No. 3 Notre Dame Escapes Pitt 29-26 in 3OT
Published at(SOUTH BEND, Ind) — It was a little luck of the Irish.
The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish came back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Panthers 29-26 in triple overtime.
With the win Notre Dame improved to 9-0 and remained undefeated, keeping its national title hopes alive.
Quarterback Everett Golson replaced Tommy Rees and led the Irish to victory, scoring on a quarterback sneak in the third overtime after Pittsburgh (4-5) took the lead on a 44-yard field goal.
Golson re-entered the game after being replaced by Tommy Rees and threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to eight, 20-12.
The Irish tied the game on another Golson touchdown pass, this time to Theo Riddick with 2:11 remaining. He then ran in for a two-point conversion to tie the game at 20.
Pittsburgh running back Ray Graham had a monster game, going for 172 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
The Panthers had a chance to win the game but Kevin Harper missed a 33-yard field goal in overtime.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio.