Tag: Jeff Samardzija

Notre Dame Football – Saturday Night Rewatch

Notre Dame is again going to stream an old game this Saturday night but it will most likely be one from long before Brian Kelly’s run with the Irish began.

Last week Notre Dame debuted their rebroadcast of the 2015 opener against Texas on their Facebook page and had Brian Kelly, Malik Zaire and others commenting along the way during the 38-3 blowout of Texas.  I’ll admit right away that the blowout type of game that was didn’t hold my attention for too long and the pier pressure of having not yet seen “Tiger King” at that point led me seven hours of watching that instead.

This weekend I have no “Tiger King” however and unless I’ve missed something, there isn’t a new binge-worthy show that’s been released in recent days.

How convenient, because Notre Dame is again going to stream an old game this Saturday night but it will most likely be one from long before Brian Kelly’s run with the Irish began.

Voting is open now on the Notre Dame Football Twitter page for which game they’ll show with two from the Lou Holtz era, one from Charlie Weis’ second season and a last-minute thriller from last year among the candidates.

I voted for 1993 Florida State.  Not just because it’s in the Final Four of our own greatest game tournament here at FIW, but because of a few other reasons:

1. 2019 Virginia Tech is still way too fresh in our minds. Had it been a year that the win saved a big-time bowl appearance then I’d be on board but at the end of the day it was “just” a thrilling come from behind victory (on the day my newborn daughter came home from the hospital).

2.  The 1992 win over Penn State is probably a huge reason I became the Notre Dame football fan that I am.  I loved Bettis and Brooks in the backfield and was a Rick Mirer apologist when the Bears traded for him years down the road.  I did however just have this on in the background while working from home last week so it’s a bit too fresh in my mind.

3.  The UCLA comeback was a thriller that saved a BCS berth (that ended in a rout).  That said, a couple of Notre Dame legends connecting late for a game-winning touchdown when just minutes earlier it appeared all hope was lost is great.  This was a classic and had it not been stacked against biggest win of my Notre Dame watching life, I’d have picked it.

4.  Notre Dame vs. Florida State in 1993 was nothing short of awesome in every way.  The hype, NBC’s “Main Street” introduction to the broadcast, Florida State taking the early lead before the Irish take complete control the majority of the afternoon before the eventual Heisman Trophy winner leads an epic near-comeback that gets batted away by Shawn Wooden.  Yeah, inject it into my veins, please.

You have only a couple hours left to vote on that on the Notre Dame Football Twitter page so go ahead and do that and in the meantime, if you haven’t already, go ahead and vote in our Final Four as we determine the best Notre Dame game (had to be a win) since 1986.

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WATCH: My Favorite Notre Dame Football Play, Ever

Quick – what is your absolute favorite play ever in Notre Dame football history?

Quick – what is your absolute favorite play ever in Notre Dame football history?  Heck, if you’re a bigger basketball fan you can share that as well but I’m legit curious as we sit here avoiding contact with each other and trying to pass the time until better days are upon us.

An up-start and top-ten Notre Dame team welcomed defending champion and No. 1 USC to Notre Dame Stadium.  It was the biggest game at Notre Dame in a dozen years and a classic wound up playing out.

A Brady Quinn pass found Jeff Samardzija for a 32 yard touchdown pass to tie things at 14 and Notre Dame’s defense answered the call forcing a three-and-out immediately after.

Then entered Tom Zbikowski:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t89zYrTfJ5w]

Forget for a second how things ended that afternoon and instead remember just that exact moment.  In the dozens of games I’ve been too I’ve never heard it louder, not even when Quinn gave the Irish the lead late in the fourth quarter.

From the Tom Malone punt nearly being blocked initially to Chase Anastasio’s block at the 37-yard line (seriously, go back and watch again and appreciate it) and finally Zbikowski breaking three tackles at the end to finish the return.

Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart and soon-to-be Heisman winner (before it was taken away) Reggie Bush coupled with Pete Carroll and everything USC was at the time, I thought for the life of me that Tom Zbikowski shifted the tide in what was to be a monumental win.

