David Slays Goliath as B.C. Topples Irish : College football: Gordon, who had failed on two game-winning chances earlier in his career, beats No. 1 Notre Dame, 41-39, on game’s last play.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. —  The madness of this entire autumn was frozen late Saturday afternoon on a patch of worn grass in the north end of Notre Dame Stadium. Gathering darkness, November chill, gold helmets--”Football at its finest,” Boston College quarterback Glenn Foley said--and the rich, sweet flavors of redemption and shock.

Last week--in the Game of the Century, no less--the probable Heisman Trophy winner could not beat Notre Dame on the last play. Florida State’s speed and talent, Charlie Ward . . . not enough. And Notre Dame became No. 1.

Saturday, David Gordon, who was most valuable player of two high school teams (soccer and tennis), and who, according to Foley, two years ago, “couldn’t even get the ball off the ground,” kicked a low knuckleball 41 yards for a field goal as time expired, giving Boston College a 41-39 victory over Notre Dame.

Gordon’s kick silenced the Notre Dame fans, who had seen the Fighting Irish rush back from a 38-17 fourth-quarter deficit to a take a 39-38 lead on Kevin McDougal’s four-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass to Lake Dawson with 69 seconds to play.

“We are all absolutely in shock right now,” said Notre Dame defensive tackle Jim Flanigan, who was featured in celebration on the cover of Sports Illustrated last week.

Notre Dame is 10-1 and finished for the regular season. Boston College (8-2), which came in ranked No. 17, plays West Virginia Friday for a share of the Big East title and a place in some prominent bowl.

The Eagles answered the immeasurable humiliation of losing here last year, 54-7. It was an embarrassing loss that stained Boston College’s 7-3-1 resurgence.

“I went home last January and people would say to me, ‘Yeah, you guys had a pretty good season, but you got your butts kicked by Notre Dame,’ ” junior linebacker Stephen Boyd said. ‘You try to ignore people like that, but it built up.”

Foley, who was sacked four times and completed only 11 of 28 passes a year ago, said, “All I know is they beat us, 54-7, last year and I think they kind of rubbed it in. (Notre Dame ran a fake punt late in the game).

“The only time I ever had any respect for Lou Holtz was when he said (in jest, last Sunday) that Boston College was the No. 1 team in the country.”

It was Foley who brought Boston College back in the final minute, part of a day when he completed 30 of 48 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns, but also twice fumbled snaps in the fourth quarter, helping to set up Notre Dame’s last two touchdowns.

On the last drive, which began at the Boston College 25 after Notre Dame was called for a personal foul on the kickoff, Foley threw two incompletions and then hit four of five passes. The last two were to tight end Pete Mitchell and Ivan Boyd, putting the Eagles on the Notre Dame 24 with five seconds left.

That brought on Gordon, who walked on two years ago after transferring from Vermont, where he played soccer. “He had poor leg strength,” Boston College Coach Tom Coughlin said. “But he has worked, really, like a dog, to become a better kicker.”

Gordon missed a last-second field goal in Boston College’s 22-21 loss at Northwestern earlier this season. His 43-yard attempt in the final moments of last year’s tie with West Virginia was blocked.

The ball was spotted in the middle of the field. Gordon, a left-footed senior, swung through and hit a wobbly shot that barely cleared Notre Dame safety Jeff Burris. “I didn’t hit it very well, I knew that,” Gordon said.

But straight. “Dave’s kicks go from right to left,” Foley said. “I looked up and it was right at the right pipe, so I knew it was going through.”

After that, euphoria. “I didn’t know what to do,” Foley said. “I just ran around like an idiot.”

Notre Dame players lay on the ground, so near where they had celebrated a week earlier. They had been lackluster for much of the game. But Holtz expected his team to be emotionally flat. “I felt we would work our way into the competitiveness of the game,” he said.

“To come back like that and then to lose, it’s heartbreaking,” Holtz said after the Irish had a 17-game winning streak snapped. “It was a devastating loss. If you want to know, do we hurt? Yes, we hurt.”