Although their team lost to Clemson in Saturday's Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, two Notre Dame fans got a consolation prize before the game even started: a surprise visit from a rogue bald eagle.

According to ESPN, the stately bird, which was brought to AT&T Stadium for the national anthem, took a couple of detours while flying over the crowd, landing on a shocked spectator before resting on another Notre Dame fan's arm.

>> Watch the moments here

The second fan, Tuyen Nguyen of South Bend, Indiana, told ESPN that stretching his arm out to the eagle was an "instant reaction."

"He looked pretty tired," Nguyen told ESPN. "I just put my hand out to see if he was going to land on me, and he did."

>> See one of the viral photos here

Handlers eventually retrieved the eagle, whose name is Clark, ESPN reported.

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Clemson defeated Notre Dame 30-3 to advance to the college football national title game, where the No. 2 Tigers will face No. 1 Alabama on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, California.

Read more here.

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Christian Moss (center) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against Louisiana Tech. (Courtesy of Kennesaw State Athletics)

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The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

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