We all know it didn’t end that way and maybe it’s just me looking back at wide-eyed me in my very late teens. For a team I’ve always rooted for but never seen win a championship though, I don’t know if things have gotten much better for me as a Notre Dame fan than at that very moment.

So what’s yours?  Share it on our Facebook page or send us a tweet explaining which play and why, and maybe yours will be chosen for a future post here at FIW.

Notre Dame Great Tom Gatewood Elected to Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame

Tom Gatewood was an All-American at Notre Dame, a Dean’s List worthy student and the first African American to be a captain on the Fighting Irish football team.  The former New York Giant can now also call himself a Cotton Bowl Hall of Famer.

What is the strangest Hall of Fame that you’re aware of?

Maybe it’s the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Perhaps its the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas – which sounds awesome, by the way.

Or it could be the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting in Phoenix.

Whatever your big interest may be there is probably a hall of fame out there for it somewhere.

Maybe your big interest is the Cotton Bowl.  No, not the stadium but the actual game that’s held each winter in Dallas.  I became aware there is a Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame earlier today.  Later I found out that Notre Dame is understandably well-represented in this specific hall of fame.

I found it out because Notre Dame legend and College Football Hall of Fame (that one is in Atlanta now, FYI) Tom Gatewood has been elected to the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame as a member of the 2020 class.

Gatewood was an All-American at Notre Dame, a Dean’s List worthy student and the first African American to be a captain on the Fighting Irish football team.  The former New York Giant can now also call himself a Cotton Bowl Hall of Famer.

For those unaware of how good of a player Gatewood was at Notre Dame, he was pretty much the best receiver the school had until Derrick Mayes showed up in the mid-ninties.  He totaled 157 receptions in his career for 2283 yards and 19 touchdowns and his 77 receptions in 1970 remained a school record until Jeff Samardzija pulled down 78 catches in 2006.

Gatewood also held the Notre Dame all-time receptions record until 2006 when both Samardzija and Rhema McKnight passed his 157.

Gatewood was on two Notre Dame teams to appear in the Cotton Bowl and played Texas in both – losing the contest to the No.1 Longhorns in the 1970 classic before getting revenge and ending Texas’s 30 game winning streak a year later.  He totaled eight receptions for 155 yards in the two games, scoring a touchdown in each.

Gatewood joins former Kansas State quarterback Jonathan Beasley and head coach Bill Snyder, Arkansas Guard and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster, Texas defensive end Cory Redding and Boston College linebacker (and remarkable jerk) Bill Romanowski as 2020 Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame inductees.

Gatewood joins Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, Kris Haines, Joe Montana, Lou Holtz and Bob Golic as Notre Dame representitives in the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.

How Do You Build the All-Time Greatest Notre Dame Receiver?

I’ve only been contributing to the Irish Wire for a short time, but in that time, I feel like I’ve used it as a forum to serve as President of Chase Claypool’s fan club. And guess what? I’m ok with that! But during the course of our frequent …

I’ve only been contributing to the Irish Wire for a short time, but in that time, I feel like I’ve used it as a forum to serve as President of Chase Claypool’s fan club. And guess what? I’m ok with that!

But during the course of our frequent exchange of e-mails and direct messages, Irish Wire Grand Poobah Nick Shepkowski brought up the idea for the following: How would you build your perfect Notre Dame wide receiver?  He says it was because of something Golden Tate tweeted in regards to Claypool earlier this week.

Me, being the sucker for any article idea with historical context, started mapping out my ultimate pass-catcher. A few rules before we get started on my list. First, each player can only be used once for the various characteristics. Of course some of these guys could be on there for various things, but we’re trying to spread the love. Next, my own historical reference dates back to right around 1990. Sorry Tim Brown, Tom Gatewood and Jack Snow fans. Finally, this is my list. I’m not going to pretend like I know everything. I welcome the debate. Now, on with the construction.

We start with my most important trait for a wide receiver. 

First up: Best Hands

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