What was your favorite Notre Dame win and what game was the toughest loss for you to take?

[notredomer23]

Favorite win has to be PSU this past year.

2011 Michigan did irreparable harm to me.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

It's impossible to pinpoint one of each, but this is a great thread. Worst loss has to be under the lights in '11. I was a newborn for BC '93 so that can't really count. Honorable mention: UNI 2024, Tulsa 2010.

I live it MI, so it would be pretty easy to say my favorite win was 37-0 against the skunkbears, but it wasn't all that impactful from a program building standpoint. Just pure joy for me, though. Fuck michigan.

Favorite win: Probably UGA this past season. Slaying a SEC "beast" was something that we just hadn't done in my lifetime, let alone one knocking on the door of a dynasty. It was up there with OU 2012, just going into enemy territory against a top 10 opponent and winning wasn't something we were accustomed to from '01 - '12.

Honorable mention: OU '12, Stanford '12, that game was just so much fun, and the goal line stand. Also anytime we beat the skunkbears.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I've seen a ton of bad ND losses over the years that absolutely gutted me as a fan. Boston College, Navy, South Florida, UConn, Tulsa, Northern IL. But also scUM UTL game, Bush Push along with all the other blowouts at the hands of Pete The Poodle Carrol, Bama Natty and pretty much every other bowl game with a lop-sided matchup that resulted in a blowout and more anti-ND ridicule. I could go on and on.

As with losses, I've also been witness to a ton of great ND wins and magical seasons. 93 FSU stands out to me. I had been a casual follower of ND football up until that game. That game, the excitement, the win, the ranking all broke the camel's back and caused my fandom to explode as a ten year old kid. Even though they lost the next week (see above), I still couldn't shake the high from that FSU game. I have a ten year old daughter now and her raw passion for sports cracks me up....until I remember that's the exact age I became obsessed with ND football and IU basketball.

Honorable Mention: Georgia this past year for the same reason Some Irish Bloke mentioned. Beating a SEC powerhouse isn't something that ND has done in a long time. I've been conditioned to just hope for close games and not a blowout. What a game that was to see. Similar feelings when ND would play Ohio State. Thank God for Freeman and co for hopefully turning the tide and closing those gaps.

 

[IrishLax]

My "Mount Rushmore" of hard losses is:
-'14 FSU game where we were absolutely cheated... the injustice of it all was too much for me to take
-'05 USC
-'11 Michigan under the lights
-'23 Ohio State

Favorite wins pre-Freeman:
-'06 UCLA... in person bias
-'12 Stanford
-'15 UVA... was at that game with a bunch of UVA people, and it was a surreal experience
-'20 Clemson

I put "pre-Freeman" because the Georgia and Penn State victories this past year clearly pass up a number of those games but also suffer from recency bias. Same with the blowouts of top rated Clemson and USC teams.

 

[IrishLax]

It's impossible to pinpoint one of each, but this is a great thread. Worst loss has to be under the lights in '11. I was a newborn for BC '93 so that can't really count. Honorable mention: UNI 2024, Tulsa 2010.

I live it MI, so it would be pretty easy to say my favorite win was 37-0 against the skunkbears, but it wasn't all that impactful from a program building standpoint. Just pure joy for me, though. Fuck michigan.

Favorite win: Probably UGA this past season. Slaying a SEC "beast" was something that we just hadn't done in my lifetime, let alone one knocking on the door of a dynasty. It was up there with OU 2012, just going into enemy territory against a top 10 opponent and winning wasn't something we were accustomed to from '01 - '12.

Honorable mention: OU '12, Stanford '12, that game was just so much fun, and the goal line stand. Also anytime we beat the skunkbears.

This. It's hard to really put into words, but beating the SEC Champ in a playoff game when we *hadn't even won a BCS bowl in decades* was basically unthinkable. I still remember my mindset flipping to "oh shit we're actually gonna do this" on the 2nd half KO return... before that I was completely cynical that we'd find some way to come up short.

 

[NorthDakota]

This. It's hard to really put into words, but beating the SEC Champ in a playoff game when we *hadn't even won a BCS bowl in decades* was basically unthinkable. I still remember my mindset flipping to "oh shit we're actually gonna do this" on the 2nd half KO return... before that I was completely cynical that we'd find some way to come up short.

Beating Georgia and Penn State meant a lot just because I've gotten so used to watching them either come up just short or get run off the field in these games.

The Clemson shit kicking a few years back was really fun to see. I think it may have been a sign that this wasnt your older brother's Notre Dame team anymore.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

That 2020 Clemson game was awesome but I don't consider it one of the best simply because Trevor didn't play (and weren't there a couple of their stud DL starters out too? I can't remember for sure). 2022 Clemson was a lot of fun, but everyone knows that they had fallen off a cliff once Lawrence went to the NFL. They haven't really been the same since. ND smacked them around with big boy football and arguably the worst QB I've seen in my lifetime. Entertainment value was super high, but I wouldn't rank it as anything other than a turning point for the Freeman Era.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

What was your favorite Notre Dame win and what game was the toughest loss for you to take?

Fun thread, good sir. Well done

 

[jprue24]

fav 1988 Miami - My ND mini football and I went high order when Terrell broke that pass up. Very exciting.
2nd is 2020 Clemson. Didn't matter I was browning out and had to rewatch the next day to memba. ND finally won a big game again.

worst 2011 scUM - Never been more angry at a game I was watching. Stormed out of the room cussing when roundtree caught ANOTHER dead duck. It was disgusting to watch.
2nd is Bush push. Leinart fucking fumbling, what a prick.

