Stanford tops Notre Dame with field goal on final play

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Even considering the recent tradition of thrillers in the Stanford-Notre Dame rivalry, this one beat all.

In a game with eight lead changes, Conrad Ukropina kicked a 45-yard field goal on the final play to give No. 13 Stanford a dramatic 38-36 win over No. 4 Notre Dame on Saturday night, keeping the Cardinal’s faint hopes for a berth in the national playoff alive.

Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer’s 2-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds left had given the Irish a 36-35 lead.

But Kevin Hogan, who threw four touchdown passes in the last home game of his college career, wasn’t done. After a helpful face-mask penalty against the Irish, he connected with Devon Cajuste for a 27-yard pass to the Notre Dame 30. Christian McCaffrey picked up 2 more yards on a run.

Then the Cardinal left the game to the foot of Ukropina, who has missed just two field-goal attempts this year. The redshirt junior, who came to Stanford as a walk-on, booted this one through with plenty to spare, and Stanford fans swarmed onto the field.

“He’s one of the best kickers in the country,” head coach David Shaw said.

Stanford place kicker Conrad Ukropina (34) is lifted by fans and teammates after hitting a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give Stanford a 38-36 win over Notre Dame in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015, in Stanford, Calif. less Stanford place kicker Conrad Ukropina (34) is lifted by fans and teammates after hitting a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give Stanford a 38-36 win over Notre Dame in an NCAA college football game ... more Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Stanford tops Notre Dame with field goal on final play 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Ukropina said he looked at holder Dallas Lloyd before the kick and said, “Shoot, we might as well just make it.” He added, “It’s the same kick I’ve made hundreds of times in practice.”

His teammates were so confident in Ukropina that they were jumping up and down on the sideline even before the kick was made. “I wasn’t ready to celebrate just yet,” Shaw said.

The win completed a 10-2 regular season (8-1 Pac-12) for the Cardinal and kept them alive, if tenuously, for a berth in the College Football Playoff. It erased the Irish (10-2) from playoff consideration.

The Cardinal’s more pressing goal is winning the Pac-12. They meet USC for the title Saturday at Levi’s Stadium. Stanford beat the Trojans 41-31 in Los Angeles in the third week of the season.

Kizer and freshman tailback Josh Adams, both of whom started the season as second-stringers, keyed an Irish attack with their rushing. Kizer rushed for 128 yards and passed for 234, completing 13 of 25 attempts, including a 73-yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller. Adams rushed for 168 yards, including a 62-yard TD run, as he replaced injured starter C.J. Prosise.

Hogan was an efficient 17-for-21 for 269 yards. His TD passes went to Remound Wright for 1 yard, Cajuste for 6, Michael Rector for 14 and Austin Hooper for 10. Cajuste caught five passes for 125 yards.

“It was very emotional,” Hogan said of his home finale. “I just tried to enjoy it. … It was one of those games that whoever had the ball last would win.”

It was a relatively quiet night for McCaffrey, who rushed for 94 yards on 27 carries, none longer than 11 yards. He caught three passes for 19 yards.

Notre Dame came in with the reputation of having a big-play offense and didn’t disappoint. It scored on a 93-yard kickoff return, a 73-yard pass play and a 62-yard run.

But with Stanford trailing in the third quarter, Hogan directed the Cardinal on a 76-yard scoring drive, hitting Cajuste for 42 yards and running 7 yards on a keeper to the Irish 3. Two plays later, Wright scored on a 1-yard leap, his 24th touchdown on goal-to-go in the past two seasons, to put Stanford up 28-23.

Stanford tight end Dalton Schultz was originally ruled to have scored on a 23-yard pass from Hogan on the game’s opening drive. On a replay review, he was found to have been down just short of the goal line. Momentarily thwarted, the Cardinal scored two plays later on a 1-yard pass from Hogan to Wright.

Notre Dame got that touchdown right back when freshman C.J. Sanders returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinal marched 78 yards, taking a 14-7 lead on Hogan’s 6-yard pass to Cajuste. The 6-foot-4 Cajuste outjumped 5-11 cornerback Cole Luke for the ball.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald