Top 5 Games of the Kelly Era

[AdmiralBackhand]

Already mentioned.. that Utah game.

 

[notredomer23]

Surprised Michigan 2012 isn't getting much love. We completely demolished defensively speaking the player that had ruined ND's season the 3 previous years.

 

[texbender]

I'm with IrishInNFL:

My top 5:

5: Nd vs MSU 2013
4: Nd vs Utah 2010
3: Nd vs Oklahoma 2012
2: Nd vs USC 2010
1: Nd vs Stanford 2012

 

[Catholics_Rule]

5-Notre Dame vs Utah 2010
4- Notre Dame vs USC 2010
3-Notre Dame vs Oklahoma 2012
2-Notre Dame vs USC 2012
1-Notre Dame vs Stanford 2012

The Utah game was huge. There was passion & fire for the Fighting Irish that day. I think it was a significant turning point.

 

[Catholics_Rule]

I thought about putting Michigan 2012 on the list but those other game edge it out for me.

The 2013 MSU game had some calls go our way too. I was at the game neither offenses did much of anything, and I don't think the defenses were spectacular that game.

 

[Rudy89]

5. 2010 vs USC yes we did beat ranked Utah but we had dropped so many to them and this made a season the at times felt like a failure and brought it up to being one of my most memorable and happy times of being an Irish fan.

4. 2012 vs UM for three years prior we watched in the final plays the skunk bears steal a win from us. After 3 years of heartbreak we conquered the monster of UM and Denard Robinson

3. 2013 vs. MSU for a season that a lot of Irish fans have mixed feelings on beating IMO our second biggest rival who was one of the best teams in the country and being the sole blemish on their season and sole reason they did not play for the national title puts it on the list for me.

2. 2012 vs Stanford two old rivals two BCS teams battling ending another 3 years of disappointment and showing the nation that we were worthy of a high ranking. Despite them being our highest ranked team we beat they aren't number 1 IMO.

1. 2012 vs OU the game that put us on the map. Sure OU wasn't at their best that year but rarely has coach stoops lost in Norman. It was the game that despite showing that we were no longer irrelevant or overrated no one thought we could win at least not in Norman. Not only did we win but we kicked ass forcing even our haters to admit that we are worthy of the BCS.

Honorable mentions to both the 2010 sun bowl and 2013 pinstripe bowl after going years without winning bowls it's nice to know that two seasons under this coach had us ending the season raising a trophy over our heads. Also honorable mention to 2010 Utah. Not including 2012 Pitt because even though good teams have close calls this shouldn't have been one and gave haters more ammunition to call us overrated and they kept pointing to this as why Oregon, Florida, or KSU should've played bama. This game should've been over in the 4th with EG drinking Gatorade and Tommy running out the clock than it taking a miracle in overtime. Don't get me wrong it was better than the 2013 game and there are worse memories from this era but it's not something I feel should touch the games I mentioned. If you feel like it should that's cool I respect that but I feel it shouldn't.

 

[ulukinatme]

Also ND vs USC 2010

I gotta vote for this one too. It was the first win against USC in a long, long time. It was far overdue, and it was in the Coliseum no less....crazy finish! Utah 2010 also gets my vote, OU in 2012, and Stanford 2012. Special mention should probably go to 2013 Michigan State (Although it was an odd game to watch, it was still against the eventual Rose Bowl winner and B1G Champion) and 2012 Michigan....nobody saw that Tommy Rees QB run coming.

 

[ulukinatme]

We had been plain BAD. We needed a win in the worse way. We were 4-5 after being blown out by Navy and after having lost to Tulsa in embarassing fashion at home after the Declan Sullivan accident (RIP). Morale was essentially at an all time low. We had all seen more talented Notre Dame teams collapse under Weis for lesser reasons. The fans needed it; the players needed it. It was huge. Not to mention our guys finally started making some real plays in that game. We won 4 straight games including that one to close off the season.

It is arguably the epitome of the Irish Turning Point.

I remember this game being a lot of fun to be at. It was later in the season, and a lot of the blue hairs in the gold seats had packed it in and headed south. In their place were some rowdy grandchildren and other family members I'm guessing...fans that I usually didn't see at the games.

In the 4th row in front of me, right behind Utah's bench, there was some guy that was giving Utah a hard time all game. One of Utah's big stars, Shaky Smithson, would come off to the sidelines and this fan started this movement. He'd yell "Hey, Shaky, what's going on?!" It became a catch phrase of sorts. Eventually the whole section started joining in, and they would do it for other players too. Sometimes this guy would just yell out "What are we going to do, coach?!" At one point late in the game Shaky actually turned around toward the guy and shrugged with a smile, and everyone gave him applause with ovation.

