Notre Dame Football: Ranking the Top 5 Plays of the Irish's Regular Season

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In nearly three full months, Notre Dame football racked up 10 wins in 12 tries. The Irish scored 54 touchdowns, including 23 through the air and 27 on the ground, and forced 13 turnovers.

Let’s whittle it all down to the five (or, perhaps, six) top plays of Notre Dame’s regular season, as the No. 8 Irish await their Fiesta Bowl date with No. 7 Ohio State on New Year’s Day.

In judging the top plays, we’ll consider both the degree of difficulty—the wow factor—as well as the importance of each play in the context of the game and the season.

Of course, chopping the season down to five plays is a challenge. Other notable plays, among others, that missed the cut include:

• C.J. Sanders’ punt- and kick-return touchdowns.
• Chris Brown’s jump-ball touchdown snatch against Boston College.
• Andrew Trumbetti’s interception returned for a touchdown vs. Wake Forest.
• Romeo Okwara’s flying sack against the Demon Deacons.
• Nifty interceptions by Matthias Farley (Pitt) and KeiVarae Russell (Temple).
• DeShone Kizer’s 79-yard touchdown run against Temple.
• The blocked punt and Corey Robinson’s touchdown catch against USC.
• Athletic plays by C.J. Prosise (11-yard scoring run) and Elijah Shumate (interception) vs. Navy.
• Prosise’s 90-yard scoring sprint against Georgia Tech.

Let’s get to our top five (er, six).

5. Last-Minute Touchdowns vs. Clemson, Stanford

In the spirit of generosity we’re allowing six plays here, as both last-minute touchdowns against Clemson and Stanford were crucial for the Irish but, ultimately, not enough to avoid the only losses of the season.

Against the Tigers in October, Notre Dame overcame four second-half turnovers—including Chris Brown’s fumble near the goal line on the previous drive with 2:09 remaining in the fourth quarter—and still nearly won. Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer connected with Amir Carlisle and C.J. Prosise to push Notre Dame to Clemson’s one-yard line.

With Notre Dame down by eight, Will Fuller created some space for Torii Hunter Jr., who hauled in a gracefully lofted ball from Kizer in the corner of the end zone with seven seconds remaining.

In the regular-season finale versus Stanford, with Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes hanging in the balance, Kizer orchestrated a 15-play, 88-yard drive that chewed up more than six minutes. The redshirt freshman ended it with a two-yard touchdown run on a bootleg to the left side. The score pushed the Irish ahead 36-35 with 30 seconds remaining.

Though both plays didn’t prove to be enough, Kizer’s—and Notre Dame’s—play in crucial end-of-game scenarios, in part, defined the season.

4. Josh Adams’ 98-Yard Touchdown Run vs. Wake Forest

In a season during which Notre Dame rushed for more than 2,500 yards and averaged a whopping 5.76 yards per carry, thanks in large part to 1,000-yard rusher C.J. Prosise, it was freshman Josh Adams who provided one of the best plays of the season.

In the second quarter against Wake Forest, the long-legged rookie bolted for a 98-yard touchdown run to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 21-0 over the Demon Deacons. Adams shook free from an arm tackle near the line of scrimmage and unleashed a vicious stiff arm at the 15-yard line before coasting the final 85 yards untouched as he received downfield blocks from Will Fuller and Chris Brown.

The 98-yard score is the longest play from scrimmage in Notre Dame’s 127-year history, was the longest play from scrimmage in the country in 2015 and tied the longest rush by a freshman in NCAA history.

3. KeiVarae Russell's Interception vs. USC

After USC star wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster got the better of KeiVarae Russell in the first quarter of the mid-October meeting between the rivals, the Irish cornerback responded in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame coughed up its 24-10 lead and watched the Trojans vault ahead 31-24 in the third. But after Corey Robinson’s terrific 10-yard touchdown grab from Kizer put the Irish ahead by a score, Russell helped salt away the game with a spectacular diving interception of Cody Kessler—who was again looking for Smith-Schuster—on the ensuing USC drive.

The pick helped ensure Notre Dame’s victory in the rivalry game and bumped the Irish to 6-1 heading into the bye week.

2. Will Fuller’s 17-Yard Touchdown Catch vs. Temple

As he had already done on multiple occasions before Notre Dame and Temple met in prime time on Halloween, Kizer proved his mettle with a clutch performance down the stretch.

Despite tossing a pair of costly interceptions earlier in the game, Kizer spearheaded a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive after Temple had reclaimed a 20-17 lead with less than five minutes remaining. Kizer completed the go-ahead drive with a 17-yard touchdown strike to Will Fuller with 2:09 remaining.

Undeterred by his two red-zone interceptions, Kizer neatly grooved his pass over a pair of Owls defensive backs to find his star receiver and push the Irish to the 24-20 victory—one of three for Notre Dame against Top-25 teams.

1. Will Fuller’s 39-Yard Touchdown Catch vs. Virginia

The game feels as if it was a lifetime ago. Kizer had yet to make his first career start; Prosise was logging his first at running back.

But the mid-September matchup against Virginia still produced one of the top plays of the Notre Dame season.

The Cavaliers embarked on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ate up more than six minutes of precious fourth-quarter clock and finished it with a one-yard touchdown run to grab a 27-26 lead with 1:54 remaining in regulation.

So it was up to Kizer and the rest of the Irish offense to start at their own 20-yard line, on the road, and avoid a 1-1 start to a season stacked with lofty expectations. After completions to Fuller, Robinson and Prosise, Notre Dame navigated to Virginia’s 39-yard line with the clock winding down below 30 seconds. That’s when Kizer dropped back, shuffled in the pocket and catapulted a deftly placed ball to Fuller for the 39-yard touchdown that sent Virginia fans into Irish Internet lore.

In the end, it turned out to be a seven-point win over a team that finished 4-8. But what if Kizer and Fuller hadn’t connected on that score? Notre Dame might very well have started 1-1.

The heroic heave kept Notre Dame on track despite the rash of early-season injuries—including Malik Zaire’s broken ankle in the third quarter—announced Kizer’s arrival and foreshadowed a season filled with late comebacks and impressive play down the stretch.

All quotes were obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.