Cameron Dantley, son of one of Notre Dame's all-time basketball greats, threw an 11-yard TD pass with 42 seconds left to lead Syracuse to a 24-23 victory, one of the most surprising upsets in Fighting Irish history.
The Orange trailed 23-10 in the fourth quarter before rallying as Notre Dame struggled mightily on offense. The Irish came away with just six points after starting four times inside the Syracuse 23-yard line.
The victory allowed Syracuse (3-8) to avoid a third 10-loss season in four years under Coach Greg Robinson, who was fired last week, effective the end of the season.
Dantley, the son of former NBA star Adrian Dantley, was 13 of 25 passing for 126 yards.
For the Irish (6-5), losing to a 19 1/2 -point underdog ranks among their worst losses of all time and leaves Coach Charlie Weis with a 28-20 record in four seasons.
Weis's 58.3 winning percentage is the same that Bob Davie was fired with after five seasons and Tyrone Willingham after three. Weis has seven years left after this season on a 10-year contract.
The Irish had one last chance to win in the closing seconds, but a 53-yard field goal-attempt by Brandon Walker fell well short. Walker was 3-for-6 on field goals for the game.
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