Before the Bruins knew what hit them, Notre Dame had taken the lead. After taking a five step drop, Quinn pump-faked and began to roll to his right in search of an open receiver. Quinn spotted Samardzija open on the right side of the field and delivered a bullet to the Irish receiver. Samardzija caught the ball at the 30-yard line and then jutted towards the middle of the field, weaving in and out of Bruin defenders before momentarily losing his balance after taking a hit from UCLA safety Dennis Keyes near the 15-yard line. Samardzija was quickly able to regain his footing, jumping the final yard into the end zone and scoring the winning touchdown with the ball raised aloft.