 

[PapaIrish37]

Favorite wins are hard - so many over the years. USC in '73 and '77 were both amazing. Beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl later in '73 was even better. As others have said, recency bias and getting back to what feels like where we should be by beating UGA and PSU this January make those tough to beat.

Lots of bad losses as well but for me the worst was USC in '74 - up 24-6 at half and losing 55-24. Ara announcing his retirement shortly after made it worse although they did beat 'Bama again in the Orange Bowl for his last game. In person, was there for losses to Navy in '07 and '10 (in NJ) and the loss to U Conn.

 

[NDWarrior]

Something tells me that at some point over the next few years, we just might see a Texas/ND epic playoff game for the ages, headed up by Manning and Carr, that is sure to become one of these all-time games

 

[Irish4life]

Toughest ND Losses to Swallow:
Bush Push (will never be topped)
2011 Michigan
2015 Clemson
2017 Miami
2019 Michigan

Favorite (regular season) ND wins
2010 USC
2012 Stanford
2012 USC
2017 USC
2018 Michigan (magical being there in person)
2020 Clemson
2022 Clemson
2023 USC
2024 Texas A&M

 

[Irish#1]

Favorite wins are hard - so many over the years. USC in '73 and '77 were both amazing. Beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl later in '73 was even better. As others have said, recency bias and getting back to what feels like where we should be by beating UGA and PSU this January make those tough to beat.

Lots of bad losses as well but for me the worst was USC in '74 - up 24-6 at half and losing 55-24. Ara announcing his retirement shortly after made it worse although they did beat 'Bama again in the Orange Bowl for his last game. In person, was there for losses to Navy in '07 and '10 (in NJ) and the loss to U Conn.

Clements to Weber in that Sugar Bowl is the biggest play ever IMO.

I still remember where I was when I heard of Ara’s retirement on TV. Started getting misty eyed. That’s when the wife realized how much of a fan I was.

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

FIFY...IYKYK

I was at that game a few rows down from the scoreboard.

 

[ulukinatme]

I was at that game a few rows down from the scoreboard.

Section 10, Row E, Seat 33. Behind Michigan's bench, Jake Butt's family were a few rows in front of us.

 

[NDPhilly]

As far as favorite - Georgia last year and it’s not particularly close. PSU last year is probably second because we looked so dead. Not including last year, probably OU 2012.

 

[irishnd31]

Section 10, Row E, Seat 33. Behind Michigan's bench, Jake Butt's family were a few rows in front of us.

 

[GEORGIA DOMER]

UGA last year. I live in the DEEP south. No explanation needed. Bama Natty for the same reason!

 

[MrNimbus]

From games I was personally at:

Win: 2012 pitt

Losses: 2022 Marshall (which was horrendous because I bought seats at the 50 for the first time. The only bright spot was this smokin hot chick in front of me that had on a tight green dress and a nd hat) and 2006 scUM

Games that I wasn't at:

This years playoffs: winning a home playoff game and beating the sec champs was amazing. Plus, stuffing Franklin into a locker is always fun 👍

2005 usc (I was so angry and depressed for about a week)

 

[Ian77]

I was at 2015 UVa (Kizer to Fuller at the last second), so if that's not #1, it's 1b. Favourite would probably be Georgia. I know there's a recency bias, but ND getting the major bowl monkey off the back, vs the SEC champ, deep in SEC territory? Hard to top that.

Toughest loss will always be USC 2005, but Ohio State 2023 is a very close second. If DJ Brown had just held on to that pass...

 

[Punky]

A couple of big vics I was at: In 88 went to the Michigan game to see my boy Reggie Ho drive the dagger into that whiney bitch Bo Phlembelcher's heart and that same year also was at the Coliseum for #1 vs #2 and saw my boy Stan Smagala run that interception back and empty a stadium full of 90,000 cardinal and gold colored bastards. Song Girls were nice too.
Worst loss I was personally at was the 1981 Sugar Bowl. I felt we outplayed those Georgia hicks but we made every stupid mistake you can think of and lost to a bunch of inbred hayseeds. Their crowd was pretty much like their team, what a bunch of yokels.

 

[nkyirish]

Favorite win: FSU '93...gets slept on because of the game that happened the next week.
Worst loss: The next week

Obscure win that was amazing: The no penalty, no turnover beatdown of LSU in Baton Rouge in 1997.

 

[MrNimbus]

I was also at Tennessee-ND in 2005. We obviously bought tickets from a Tennessee fan. My dad bought me an authentic jersey before the game. We go to our seats and they were in the middle of a massive Tennessee section. I've never had better football conversations at a game. I know it's a small sample size, but they're the nicest football fans I've ever met. It was like talking to your friend about college football. Frame of reference I've only been to about 13 games, but man the Tennessee people are the nicest I've ever encountered at a game. The worst was this prick at the Marshall game. I was obviously devastated at what was taking place and he kept shit talking me. I don't think I did anything but have my jersey and hat on and cheered when they took the field, but I didn't talk to him. He was just such a fat fuck talking shit for no reason. As a canadian:



Tennessee> west virginia>>>>>>>>>scUM fans

 

[CANONIZEFATHERSORIN]

Northwestern 2014. So awful. What else…Clemson 2023, Miami 2017, Ohio state 2023, Ohio state 2017 was crushing honestly