STANFORD, Calif. -- The moment Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer gave the Irish a 36-35 lead with only half a minute left on Saturday, Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan scanned his surroundings on the sideline.

He saw Christian McCaffrey, limbering up for the critical kick return ahead. He saw Conrad Ukropina, already booting balls into the practice net. There was calm preparation happening at a time when panicked desperation might have been the natural course of action.

And then Hogan sensed his father, Jerry -- who passed away after a bout with cancer last year -- joining this vibe of surreal tranquility.

"I have no doubt," Hogan said. "I could feel it. I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to win that game."

In a career highlighted by two Rose Bowl appearances and the Stanford record for wins, this was setting up to be the senior's climactic moment. Jerry Hogan, a Notre Dame graduate, had raised Kevin a diehard Irish fan before enthusiastically supporting his conversion to Cardinal red.

Now, 25 seconds remained in the quarterback's senior day, and he had the chance to knock Notre Dame out of the national title picture while keeping Stanford in it.

This was the ultimate pressure cooker situation, and coach David Shaw was confident because of the player he had at the controls.

"I challenge anybody to find a better two-minute quarterback in the nation than what Kevin has done this year," he said. "Our big thing we talked about earlier in the day was belief.... Belief in our preparation, belief that our struggles helped make us a better team."

They did. The Cardinal reversed a painful 38-36 defeat to Oregon two weeks earlier, when they failed to execute at critical junctures down the stretch, and won this one by the same exact score.

Their dramatic rally against the Irish started with a facemask penalty. After an incompletion intended for Michael Rector, Hogan delivered the devastating 27-yard laser to Devon Cajuste that put the Cardinal in field-goal range.

"I had no doubt in my mind that the ball was coming my way," said Cajuste, also a senior. "I didn't even see Hogan throw it. I just turned and the ball was in the air. So you can't really beat that. Perfect throw, perfect timing, execution. Five years of practice makes perfect."

Ukropina, who had already predicted victory on the sideline several minutes prior, continued with his warm-up kicks. He later said he enjoys being iced, so Notre Dame's desperation timeout had no negative effect on the winning field goal try.

"I took my steps, set up, and told my holder, 'Let's ride,'" Ukropina said.

He drilled a 45-yarder through the uprights, and Stanford Stadium entered field-rushing frenzy.

"Growing up as a Notre Dame fan, it meant the world," Hogan said. "It's just hard to describe. [My teammates] had my back. They have been so supportive of me, helping me go through the hard times. I couldn't see myself being anywhere else in college. I came to the right place. I played for the right coach. It's just a great finish to a long career."

But while Hogan's time on the home field may have ended in Hollywood-worthy fashion, his larger body of work is still unfinished. Stanford now moves onto the Pac-12 title game against USC, another rival that has engaged them in fierce battles over the past decade. The stakes only rise, as a potential Rose Bowl berth also now hangs in the balance along with those College Football Playoff hopes.

Adding to the intrigue, this particular game against the Trojans happens to be a rematch of the Cardinal's 41-31 win in September, when Hogan hobbled through an ankle injury to silence the Coliseum down the stretch. The performance marked the start of the senior's 2015 explosion. He ended up finishing this regular season with a 168.6 quarterback rating on 9.2 yards per attempt, numbers that both rank in the top five nationally.

So if there's a way for a compelling story to come full circle not just once, but twice, then Hogan has found the formula.

"I can't say how proud I am of him," Shaw said. "He had to keep his emotions in check. ... We exchanged pleasantries there [when I gave him the game ball], the kind only the head coach and the quarterback can. He's our guy. And in true Kevin Hogan fashion, he said, 'Thanks, coach. We have to play USC next week."