Overall, the crowd was just very into this game, and it was fun. I'd like to think the fact that many older alumni bailed has something to do with the turn around in the stadium as well as the team for this game, but that's probably going too far. I do think the team's success at home can be partially influenced by a strong crowd presence, and it certainly can ruffle the feathers of some opposing teams. When you consider that Notre Dame Stadium was almost twice the size of most venues that Utah played in that season, that can be a daunting location.

 

[IrishBlood81]

Maybe the 2010 USC game.

One of my favorite games of all time. This one was the first win ND had vs USC in some 9 years or so.

Notre Dame vs. Utah?

Talk about a swing in momentum

Agreed. Especially the circumstances surrounding it with Declans death and everything else.


Obviously it wasn't a great game at all for ND but the 2013 Michigan game, having the biggest crowd in NCAA football history was a big game.

 

[phork]

Tulsa

 

[ND NYC]

miami bowl blowout: finally win a bowl vs "marquee" name...basicaly embarass the U--fun in any decade!

beating usc 2010: monkey finally off the back praise jesus and thank you tommy

pitt 2012: shows never quit ND attitude, with sprinkling of the luck of the irish (wide right)

stanford 2012: goaline stands, clutch late game heroics; was soaked to the bone and drunk as a skunk in the stadium that day yeeha!

last one: will leave this for all the crazy f-ed up losses we have had. truly feel they have helped shape the program insofar as it showed kelly that things are much much different here at ND and very hard to win and win big. i think he learned from all those debacles. no need list the games we all know whoch ones they were.

go Irish!

 

[sharksamardzija8345]

I don't think I would call it top 5 either but 2013 USC game should get some love. ND won that game with straight up toughness and desire - a complete war of attrition through the second half.

It wasn't pretty but I can't think of another recent game that kept me on the edge of my seat the same way. Not even Pitt in 2012.

I must have walked every square inch of Notre Dame stadium that game. Walking around, sitting in the fetal position by the snack bars between plays then hopping up and watching the game with basically every usher there making my way around the stadium. No game has ever moved me quite like that one. From feeling sick to your stomach to complete euphoria. I forget where I even was when we finally won, but I sure as hell wasn't in my seat with the people I went with haha. I've been to 1 or 2 games for the last 6 years. The 2012 Pitt game was the best one I've ever been to. There isn't a close 2nd. I was also at the Michigan vs. Notre Dame game under the lights in Ann Arbor. Maybe the final outcome and 100,000+ skunk bear fans around me tainted my opinion of that game. But 2012 Pitt. Thinking and typing about it is just giving me goosebumps.

 

[Black Irish]

I can't put Pitt 2012 in the top 5; ND basically lost that game. We needed 2 strokes of pure luck to win (the refs not spotting the duplicate jersey numbers and then the missed FG). Now, if the Irish had blocked that FG instead of it just missing wide right, I'd feel differently.

 

[IrishBlood81]

Tulsa

Haha, I was gonna post the same thing

I can't put Pitt 2012 in the top 5; ND basically lost that game. We needed 2 strokes of pure luck to win (the refs not spotting the duplicate jersey numbers and then the missed FG). Now, if the Irish had blocked that FG instead of it just missing wide right, I'd feel differently.

I agree. For the program it wasn't our best. But personally, it was awesome. Just reading your post game me flashes of that day. It was over, our undefeated season was done, ND floating back into irrelevancy. And then they missed! I was gonna be late for work watching the game so I had to leave before it was over, found ESPN on my car radio and heard Golson jump in for a score, game over, we win, still undefeated. Totally awesome!

 

[ulukinatme]

I agree. For the program it wasn't our best. But personally, it was awesome. Just reading your post game me flashes of that day. It was over, our undefeated season was done, ND floating back into irrelevancy. And then they missed! I was gonna be late for work watching the game so I had to leave before it was over, found ESPN on my car radio and heard Golson jump in for a score, game over, we win, still undefeated. Totally awesome!

The game atmosphere was crazy too. The first 3 quarters were garbage. A lot of missed opportunities and poor play, partially because of the flu that some players were fighting. Some guys manned up in the 4th quarter though, and it was crazy to see the comeback happen. It's like the team flipped a switch. Something would happen and it would look like all might be lost...and NOPE, luck would swing back in our favor. At one point, I think in overtime, they played the theme from Rudy over the loudspeakers at the stadium and the crowd was eating it up. It just felt like things were ultimately going to go our way. It's not the way I wanted to win the game, and we shouldn't have won given the circumstances at the end, but we ended up winning anyway and I was happy.

