Marcus Freeman's first game as Notre Dame’s new head coach could not have gotten off to a better start. The Irish opened up a 28–7 lead with just over a minute to go in the first half, as the offense had scored touchdowns on four of its eight drives of the game. Then, everything fell apart.
Notre Dame surrendered 30 unanswered points as Oklahoma State roared back en route to a 37–35 comeback win. The result handed the Irish their 10th consecutive loss in a major bowl game, with their last win coming in the 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic. Since then, it's been a nightmare in primetime for one of college football's premier programs.
After the game, there was plenty of blame to go around on the Notre Dame side. But Irish running back Logan Diggs publicly raised his hand to take responsibility for the loss. Diggs, a freshman, led the Irish with 29 rushing yards on Saturday as the ground game struggled to get going, mustering just 42 yards on 21 carries for the game. Diggs also lost a fumble early in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame trailed by three with the ball in Oklahoma State territory.
Diggs only carried the ball one more time from that point on, as the Irish were forced to try to score quickly. Many offered words of support for Diggs on Twitter, including his teammate and offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson.
Notre Dame’s Jack Coan finished the game completing 38 of 68 pass attempts for 509 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. Oklahoma State tallied 605 total yards, with quarterback Spencer Sanders throwing for 371 yards and four scores while adding 125 yards on the ground.
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