This is the next tier of wins for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, where the competition is a little stiffer and the product on the field a little better. Remember that the formula for this is [(Excitement at the time + Quality of Opponent) * Legacy]. All of these factors are graded on a scale of 1-10 and the final score is divided by two in order to get a nice number between 1-100.
If you didn’t catch it the first installment of this series, you can find it here.
#67: 2014 Rice, 48-17
Excitement: 5
Quality of Opponent: 4
Legacy: 3
Final Score: 13.5/100
The spectacular return of Everett Golson definitely added some Excitement points to this season opener. Notre Dame blew out an average C-USA team in emphatic fashion and Golson looked sharp in his first game since the BCS title in 2013. The Irish offense gained 576 yards and effectively ended the game in the third quarter for a tidy home win.
#66: 2011 Wake Forest, 24-17
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 3
Final Score: 13.5/100
Notre Dame fell behind a pesky Wake team in Winston-Salem before the Irish defense slowed them down in the second half. Tommy Rees and the offense were slow out of the gates, efficient in the middle of the game, and slow in finishing against a team that would finish 6-7.
#65: 2010 Boston College, 31-13
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 3
Final Score: 13.5/100
(Warning: terrible early YouTube highlight music above)
After three straight losses in BK’s first year, the Irish went to Chestnut Hill and pasted the Eagles in the first quarter. Notre Dame’s defense knocked Chase Rettig out of the game and something called a Mike Marscovetra failed to get anything going for BC, which finished with five whole yards rushing. This win came at a pretty important time when Kelly’s inaugural season could have gone off the rails.
#64: 2019 Duke, 38-7
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 3
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 14/100
This was a much needed blowout win following a string of shaky performances. The Blue Devils were mediocre, but this was the game that Ian Book finally got back on track and the Irish played up to their potential.
#63: 2016 Army, 44-6
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 6
Legacy: 3
Final Score: 15/100
A cathartic performance against a decent Army team near the end of the hellhole that was the 2016 season. The Irish destroyed the Black Knights while wearing their olive drab Shamrock Series uniforms in San Antonio. Notre Dame led 38-6 at halftime and called off the dogs after that.
#62: 2011 Air Force, 59-33
Excitement: 6
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 3
Final Score: 16.5/100
It’s not often that a team gains 560 yards, scores 59 points and demolishes its opponent by 26 points and still gets out-gained. The Irish had 42 points by halftime against an Air Force team that kept moving the ball (32 first downs) but couldn’t get in the endzone enough to keep up. This was a Rees-ian masterpiece as the Irish QB threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers while Andrew Hendrix was famously mixed in as a change-of-pace option.
#61: 2010 Pitt, 23-17
Excitement: 5
Quality of Opponent: 6
Legacy: 3
Final Score: 16.5/100
A forgotten good win in Brian Kelly’s first year at Notre Dame. ND beat Dave Wannstedt’s last Panthers squad in South Bend after gut-wrenching losses the previous two seasons and survived Irish-menace Jon Baldwin’s great day (nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown). Notre Dame’s offense turtled after building a 20-3 lead and survived a late rally from the likes of Tino Sunseri and Dion Lewis.
#60: 2018 Vanderbilt, 22-17
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 18/100
A week after playing the lowest-ranked game on this list, the Irish almost choked a big lead away against an aggressively average Vandy team at home. ND had leads of 16-0 and 22-10 but couldn’t put the Commodores away and had to sweat out the final possession in a big way. Moreover, this would be the last game Brandon Wimbush would be the undisputed starter at Notre Dame before being replaced the following week by Book.
#59: 2013 Navy, 38-34
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 18/100
Notre Dame almost fell into another Naval ambush at home but made the right plays in the fourth quarter to survive. The Middies were once again able to play a style of game perfectly suited to the triple option and the Irish defense was helpless to stop them most of the afternoon. Only a determined effort on the ground by Tarean Folston (18 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown) and a gimmicky backfire on Navy’s final offensive play saved the Irish.
#58: 2019 Boston College, 40-7
Excitement: 5
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 20/100
The 2019 Irish effectively drove the nail into the coffin of Steve Addazio’s tenure as Boston College’s coach during a Senior Day blowout. The Eagles briefly held the lead in the second quarter before Clark Lea’s defense slammed the door shut and the Irish offense began scoring at will. BC finished at 2.9 ypp and AJ Dillon only managed 56 yards.
