The Spartans and the Irish were tied at 28-all heading into overtime. Overtime in college football is different from regular football, since in the NCAA's, both teams get one possession each during each OT, starting at the opponent's 30-yard line. If one team scores more points than the other team after both possessions, the team that scores the most points wins. If the game is still tied, there are then more OT's.
Back to the game. Notre Dame lost the coin toss, so they had to receive the ball (Michigan State wanted to play defense first, an advantage in college football). They could not make a first down, so they settled for a field goal. 31-28 Fighting Irish.
Michigan State had similar results. Unfortunately for them, the Spartans went backwards, setting up a fourth-and-long from the 31-yard line. Since they had a young, unreliable kicker, Spartans' head coach Mark Dantonio pulled a rabbit out of his hat - he called for a FAKE field goal, in which the holder - typically the quarterback - would pass the ball to the receiver. The play is easier said than done.
The play worked to perfection, and Michigan State won in dramatic fashion, 34-31. Immediately after the game, when being interviewed by ESPN, Dantonio said the play was called:
Unfortunately, there might be some controversy brewing regarding the outcome. The play clock reached double-zeroes right before the snap of the ball, so there should have been a delay-of-game penalty called on Michigan State - making it that much more difficult of pulling off this trick play. See for yourself:
What's your opinion of the final play of the game?
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