Gator Bowl live updates: Notre Dame vs. South Carolina

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Marcus Freeman goes for his first postseason victory as the head coach at Notre Dame on Friday. The No. 21 Fighting Irish (8-4) take on the No. 19 South Carolina Gamecocks (8-4) in the Gator Bowl at 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).

Follow along below for live updates from TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.

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Notre Dame vs. South Carolina: First quarter

• South Carolina wins the toss and elects to receive.

• South Carolina easily drives down the field and scores a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Xavier Legette caps the possession with a 13-yard touchdown from Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler, who completes 5 of 7 attempts for 60 yards on the drive.

SCORE: Gamecocks 7, Irish 0 with 11:48 left in the first quarter

• The Notre Dame offense, with sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner at the helm for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury on Sept. 10, goes three-and-out to start. Buchner misses an open Jayden Thomas on third down. The ball flutters just too far ahead of him off his fingertips.

• The Irish recover a fumble near midfield.

• Buchner moves the chains on third and 15 with a throw over the middle to sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans, and he has more success on third down with a 15-yard rushing score on a quarterback draw on third and 9.

SCORE: Gamecocks 7, Irish 7 with 5:54 left in the first quarter

• The Gamecocks line up for a field goal from the 23-yard line, but holder Kai Kroeger steps back to pass on a fake and connects with long snapper Hunter Rogers on a touchdown pass.

SCORE: Gamecocks 14, Irish 7 with 2:27 left in the first quarter

• Buchner’s pass on second and 5 is tipped at the line of scrimmage. The ball lands in the hands of DQ Smith, who returns it 53 yards for a touchdown.

SCORE: Gamecocks 21, Irish 7 with 44 seconds left in the first quarter

Second quarter

• Notre Dame sustains a drive for nearly half of the entire quarter, but it stalls in the red zone. Buchner is sacked for a big loss on third and goal. Graduate student Blake Grupe connects on a 37-yard field goal.

SCORE: Gamecocks 21, Irish 10 with 8:36 left in the quarter

• A 26-yard pass puts South Carolina in Notre Dame territory, but the drive stalls inside the 30. The Gamecocks settle for a field goal.

SCORE: Gamecocks 24, Irish 10 with 5:18 left in the quarter

• Buchner finds sophomore running back Logan Diggs out of the backfield for a 75-yard touchdown. Diggs darted down the right sideline for the score.

SCORE: Gamecocks 24, Irish 17 with 5:06 left in the quarter

• The Irish stop South Carolina near midfield to get the ball back with over two minutes left until halftime.

• Notre Dame loses a net of eight yards on the ensuing drive and has to put from the back of the end zone. South Carolina returns the punt inside the 40, but an illegal block and an unsportsmanlike penalty on coach Shane Beamer brings the ball back to the Gamecocks’ 20.

• The half ends with freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison‘s sixth interception of the season.

Third quarter

• Notre Dame goes three and out to begin the half.

• South Carolina counters with a three and out of its own.

• The Irish only need five plays to go 68 yards to score a game-tying touchdown. Sophomore running back Audric Estime had 32 rushing yards on the drive. Buchner completed a pass of 25 yards to Thomas and ran in his second rushing touchdown of the day from 11 yards out.

SCORE: Gamecocks 24, Irish 24 with 10:28 left in the quarter

• Rattler uncorks a 42-yard touchdown to Legette, who made an outstanding, contorting catch and got a foot down for the score.

SCORE: Gamecocks 31, Irish 24 with 8:31 left in the quarter

• Buchner tries to do too much and gets picked off. South Carolina does nothing with the gifted field position and punts it back to the Irish.

• The Irish get a couple first downs but are forced to punt. The ball goes into the end zone for a touchback.

• South Carolina’s next punt only gets out to the 44-yard line.

• Buchner finds graduate student wide receiver Braden Lenzy for a 44-yard touchdown on a deep post. The ball is perfectly placed to allow Lenzy to run underneath it and into the end zone inside the left pylon.

SCORE: Gamecocks 31, Irish 31 with 31 seconds left in the quarter

Fourth quarter

• Diggs scores his second touchdown of the game on a 39-yard rush up the middle. The TD comes after the Irish fake a punt and pick up the first down on a Lenzy end-around. It’s the Irish’s first lead of the game.

SCORE: Irish 38, Gamecocks 31 with 12:41 left in the game

• The Irish are going in for a potential knockout blow, but Buchner is picked off in the end zone. It’s taken all the way back for a South Carolina touchdown.

SCORE: Gamecocks 38, Irish 38 with 7:42 left in the game

• Buchner hits Evans for a 16-yard touchdown to regain the lead for the Irish.

SCORE: Irish 45, Gamecocks 38 with 1:38 left

• The Gamecocks can’t come up with the winning score. The Irish hold on to win.