Part IV Navigating The Waters
Every new coach is judged by his third season at the helm if they get that far, for Brian Kelly, it was an opportunity at reviving a once iconic program who were the butt of every overrated joke there was in sports at the time.
After Rick Reilly's crass and demeaning words towards the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program back in mid-August, the team began its 13-week odyssey with a trip to Ireland against the Navy Midshipmen.
With senior running back Cierre Wood suspended due to team violations, the Irish nonetheless racked up 293 yards on the ground. It was the emergence of fellow backs Theo Riddick, who had 19 carries for 107 yards and two scores, and freshman George Atkinson III who averaged 11 yards per rush on only nine carries and two touchdowns as well.
Over 35,000 people traveled from the United States to Ireland for that game. That is the most people traveling outside the U.S for a sporting event ever. So much for this team being irrelevant eh Rick?
The week after, the Irish survived a 20-17 scare against the Purdue Boilermakers. Junior quarterback Tommy Rees won in relief after Golson had difficulty gripping the ball after taking a hit. Notre Dame struggled on the ground but Golson and Rees combined for 334 yards passing on 24 completions.
With the game tied 17-17 after a Purdue touchdown with 2:12 left in the 4th quarter, Rees guided the Irish on their final drive with a crucial 21-yard pass to Robby Toma on 3rd-and-10 to get to the Purdue 20, setting up the winning field goal by Kyle Brindza as time expired.
After a week off, Notre Dame (2-0) entered East Lansing to face the #10 ranked Michigan State Spartans (2-0). Not only did the #20 ranked Irish beat the Spartans, they dominated their rivals 20-3. It was Notre Dame's first victory against a top-10 opponent since 2005. The Irish defense held the Spartans to 237 total yards, and held star running back Le'Veon Bell to only 77 yards.
After winning the Megaphone trophy, Notre Dame propelled to #11 in the BCS standings. The Irish went back to South Bend to face Denard Robinson and the #17 Michigan Wolverines under the lights. Unlike last year in the big house when Robinson ran roughshod over the Notre Dame defense, Robinson endured the worst game of his career.
It was a coming out party for the Irish defense against Michigan, to the tune of five interceptions and a fumble. Although the Irish only won 13-6, it showed the rest of the country that their defense was a force to be reckoned with.
Enjoying their first 4-0 start since 2002, #9 Notre Dame rolled the 4-1 Miami Hurricanes 41-7 in Chicago. A lot of hype was pumped into this "Catholics vs Convicts" rematch from Notre Dame's victory over Miami in the Sun Bowl back in 2010. But Notre Dame was up to the task, dismantling the overmatched Miami defense.
Wood and Riddick became the first 100-yard rushing duo in ten years for the Irish as Notre Dame had a whopping 376 yards on the ground, the most in one game since 2000.
The #7 Irish would return to South Bend the next week for a showdown with the #17 ranked Stanford Cardinal.
Stanford (4-1), had beaten Notre Dame for three-straight years under Andrew Luck. This year, although Stanford did not have the luxury of Luck, they fielded a menacing defense with elite running back Stepfan Taylor fueling the offense.
Taylor came into the game averaging 111.0YPG with 5 rushing scores, certainly a threat that the Irish had to contain.
In a rain-soaked Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish and Cardinal engaged in a physical battle throughout the entire game. With Stanford up 13-10 with 6:12 left in the 4th quarter, Notre Dame went 79 yards on 12 plays to the Stanford 5-yard-line with 21-seconds left. Brindza hit a 22-yard field goal and sent the game into overtime.
Notre Dame had the ball first as Kelly went with Rees instead of Golson for the period. After getting sacked on the first play from the 25, Rees completed three passes in a row of 7, 9, and 16 yards to get to the Stanford 7-yard-line. Rees then made it four in a row with a seven-yard strike to TJ Jones to put the Irish up by seven.
Stanford on their first play lost five yards after a screen pass to Taylor went awry. But the Cardinal soon after had 1st-and-goal at the Irish 4' after a pair of 15-yard runs by quarterback Josh Nunes and Taylor.
First play, Taylor got only one yard.
Second-down, another hand-off, got two yards.
Third-down at the 1, Taylor was stuffed at the goal-line.
Finally it was 4th-and-goal. The game, Notre Dame's title hopes on the line. Stanford has lived and died by Taylor's legs all season.
Nunes handed it off to Taylor to the right side. Taylor was met by the vaunted front seven of Notre Dame. Taylor tried to fight through the wall but before he broke through to the end-zone, the whistles blew as his progress was initially stopped.
The game was over, the Irish survived once again.
This time though, they proved to the rest of the country that they were for real. It was their third win over teams ranked in the top 20, and of course 6-0, halfway towards the ultimate prize.
