Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson was the surprise winner of the team's quarterback race at the beginning of the season, and he has led the team on a surprising run to the BCS Championship game -- an outcome even he didn't see coming.

On Tuesday, Golson was asked if he envisioned the year that the Irish have put together.

"Nah, not at all," Golson laughed after Notre Dame's 22-13 win over USC Saturday. "I think I was getting frustrated too much to be envisioning that."

(via CSN Chicago)

Golson went back to the Purdue game, telling reporters that was a big hurdle for him and that he has progressed greatly from that moment. In that game, a narrow 20-17 win by the Irish, Golson was lifted late in the game for Tommy Rees. Since the middle of the season, though, Notre Dame's offense has been purely Golson's.

On the season, Golson has completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 2,135 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. He's also run for 305 yards and three touchdowns. There is room for the sophomore to improve moving forward, but he can go down in Irish history with a win in the BCS title game.