It's nearly an impossible task, but our list of the 25 best Notre Dame football moments of the last 25 years has reached its third installment.
ABOUT THIS SERIES: Over five Sunday print editions of the South Bend Tribune, columnist Tom Noie counts down the top 25 individual achievements by a Notre Dame football player over the last 25 seasons. Some came in memorable wins, others in forgettable losses.
We’ll bring you five segments each of five highlights – Nos. 25 to 21 started Sunday September 14, Nos. 20 to 16 followed on Sunday, September 21, right on through the top five moments on October 12. Why five segments? As one, the story ran nearly 5,000 words.
Who made the list? Who didn’t? Who’s No. 1? Stay tuned.
SOUTH BEND ― Where do you even start? How do you even start?
A typical college football game has roughly 125 plays. A typical college football season has roughly 12 games. Multiply both those numbers, then multiply that number by 25 (the number of seasons for this story), and produce a Top 25 that makes any sort of sense.
What are the top 25 individual moments of the last 25 seasons for Notre Dame football? We’re not talking about the top wins or the top games or even the top collective moments (a big drive, a key defensive stand, a pre-game speech, etc.).
This is a snapshot of 25 individuals doing something so special one time in one game between 2000 and 2024 that you remember it all those seasons and games and snaps later. For the record, that averages out to roughly 37,500 snaps over those 25 seasons. Narrow those 37,500 down to 25. Good luck.
As we progress from No. 25 to No. 1, please know that there’s no right or wrong answer. You may agree or disagree. You may have a different list, and that’s OK. This is ours.
∎ 15. Jack Coan dismisses a dislocated digit
No. 7 Notre Dame 32, Toledo 29, Notre Dame Stadium
September 11, 2021
Nothing was going to keep Wisconsin graduate transfer Jack Coan from making a play ― or at least trying to make a play.
Not the score (Irish were down 29-24), not the clock (1:35 remaining in the fourth quarter), not the opponent (you can’t lose to Toledo!!). In his second start at Notre Dame and coming off the previous week’s overtime win at Florida State, Coan was going to see this one through. All the way through.
Even if that meant scurrying to the sideline to have trainer Mike Bean re-jigger a dislocated middle finger on his right (throwing) hand. Coan had the finger bent back into place, never got bent out of shape and returned to find all-everything tight end Michael Mayer from 18 yards out on the first play after the finger pull to help the Irish pull this one out.
The score capped a three-play, 75-yard drive that took 26 seconds and a game that saw Coan go 21-of-33 for 239 yards and two scores. It also cemented Coan in program lore as the ultimate gamer.
∎ 14. An early message from Carlyle Holiday
No. 6 Notre Dame 34, No. 11 Florida State 24, Doak Campbell Stadium
October 26, 2002
Winners of seven straight in its first season under head coach Tyrone Willingham, Notre Dame rolled into Tallahassee ranked inside the Top 10 but would certainly head home with a loss as a road underdog ... a double-digit road underdog.
Where was the faith in the Irish?
We didn’t have to wait long to see that it would go the Irish way. How long? How about the first play from scrimmage? That one set this tone.
That’s when quarterback Carlyle Holiday faked a handoff, rolled right and found wideout Arnaz Battle splitting a pair of Seminole defensive backs and running away for a 65-yard touchdown. The play culminated with Battle doing the tomahawk chop in the end zone.
Notre Dame never trailed, led by as many as 17 and looked like it would never lose again under Willingham. Notre Dame finished 10-3 in 2002 before staggering to seasons of 5-7 and 6-6. Three years after the Willingham Era started, it ended.
∎ 13. Chris Tyree opens the Chicago floodgates
No. 12 Notre Dame 41, No. 18 Wisconsin 13, Soldier Field
September 25, 2021
For three quarters along Chicago’s lakefront, this was about as ugly as ugly gets. It was Big Ten football at its finest. Or mostly unwatchable. In other words, hide your eyes. Notre Dame trailed 13-10 with 14:14 remaining in a game where the first to 14 might win.
Chris Tyree then changed everything when he took a kickoff in the south end of Soldier Field, eyed some serious green/brown grass and didn’t stop until he had crossed the goal line in the ancient arena’s north end.
Notre Dame scored 31 points in the final 14-plus minutes to turn a grinder into a laugher. The Irish added two pick-six touchdowns in the closing minutes. The Badgers still may not know what hit them.
For Tyree, it was the first kickoff return for a touchdown of his career. For head coach Brian Kelly, it was win No. 106 at Notre Dame, one more than Knute Rockne. That still pains Irish fans to read.
∎ 12. Sam Hartman finds some speed
No. 11 Notre Dame 21, No. 17 Duke 14, Wallace Wade Stadium
September 30, 2023
Fourth down and 16 yards to go felt like fourth and forever on the floor of Wallace Wade Stadium.
Fifty-one seconds remained in a game that Notre Dame trailed 14-13 when quarterback Sam Hartman looked once, looked twice, looked three times for someone in a white jersey somewhere in the field of play and on the other side of the first-down marker. He then decided to just go for it.
Not the most fleet of foot in the 40, Hartman took off on the straight-line scramble of a lifetime.
Hartman made the first down. Two plays later, Audric Estime was headed down the middle of the field and into the end zone from 30 yards out. Deciding not to kick a field goal and play for overtime, Notre Dame made good on a two-point conversion (Hartman to Rico Flores) for one of those memorable nights and wins.
∎ 11. Dexter Williams silences the Sandman
No. 6 Notre Dame 45, No. 24 Virginia Tech 23, Lane Stadium
October 6, 2018
Notre Dame looked up against it ― on the road, at night against a ranked foe. The Irish led 17-16 but a punt had pinned them back at their own 5. Dexter Williams’ first run into the teeth of the Virginia Tech defense netted (-2) yards. The home crowd was bonkers. The Irish were on their heels. How do you get out of this one?
Just give the ball to Dex and let him do the rest.
Williams took a handoff from Ian Book, waited for guard Tommy Kraemer to pull and deliver one of those blocks that opened a massive hole, then scooted through the space, down the near sideline and away from everyone for the score. Ever hear a raucous crowd of 65,632 go stone silent in seconds?
This one did after Williams’ run, which kick-started a second half that saw Notre Dame outscore Virginia Tech 28-7. It was one of three touchdowns (also 1 and 31 yards) for Williams, who finished with 178 yards on 17 carries, none bigger than that one run.
Next Sunday, October 5: Nos. 10 to 6.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Part Three of top 25 moments over last 25 years of Notre Dame football
Category: General Sports
