Notre Dame gets huge turnover after controversial replay review
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Notre Dame had just kicked a tying field goal at historic Lambeau Field, and then things got weird.
The 4th-ranked Fighting Irish were kicking off to Wisconsin in the Sunday night season opener, following that 52-yard field goal by Spencer Porath, and then some much-needed momentum came their way in the craziest way possible.
In a 3-3 game late in the first quarter, Porath sent his kickoff soaring into the Wisconsin night, a kickoff that was supposed to be returned in some form by Harrison Bortolotti. But instead of catching the ball, it went straight through his hands, took a couple bounces and landed right into the waiting hands of Notre Dame‘s Kahanu Kia.
There was a replay to follow the play, of course, and it was determined that it was a fumble that was recovered by the Fighting Irish at the Badgers’ 13-yard line. Notre Dame turned the sudden burst of fortune into a touchdown 4 players later, with CJ Carr finding tight end James Flanigan on a 3-yard touchdown pass.
Here is the fumble that is not to be believed unless you were watching it on Sunday night on NBC:
In just over a minute late in the first quarter, Notre Dame had turned a 3-0 deficit into a 10-3 lead in the weirdest way imaginable, thanks to that ball that had eyes for the Fighting Irish. There was a long way to go in Sunday night’s game, but certainly that play and the subsequent replay review would have everyone talking for the rest of the game.
Notre Dame is trying to get its 2026 season off to a good start, and that means beating Wisconsin on Sunday night. The Fighting Irish have their eyes on a trip to the College Football Playoff, and here is what the Kalshi market currently thinks of those odds:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
