BCS National Championship 2013: Notre Dame unveils apparent fake field goal in practice

During the 15-minute media viewing period of Friday's practice, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish appeared to reveal a bit of trickeration, debuting what looked to be a fake field goal, according to Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune.

The apparent fake field goal seemed so out of place and unexpected that one assumed it was a botched snap and an ad lib. If not, there was Kyle Brindza lining up for a short try inside 20 yards ... and then a pass floated to tight end Troy Niklas in the end zone.

For the remainder of the viewing period, Hamilton said that Brindza showed no other forms of special teams trick plays and continued to kick field goals. The sophomore kicker has successfully made 23 of 31 field goal attempts in 2012, including five against the USC Trojans. He made his longest attempt of the season against the Trojans, connecting from 52 yards.

The Fighting Irish haven't been ones to employ a fake field goal, although they were the victims of one in 2010 when Michigan State's holder, Aaron Bates, stood up and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Gantt for a game-winning touchdown.

The BCS National Championship between Notre Dame and Alabama is scheduled to kickoff at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN.