Everything was falling apart for Arizona State, or so it seemed. After the Sun Devils jumped out to a 34-10 halftime lead, Notre Dame came roaring back. Irish quarterback Everett Golson transformed from Jay Cutler into Joe Montana at the half, and suddenly Arizona State's lead was only three. Taylor Kelly and Demario Richard hooked up for a touchdown with 4:29 left in the game to stretch the lead to 10, but even that didn't feel safe. Until Mr. Carrington stepped in.
Play No. 4 (tied): Lloyd Carrington's pick-six vs. Notre Dame
3 Points: The play occurred in a Sun Devil victory
6 Points: The play was a Sun Devil touchdown scored by the defense
7 Points: The play went for 40 or more yards (Big Play Factor)
9 Points: The play was a touchdown in the 4th quarter of a Sun Devil victory
Total: 25 points
Golson was over 400 yards, slicing and dicing his way through the Sun Devil secondary. He'd seemingly recovered from three earlier interceptions to lead touchdown-scoring drivers on three of the previous four possessions. Carrington, for what it's worth, wasn't exactly dominating. He had forced an earlier fumble, but he also had 8 tackles, mostly because he couldn't stop completions in the second-half. Even on this play, Carrington was out of position. Corey Robinson's comeback route left Carrington three yards downfield. But for reasons still unknown, Robinson bobbled a perfect pass, fell to the ground, and Carrington quickly snatched the ball out of the air, making on Irish player miss before celebrating his game-winning pick-six with his defensive brotherhood. Clearly, Carrington never missed a tip-drill. The Sun Devils went on to win, 55-31.
Watch the video of the play here: