Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame

Jack Coan

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

By Ron Sanzone

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish brings a 10-1 record and No. 5 ranking to the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on December 28.

The only blemish on Notre Dame’s record was a 24-13 loss to Cincinnati on October 2. Cincinnati finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record and was one of four teams selected to play in the College Football Playoff.

Key victories for the Irish included a 27-13 win against Purdue on September 18 and a 41-13 win against Wisconsin on September 25.

The Fiesta Bowl is a familiar postseason destination for Notre Dame.

The Irish, who is making its sixth appearance in the game, won a national championship in 1989 with a 34-21 win against West Virginia. Its subsequent appearances were all losses: Colorado in 1995, Oregon State in 2001, and Ohio State in 2006 and 2016.

Notre Dame had a tumultuous week leading up to its Fiesta Bowl invitation. On November 30, head coach Brian Kelly stunned the football world by announcing that he was leaving the school for the same position at Louisiana State University. It did not take long for Notre Dame to find his successor.

The university announced on December 3 that defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman was promoted to head coach. The move was made just two days before Notre Dame learned it would be playing in the Fiesta Bowl.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said in a videoconference introducing the opponents that the entire team is enthusiastic about Freeman’s promotion.

“You’ve really seen the program rally around one another,” he says. “Certainly, I’ve had plenty of conversations with guys on the team just about the excitement and the energy and, hey, we haven’t felt this in the program before, this excitement and support for one another.”

Rees oversaw an offense piloted by Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan. The quarterback threw for 2,641 yards and 20 touchdowns. A completion rate of nearly 68% testifies to his efficiency.

One of Coan’s favorite targets is Michael Mayer. He set a school record for tight ends with 64 receptions in just his sophomore season. On the ground, sophomore Kyren Williams led the Irish with 1,002 rushing yard and a nearly five yard per carry average. Williams is skipping the bowl game to enter the NFL draft.

Rees does not anticipate significant changes in drawing up a game plan against one of the nation’s top defenses.

“I think our process will stay pretty consistent with how it’s been all year in terms of how we approach a game plan week,” he says. “I think we have a great staff in place offensively that has worked in a cohesive way all year.”

As of press time, Freeman had not yet named his replacement as defensive coordinator. Whoever receives the nod will inherit a stout unit.

Notre Dame held opponents to 18.25 points per game, tied for ninth best in the country. Junior safety Kyle Hamilton had a brilliant season and was a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which honors the best defensive player. He suffered a knee injury in a win over USC on October 23. He, too, opted out of the bowl game to enter the NFL draft.

Season at a Glance Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1)

Sept. 5 @ Florida State W 41-38 Sept. 11 vs. Toledo W 32-29 Sept. 18 vs. Purdue W 27-13 Sept. 25 @ Wisconsin W 41-13 Oct. 2 vs. Cincinnati L 24-13 Oct. 9 @ Virginia Tech W 32-29 Oct. 23 vs. USC W 31-16 Oct. 30 vs. North Carolina W 44-34 Nov. 6 vs. Navy W 34-6 Nov. 13 @ Virginia W 28-3 Nov. 20 vs. Georgia Tech W 55-0 Nov. 27 @ Stanford 45-14