Turning point, red-zone issues, Brian Kelly's take, and an ironic twist at the end are all featured.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The four quarters of an epic showdown between Notre Dame and Stanford mostly epitomized the 2015 Irish campaign.

Without a number of players to injury and against an elite opponent, head coach Brian Kelly's squad fought for every point and every inch in one final gasp of a College Football Playoff pursuit.

Just like its season, however, Notre Dame fell just short in excruciating fashion in a 38-36 loss at Stanford.

The Irish sat on the College Football Playoff bubble for about a month, but that bubble burst in the program's fourth straight loss in Palo Alto.

Notre Dame engineered an 88-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes to temporarily go ahead, 36-35.

With the Irish at their own 39-yard line on third-and-10, sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer fired a bullet to junior receiver Corey Robinson for a 22-yard gain to move the chains.

On fourth-and-one at the Stanford 8-yard line, Kizer's flip to freshman running back Josh Adams picked up six yards and a first down. On the next play, Kizer kept it and scored from two yards out for the touchdown. Freshman kicker Justin Yoon made the extra point to grab a one-point lead.

"I thought it was as good as it could get," Kelly said. "Four something on the clock, eats up the whole clock, makes an incredible play on the third down, throw as big route under duress, runs the ball physically. I think he handled himself like a fifth-year senior, and he's just a freshman. So, if there's a bright spot there, obviously, the way DeShone Kizer played was pretty bright."

Returning the football to Stanford with 30 seconds, however, proved to be too much for senior quarterback Kevin Hogan in his third career start against the Irish.

The Cardinal traveled 45 yards in four plays - aided by a 15-yard face mask penalty by junior defensive end Isaac Rochell - to set up the game-winning kick by Stanford's Conrad Ukropina.

A 27-yard pass from Kevin Hogan to Devon Cajuste keyed the drive leading to the 45-yard field goal.

"We got to close down inside out on that seam route," Kelly said. "I thought we probably played it a little bit too, too much outside in, worried about backing up. We got to be more aggressive to a seam route."

Trailing 35-29 early in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame's defense provided a lift with consecutive third down stops to force punts.

It could not, however, protect a lead in the final 30 seconds, proving to be the difference.

"It's unfair to look at one play and think that that defines a ballgame," fifth-year senior linebacker Joe Schmidt said. "It's shortsighted to do so. I think we needed to make one more play and Stanford just did today."

Notre Dame fell behind 14-7 after Stanford's first two drives of the game due to struggles on third downs before improving in that department in the second half. The Cardinal converted all five third down opportunities on those two drives - not including an offsides on third-and-one by Irish freshman nose guard Jerry Tillery that moved the chains - leading to 14 points.

The Irish benefited from some quick strikes, beginning with freshman returner CJ Sanders' 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown after Stanford's first score. It marked the program's first on a kickoff return since George Atkinson against USC in 2011. He did it twice that season.

Notre Dame gained a 20-14 advantage in the second quarter on a 73-yard passing touchdown from Kizer to junior receiver Will Fuller.

Junior cornerback Devin Butler started in place of senior KeiVarae Russell (fractured tibia) and mostly held up, with the exception of a missed tackle of Stanford receiver Michael Rector, which allowed him to score from 14 yards out to regain a 21-20 lead just before halftime.

"I thought Devin Butler competed his butt off," Kelly said. "He got a [pass interference] late in the game, but he's competing for the football. So, I thought he played well. He left with a concussion in the last series, [sophomore Nick Watkins] had to go in for him. But I was proud of Devin, I was proud of the way he competed out there."

Following the Rector score, Kizer scampered 48 yards to reach the Cardinal 23-yard line. On the following play, he fumbled and Stanford recovered.

Coupled with three field goals from inside the Stanford 20-yard line, those four drives into the Cardinal 25-yard line accounted for nine total points.

Notre Dame successfully contained Stanford All-American candidate Christian McCaffrey and prevented an explosive gain. He rushed 27 times for 94 yards and caught three passes for 19 yards. In order to keep him from breaking a long kickoff return for a score, Notre Dame utilized starting defenders Joe Schmidt, Jaylon Smith, Elijah Shumate, Cole Luke and Max Redfield.

"It was all about McCaffrey and making sure that he did not wreck the game from special teams. I thought we did a great job on special teams and kept him out of changing the complexion of the game from that standpoint," Kelly said. "I thought we kicked it well and punted it well and covered it well. I thought we got the upper hand in special teams other than obviously the field goal they kicked at the end."

With senior running back C.J. Prosise sidelined due to an ankle injury, freshman Adams again filled in admirably in the starting role. He rushed 18 times for 168 yards and one touchdown, with Kizer adding 128 yards on the ground against the Stanford defense. Adams' performance marked a freshman single-game rushing record for the Irish.

"He's unbelievable," Kizer said. "He came out there like he was a fifth-year veteran. He runs harder than anyone I've ever seen. He truly is a great teammate to us and he puts everything on the line each play. That's what you have to ask for out of your running back and that's what he gave us.

"To have him in the backfield with me is truly a privilege and it just goes to show from one to four at every position, we might not be the most talented all the way across, but we're going to give the most heart and at the end of the day heart is what's allowed us to put us in the position that we're in now."

Notre Dame concluded the regular season with a 10-2 record but is still likely to reach a New Year's Six bowl, with the Fiesta and Peach - particularly the former - being the logical destinations.