Everett Golson 2.0 Makes Notre Dame Legitimate Playoff Contenders

South Bend, Ind.—If Everett Golson could change one thing about Saturday night's 31-0 victory over Michigan, it would've been the student section's song selection.

After the chorus of the annoyingly effective "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" echoed on and on, Golson wishes the students would've paid tribute to his defense. 

"I was disappointed they didn't do the D-Boyz thing," Golson said with a laugh. "I don't know if they heard about that. Matthias had them doing the D-Boyz, but they didn't do it. But they definitely gave great effort all night. That kind of energized the team." 

Forgive the students for not being up to speed on the surprising strength of Notre Dame's young defense.

But they know quite well that they're watching the next offensive star in South Bend, with Golson the key to Brian Kelly's team. And the senior quarterback's play is a legitimate reason why the upstart Irish are College Football Playoff contenders, one year earlier than many expected. 

For the second consecutive Saturday, Golson sliced and diced a defense apart. That he did it against Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison's veteran unit took the college football world by surprise.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Golson played the worst game of his college career against Michigan in 2012, a spectator for the second half as Notre Dame's defense led the Irish to a 13-6 victory. But Golson piloted the ship this season, throwing three touchdowns and completing 23 of 34 passes for 226 yards against Mattison's defense.

That he didn't finish the game this year was just fine, as he watched backup Malik Zaire close things down and the Irish shut out Michigan for the first time in the history of the rivalry, breaking the Wolverines' NCAA-record shutout streak, which started during the Reagan administration.

After doing a lot of damage on the ground last week, scoring three rushing touchdowns against Rice, Golson picked Michigan apart from the pocket. As Mattison and the Wolverines stacked the line of scrimmage to take away the running game, Brian Kelly went to the air, with his strong-armed and accurate quarterback putting on a clinic.

"The way they decided to play the game, there was six, seven guys, it was just how they decided that they wanted to take those opportunities away from us, and we were gladly to oblige them and throw the football," Kelly said after the game. "So, if somebody is going to play the game so one‑sided defensively, we're going to throw the football."

Golson hooked up for two touchdowns with slot receiver Amir Carlisle, with the converted running back making a career-high seven receptions. And sophomore Will Fuller filled in just fine for DaVaris Daniels as the team's No. 1 receiver, catching nine passes for 89 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown that was a perfectly placed throw by Golson.

Two years after the moment seemed too big for his then-young quarterback, Hoke saw a completely different signal-caller running the Irish offense. 

"I think he's matured," Hoke said. "I think I said that this week coming in, he's a much better quarterback than he was two years ago. Just watching the Rice game, I would say the same thing after watching our game." 

Saturday's game continues Golson's second tour at Notre Dame, back after a semester-long academic suspension forced him to reapply to the university after missing the 2013 season. After working with George Whitfield on becoming a more complete quarterback, Golson took a moment to appreciate the opportunity to finish this historic rivalry, as the Irish set some records themselves. 

"I credit my family for all that," Golson said, after considering the road he traveled. "It all starts with God. Just to allow me to be here to keep my head on straight the whole time." 

After the darkest part of his life, Golson's glorious return had fans streaming out of Notre Dame Stadium happy.

And while it's still way too early to know for sure, Golson's emergence has turned the Irish into a dark-horse candidate for the first ever College Football Playoff. 

*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.