BLACKSBURG, Va. — Jonathan Doerer kicked a 48-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining, capping a dramatic rally to give No. 14 Notre Dame a 32-29 victory over Virginia Tech on the road Saturday night.
The Fighting Irish tied the game at 29 on Jack Coan’s 4-yard pass to Avery Davis and a two-point conversion completion to Kevin Austin with 2:26 left. After forcing the Hokies to punt, Coan drove the Irish 45 yards in seven plays and Doerer split the uprights, sparing Notre Dame a second straight loss.
Virginia Tech had gone ahead 29-21 with 3:55 to play, taking advantage of two interceptions thrown by Notre Dame freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner.
After falling behind 10-0, Notre Dame replaced Coan with Buchner in the second quarter and the freshman led the Irish on two touchdown drives to put them up 14-13 at halftime.
Notre Dame is 5-1 heading into its fall break and won't play again until Southern California visits on Oct. 23.