#57: 2017 Boston College, 49-20
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 6
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 20/100
The Excitement was tamped down after the loss to Georgia a week before, but a brilliant day on the ground against a decent BC squad made this a fun experience. Both Brandon Wimbush and Josh Adams went over 200 yards rushing and the Irish offense destroyed the Eagles despite Wimbush’s poor performance throwing the ball. Defensively, Shaun Crawford intercepted two passes and the Eagles were just 4-17 on 3rd down.
#56: 2014 North Carolina, 50-43
Excitement: 5
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 18/100
If this was a list of the wildest games of the Brian Kelly era, the 2014 ND-UNC contest would break the top-10. Both teams finished with 516 yards of offense and the Tar Heels racked up 30 first downs against BVG’s defense. It looked like the Irish had regained control in the third quarter after a Will Fuller touchdown made it 35-26, but the Heels rallied to take the lead before a fourth quarter comeback saved the young season. All of this against a UNC team that would finish 6-7 and give up 34+ points in nine games.
#55: 2010 Army, 27-3
Excitement: 5
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 20/100
(Apparently no highlights exist of this game)
This is another early Kelly Era game with no video footprint. The 2010 Irish looked like they were about to be bludgeoned again by the triple option after an impressive opening drive by Army, but Diaco’s defense had learned. The Black Knights finished with just 176 yards and three points while the Irish offense scored enough points to make this a comfortable blowout.
#54: 2017 Temple, 49-16
Excitement: 6
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 22/100
The 2017 season opener saw an explosion of offense amid a wellspring of hope that there would be post-2016 resurgence. Brandon Wimbush’s first start couldn’t have gone any better as the Irish bulldozed the Temple defense for 606 yards, including 422 on the ground. Chip Long’s offense featured three 100-yard rushers while Mike Elko’s defense fought through some struggles to hold the Owls to 16 points.
#53: 2019 Stanford, 45-24
Excitement: 6
Quality of Opponent: 3
Legacy: 5
Final Score: 22.5/100
The Irish got off to a disastrous start against the worst Stanford team since 2006 before waking up in the second quarter and blowing out the Cardinal. Ian Book became the first Irish quarterback since freshman Jimmy Clausen to win on the Farm and he did it with the help of Chase Claypool in typically abominable field conditions.
#52: 2010 Purdue, 23-12
Excitement: 6
Quality of Opponent: 3
Legacy: 5
Final Score: 22.5/100
(Warning: terrible early YouTube highlight music above)
The beginning of it all. Brian Kelly’s first game at Notre Dame was an ugly win that depended on Bob Diaco’s defense shutting down Robert Marve and Purdue. This game felt like it was teetering on a blowout at times, but the Irish offense sputtered enough to keep the Boilers in it until the end. However for the first time in what felt like ages, the Notre Dame defense sealed the game and made Kelly 1-0.
#51: 2015 Georgia Tech, 30-22
Excitement: 8
Quality of Opponent: 4
Legacy: 4
Final Score: 24/100
DeShone Kizer’s first start at Notre Dame felt like a huge win at the time, with the Irish beating the Jackets in a top-15 showdown. Incredibly, BVG’s defense shut down the triple option until garbage time and ND basically controlled the whole game. Unfortunately the Jackets would go on to lose six one-possession games and finish 3-9 which taints this win in retrospect, but what is not tainted is CJ Prosise’s 91-yard touchdown run to put the Irish up 30-7 in the fourth quarter.
#50: 2011 Purdue, 38-10
Excitement: 5
Quality of Opponent: 5
Legacy: 5
Final Score: 25/100
This game is sneakily one of the best offensive performances of the Kelly era. The Irish gained 35 first downs at 7 ypp while Michael Floyd dominated with 12 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown within the first minute. The Boilers and Caleb TerBush (not the last time we’ll mention him) threw a pick on the first play of the game and things never got going for them under the lights at Ross-Ade.