Up next, Part V "The Chance At Glory".
After Rick Reilly's crass and demeaning words towards the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program back in mid-August, the team began its 13-week odyssey with a trip to Ireland against the Navy Midshipmen.
With senior running back Cierre Wood suspended due to team violations, the Irish nonetheless racked up 293 yards on the ground. It was the emergence of fellow backs Theo Riddick, who had 19 carries for 107 yards and two scores, and freshman George Atkinson III who averaged 11 yards per rush on only nine carries and two touchdowns as well.
Over 35,000 people traveled from the United States to Ireland for that game. That is the most people traveling outside the U.S for a sporting event ever. So much for this team being irrelevant eh Rick?
The week after, the Irish survived a 20-17 scare against the Purdue Boilermakers. Junior quarterback Tommy Rees won in relief after Golson had difficulty gripping the ball after taking a hit. Notre Dame struggled on the ground but Golson and Rees combined for 334 yards passing on 24 completions.
With the game tied 17-17 after a Purdue touchdown with 2:12 left in the 4th quarter, Rees guided the Irish on their final drive with a crucial 21-yard pass to Robby Toma on 3rd-and-10 to get to the Purdue 20, setting up the winning field goal by Kyle Brindza as time expired.
After a week off, Notre Dame (2-0) entered East Lansing to face the #10 ranked Michigan State Spartans (2-0). Not only did the #20 ranked Irish beat the Spartans, they dominated their rivals 20-3. It was Notre Dame's first victory against a top-10 opponent since 2005. The Irish defense held the Spartans to 237 total yards, and held star running back Le'Veon Bell to only 77 yards.
After winning the Megaphone trophy, Notre Dame propelled to #11 in the BCS standings. The Irish went back to South Bend to face Denard Robinson and the #17 Michigan Wolverines under the lights. Unlike last year in the big house when Robinson ran roughshod over the Notre Dame defense, Robinson endured the worst game of his career.
It was a coming out party for the Irish defense against Michigan, to the tune of five interceptions and a fumble. Although the Irish only won 13-6, it showed the rest of the country that their defense was a force to be reckoned with.
Enjoying their first 4-0 start since 2002, #9 Notre Dame rolled the 4-1 Miami Hurricanes 41-7 in Chicago. A lot of hype was pumped into this "Catholics vs Convicts" rematch from Notre Dame's victory over Miami in the Sun Bowl back in 2010. But Notre Dame was up to the task, dismantling the overmatched Miami defense.
Wood and Riddick became the first 100-yard rushing duo in ten years for the Irish as Notre Dame had a whopping 376 yards on the ground, the most in one game since 2000.
The #7 Irish would return to South Bend the next week for a showdown with the #17 ranked Stanford Cardinal.
Stanford (4-1), had beaten Notre Dame for three-straight years under Andrew Luck. This year, although Stanford did not have the luxury of Luck, they fielded a menacing defense with elite running back Stepfan Taylor fueling the offense.
Taylor came into the game averaging 111.0YPG with 5 rushing scores, certainly a threat that the Irish had to contain.
In a rain-soaked Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish and Cardinal engaged in a physical battle throughout the entire game. With Stanford up 13-10 with 6:12 left in the 4th quarter, Notre Dame went 79 yards on 12 plays to the Stanford 5-yard-line with 21-seconds left. Brindza hit a 22-yard field goal and sent the game into overtime.
Notre Dame had the ball first as Kelly went with Rees instead of Golson for the period. After getting sacked on the first play from the 25, Rees completed three passes in a row of 7, 9, and 16 yards to get to the Stanford 7-yard-line. Rees then made it four in a row with a seven-yard strike to TJ Jones to put the Irish up by seven.
Stanford on their first play lost five yards after a screen pass to Taylor went awry. But the Cardinal soon after had 1st-and-goal at the Irish 4' after a pair of 15-yard runs by quarterback Josh Nunes and Taylor.
First play, Taylor got only one yard.
Second-down, another hand-off, got two yards.
Third-down at the 1, Taylor was stuffed at the goal-line.
Finally it was 4th-and-goal. The game, Notre Dame's title hopes on the line. Stanford has lived and died by Taylor's legs all season.
Nunes handed it off to Taylor to the right side. Taylor was met by the vaunted front seven of Notre Dame. Taylor tried to fight through the wall but before he broke through to the end-zone, the whistles blew as his progress was initially stopped.
The game was over, the Irish survived once again.
This time though, they proved to the rest of the country that they were for real. It was their third win over teams ranked in the top 20, and of course 6-0, halfway towards the ultimate prize.
Up next, Part V "The Chance At Glory".
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