 

[stlnd01]

Maybe it's because I was there yelling my balls off in the rain for four hours, but there's no question in my mind Stanford in 2012 was the best game of the Kelly era. Best game I've ever been to in 15 years of this.

OU 2012 was #2.

After that I'm not sure but that Utah game in 2010 is definitely top five. Maybe even #3. It may not look like much in hindsight but was huge at the time and visibly turned the program's momentum around.

 

[Veer option]

Utah in 2010.

 

[IrishBlood81]

The game atmosphere was crazy too. The first 3 quarters were garbage. A lot of missed opportunities and poor play, partially because of the flu that some players were fighting. Some guys manned up in the 4th quarter though, and it was crazy to see the comeback happen. It's like the team flipped a switch. Something would happen and it would look like all might be lost...and NOPE, luck would swing back in our favor. At one point, I think in overtime, they played the theme from Rudy over the loudspeakers at the stadium and the crowd was eating it up. It just felt like things were ultimately going to go our way. It's not the way I wanted to win the game, and we shouldn't have won given the circumstances at the end, but we ended up winning anyway and I was happy.

You were at that game?? Dang, so lucky. No question, it should've been a gimme game...or at least a win by 3. Thats funny, I remember I heard them play the Rudy theme on TV. Gave me goosebumps!
Yup, my thoughts exactly.

 

[dshans]

The Utah 2010 game.

I was there.

That is all.

 

[ulukinatme]

The Utah 1910 game.

I was there.

That is all.

FIFY

 

[dshans]

Why thank you, laddie boy. My memory is a bit hit-or-miss these days.

Now I remember – I didn't have my oxygen tank or walker at the game I attended ...

 

[IrishBlood81]

The Utah 2010 game.

I was there.

That is all.

No wonder we won.

FIFY

You beat me too it!

So. Hilarious.

 

[dshans]

All right, DonHoBoy and BloodyHarry: I was one of what, in some circles, is known as a Blue Hair. [Dirty Blonde or 50 Shades of Gray would be more accurate.] I took my 23 year old son for his first game and visit to ND. The weather took a pretty shitty turn during the course of the game.

I yelled (though a bit more restrained since the vocal chords ain't what they used to be when I was a pup) and stood as much as I did when I was a student there. I can't say the same for the youngsters in front of us. They seemed to stand just to get better cell phone reception to text chat with friends and left when the rain got a bit heavy and the temperature dropped.

I think they were "townies" or sons and daughters of alums. Talk about fair weather fans! M'boy knew better than to even think about suggesting we leave.

I went into the game expecting the Irish to lose. The blocked punt and resulting TD had a tremendous effect on the crowd and the team. At the end of the game when students and others flooded the field to dance amid the band was pure Irish Magic.

I may be a tad on the creaky side of life, but I'm still alive.

 

[ulukinatme]

I expected your son to be much older based on prior tales, but heck...if your son is only 9 years younger than me, you could almost be my dad. Then again, you could have taken a younger wife at 60 for all I know.

 

[hungryhippo]

In chronological order, the 6 I would list:

2010 vs Utah (huge momentum swing. Smoking a #15 team after Tulsa, which would certainly make a top 5 worst list. That Blanton blocked punt TD was the moment ND started climbing out of a program-wide funk)

2010 @ USC (Frosh QB on the road, ends a near decade long streak. Hopefully stemming the tide as we're now 3/4 under CBK)

2012 @ MSU (Beating a top-ten team on the road at night was huge. For me, and I'd imagine many others, it marked the first time I believed this team could really be something on the national stage)

2012 Michigan (This was a case of getting the spirit back into Notre Dame Stadium, being at the 40 yd line for a night game was by far my favorite ND experience, winning in prime time and beating a team we were supposed to beat. We'd seen way too many losses in games we gave away. Win the ones you're supposed to.)

2012 Stanford (Tough teams win tough games. We didn't see anyone tougher until January. This was a huge grind-it-out win. Defense wins championships.)

2012 @ Oklahoma (I have stated and firmly believe that was the best scripted offensive gameplan I've seen in Kelly's time at ND. It would not surprise me if they worked on that in advance, saving sequences of plays especially for that game. Top ten on the road at night. Nobody wins in Norman. That let me know Notre Dame was not just in the national conversation again, we were relevant. And we were for real.)