Oklahoma State spotted Notre Dame a 28-7 lead before roaring back to defeat the Fighting Irish by 37-35 in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl. Marcus Freeman’s head coaching debut started well, but he and his staff had no answer to strategic adjustments by the Cowboys that exposed glaring weaknesses on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame’s win drought in major bowl games continues for at least another year as the Irish end the season at 11-2.
Jack Coan threw an unfathomable 68 passes, completing 38 for 502 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately, his lack of mobility and a costly fourth quarter interception outweighed those statistics.