![]() To call it a big game atmosphere undersells the moment’s electricity. For my money, it was the best pregame I’ve experienced on the road. Oklahoma striped the stadium, red and white, then unfurled an American flag that covered the entire field. 5 after its surprising but not convincing start to the year. Notre Dame arrived in Norman as a 10.5-point underdog despite being ranked in the No. But based on defying common sense, this game stands alone. It wasn’t the biggest upset of the Kelly era based on point spreads. Kyle Brindza’s game-winning 32-yard field goal won it. And there was LSU freshman running back Leonard Fournette, who scored on a 100-yard kickoff and 89-yard touchdown run.īut Kelly’s tinkering was spot on all afternoon, winning time of possession and ultimately milking the clock in the fourth quarter to set up that 14-play, 71-yard drive that bled the final 5:41. Brian Kelly decided to rotate quarterbacks Everett Golson and Malik Zaire. A couple guys who’d ultimately move to tight end – Jacob Matuska and Chase Hounshell – were key players at defensive tackle. ![]() Freshman Nyles Morgan started at linebacker. They arrived at the Music City Bowl after four straight defensive collapses, evidence Brian VanGorder wouldn’t work here. The Irish were a medical shambles and appeared to be equally shot mentally. Three years later I still don’t understand how Notre Dame won this game. Brandon resigned at mid-season and took a CEO position at Toys “R” Us.Īlso, this game gave us the Brian VanGorder fist pump. Nothing says rivalry like enmity between athletic directors. Swarbrick contends that’s not exactly how it down. But who cares about any of that? This was as cathartic for Notre Dame’s fan base as a night can get, a game that felt like a party from start to finish, complete with a rub-it-in pick-six by Elijah Shumate for the final score listed above, only to be wiped out by Max Redfield’s head hunting of quarterback Devin Gardner.Īctually, this game included a second mic drop, but it came before kickoff with Michigan athletics director David Brandon alleging that Jack Swarbrick handed him a note as written notice of the series cancellation. The Wolverines turned out to be awful, finishing 5-7 and firing Brady Hoke. The night was fool’s gold for the Irish defense. But you’d be hard pressed to remember anything from this game.Ī cold analysis would barely put this game on the list. ![]() This Spartans teams represents Kelly’s highest-ranked scalp. The Irish turned that into the game-winning touchdown, thanks in part to two more pass interference calls.Įven though Notre Dame’s season never really got into gear, Michigan State won 10 in a row after leaving South Bend, complete with a Big 10 title over Ohio State and Rose Bowl victory over Stanford. ![]() Shelton pass that Matthias Farley picked off in the red zone. The Spartans called a ridiculous trick play too, an R.J. Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook wasn’t much better, hitting on 16-of-32 passes for 135 yards. Tommy Rees threw 20 incompletions and averaged 4.17 yards per attempt. Cam McDaniel led the Irish with 40 yards rushing and averaged 2.5 yards per carry. Notre Dame and Michigan State combined for 474 yards total offense in a game that will be remembered most for pass interference penalties. This game didn’t feel like a big win at the time. Here are our picks for the 10 biggest wins of the Brian Kelly era, counting down from No. And how the fan base felt walking out of the stadium (or waking up on the couch the next morning) matters. And with Miami coming up tonight, which would clearly represent one of the best wins of the Kelly era, it’s worth examining which games it would join.įor the sake of this exercise, “best win” is left open to interpretation. Like with any milestone number, it’s a time to look forward and back. So to think of 100, I can't even wrap my arms around that.” I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever get a chance to coach one game at Notre Dame. “I'm honored to have gotten the opportunity to coach 100 games. “I’ve been here 100 games?” Kelly laughed. 7 Miami in a game that could give the Irish a chokehold on their College Football Playoff ranking and the program’s rebuild narrative.īut I wanted to go there considering Kelly is about to lead Notre Dame for the 100 th time, a number that’s hard to comprehend considering the tumultuous ride of the past seven-plus seasons.
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