At the same end of the field where Charlie Ward and Florida State fell short on the final play, a little-known Boston College kicker shattered the Notre Dame mystique.
David Gordon, who had failed on two game-winning field goals in the last two years, kicked a 41-yarder on the last play Saturday as Boston College upset No. 1 Notre Dame 41-39 and upended the New Year's Day bowl picture.The field goal ruined Notre Dame's rally from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter and wrecked its bid for a perfect season. It also clouded the Irish's chances for a ninth national championship and stopped their 17-game winning streak.
"I knew I could do it," said Gordon, a senior who came into the game with just 11 career field goal attempts for No. 17 Boston College. ". . . I didn't hit it well, it was kind of low, but it went through."
Gordon's kick came at the north end of Notre Dame Stadium. It was in the same end zone last week that Ward, the leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, had his last-chance pass batted down by Shawn Wooden, giving Notre Dame a 31-24 win over then-No. 1 Florida State.
"To be down so far and then come back, and then for them to come down and kick a field goal, it's heartbreaking," Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said. ". . . The loss is very devastating. We hurt, but it is all part of life and you learn to handle it. It's not the end of the world."
Notre Dame (10-1) was trying to complete its third perfect regular season since 1949. Instead, it lost to the team it routed 54-7 at home last year.
The Irish, finally showing some of the emotion that carried them past Florida State, overcame a 38-17 deficit in the final 11 minutes. Kevin McDougal's 4-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Lake Dawson with 1:09 left put them ahead 39-38.
But Glenn Foley, who threw four touchdown passes, drove the Eagles (8-2) from their own 10 to set up the winning field goal. Gordon had missed from 40 yards into the wind earlier in the game, but Foley took a high snap and made a nice hold for the kick.
Gordon missed a last-second field goal in Boston College's 22-21 loss at Northwestern earlier this season. His 43-yard attempt in the final moments of last year's tie with West Virginia was blocked.
The victory was the Eagles' eighth in a row and avenged one of their most embarrassing defeats, a the loss at Notre Dame last year.
"You couldn't ask for a better ending to a football game. We're a better football team than we were a year ago. It was two different years, two different teams," B.C. coach Tom Coughlin said.
The Eagles lost two of the final three games following last year's loss to Notre Dame, including a defeat by Tennessee in the Hall of Fame Bowl.
"In January, when I was home after the bowl game, everyone harped on the Notre Dame game," Boston College linebacker Stephen Boyd said. "They said, `You had a great season, but Notre Dame killed you.' We waited 365 days for this."
This was the eighth time Notre Dame had lost a perfect regular season in the final game, mostly recently in 1989 when it fell 27-10 at Miami. Not since Southern Cal beat the Irish 42-23 in 1979 had a visitor scored more points at Notre Dame Stadium.
The last time Notre Dame played as No. 1, it lost at home to No. 18 Penn State 24-21 on Nov. 17, 1990.