#49: 2017 Wake Forest, 48-37
Excitement: 4
Quality of Opponent: 7
Legacy: 5
Final Score: 27.5/100
The Irish offense jumped all over the Deacons’ defense in the second quarter and put this one out of reach by halftime. Brandon Wimbush and Co. gained 710 yards and almost set the school record for total offense while shaking off what we thought was a bad injury. A poor defensive performance by ND’s backups against a good Wake offense made the score look closer than it was, but apparently some of the lingering issues carried over to the following week in South Beach.
#48: 2012 Wake Forest, 38-0
Excitement: 8
Quality of Opponent: 3
Legacy: 5
Final Score: 27.5/100
This was one hell of a day. The Irish dismantled Wake Forest in one of their only 2012 games that wasn’t decided in the fourth quarter. Everett Golson was outstanding and Wake finished with just 209 yards of offense at 3.4 ypp. However, we mostly remember it as being the night where #1 Kansas State and #2 Oregon lost, therefore ensuring 11-0 Notre Dame would be the top-ranked team in America on Monday.
#47: 2019 Louisville, 35-17
Excitement: 2
Quality of Opponent: 7
Legacy: 6
Final Score: 28/100
What was considered a pretty concerning performance turned into good road win against a decent opponent by the end of the season. The Irish played a sluggish game throughout and look downright bad on defense at times, but eventually pulled away from a pesky Cardinals team that would add six wins to their 2018 total.
#46: 2015 Virginia, 34-27
Excitement: 5
Quality of Opponent: 3
Legacy: 7
Final Score: 28/100
A game-winning bomb to Will Fuller from ND’s third-string QB makes for a sneaky important game for Brian Kelly’s legacy. The Irish were heavily favored over a pretty poor UVA team but suffered through a gruesome injury to Malik Zaire and an inexplicable 0-10 performance on 3rd down. The BVG defense tried to lose the game in the fourth quarter before young DeShone Kizer’s last-second heroics. Fuller finished with five catches for 124 yards while CJ Prosise exploded for 155 yards at 9 ypc.
#45: 2018 Florida State, 42-13
Excitement: 7
Quality of Opponent: 3
Legacy: 6
Final Score: 30/100
Who doesn’t love beating up on a down blueblood? Brandon Wimbush started in place of an injured Ian Book and led the Irish to a blowout win on Senior Night in a fitting end for his career. Florida State looked like they would rather be anywhere else and the ND defense plastered Deondre Francois all over the field. It was a joyous night for an ascendant program.
Part three coming soon!
That much more work, but final scores would be cool for these games
I see final scores for all of them, 30/100, 28/100 etc…
Ah good call, I will add the scores.
Wow, that was fast. Nice work!
Just a forest full of Wake, forgot how much we play them. I’m sure they would love to beat us at some point.
Love the excitement rating of 8 for the 2012 Wake game that was a 38-0 blowout, but that’s what some happy scoreboard watching can do for you.
Also remember how much junk the GTech fans were talking before the 2015 game. “We’re Navy on steroids and you guys struggle with them”. I’d like to think our bludgeoning was part of the reason they spiraled out of control.
GT just wasn’t expecting BK to send Bob Elliot looking for the Holy Grail of stopping the option.
The excitement factor of the UVA game is only a 5??? I thought that game would crack the top 25, at least. The Kizer to Fuller pass to win the game is probably one of the top 5 most exciting moments of the BK era.
Still curious to see where that 2015 Temple game shows up. That game will forever feel like a loss to me.
For that game, I just remember how dour the fanbase was over losing Zaire and only managing to scrape by a pretty bad UVA team. However, it has turned into an important legacy game for BK which I think makes up for how we felt at the time.
I agree. I think the key is you have to split “enjoy-ability” from “excitement”. That game wasn’t very enjoyable, but a last minute drive and monster TD throw/catch from a backup QB? That’s off the charts exciting, ultimately. I remember being off the edge of my seat, couldn’t wait to see how it ended. Some dread since it seemed like they always lost those kinds of games, which might have made the end result even more exciting.
2012 Wake Forest game and the evening that followed was arguably the high water mark of the Kelly era. NBC aired Rudy right after the game and ND moves to #1 the next day.
the 2015 UVA win has aged well. I attended the game and their entire student body was ready to rush the field. Scott Stadium was going nuts until Kizer’s throw.
2011 Air Force was the first time since the early Weis days that ND looked like a top 20 team. It was also a perfect fall day.