for a career-high 163 yards.
The Irish controlled the first and third quarters, and the
Falcons controlled the second and fourth. Air Force scored 18
points in the fourth quarter to force the overtime, outgaining the
Irish 265 yards to 30 yards in the period.
"Their defense was tired at the end. If we played another
quarter and a half, we would have really shoved it down their
throats," Fleming said.
The Irish twice narrowly averted losing in regulation. With the
score tied at 28 late in the fourth quarter, LoVecchio was nearly
tackled for a safety by Dan Probert but managed to escape.
Notre Dame appeared to have the game under control when
Getherall scored on a 68-yard touchdown pass late in the third
quarter. But Air Force came back in the fourth quarter as Mike
Thiessen threw a 30-yard TD pass to Chris Jessop, Bert Givanetti
recovered a fumble in the end zone, and Adams kicked a 34-yard
field goal with 1:56 left.
Getherall had four catches for 116 yards. LoVecchio passed for
three touchdowns -- the fourth straight game the freshman has passed
for at least two touchdowns. He's the first Notre Dame quarterback
to do that since Rick Mirer in 1992. LoVecchio was 10-of-25 for 171
yards.
Thiessen threw two touchdown passes, giving him 11 for the
season. That's the second most by an Air Force quarterback since
the Falcons went to the option in 1980. Beau Morgan had 12 TD
passes in 1995. Thiessen was 17-of-28 for a career-high 265 yards.
Thiessen said he didn't know why the game had such big swings in
momentum.
"I really don't think emotionally our team got down," he said.
"Our team has a lot of pride."
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Air Force Clubhouse
Notre Dame Clubhouse
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