2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was a college football
team which represented the University of Notre Dame
during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis
in his second year as head coach and played their home football games at Notre Dame Stadium
. The team completed the season with a record of ten wins and three losses that culminated in a post-season appearance in the 2007 Sugar Bowl
and a number 19 ranking in the nation.
, wide receiver Jeff Samardzija
, running back Darius Walker
, and safety Tom Zbikowski
from the previous year's squad, Notre Dame received much pre-season hype as a possible national championship contender.
.
Along with Quinn, the following Fighting Irish football players were named to national award watchlists for the 2006 season:
Notre Dame's three players on the Maxwell Award watchlist tied Miami
, Michigan
, Ohio State
, and USC
for most nominees.
Georgia Tech drew first blood when quarterback Reggie Ball connected on a four-yard touchdown pass with receiver Calvin Johnson
at the end of the first quarter. Georgia Tech's defense continued to menace 3rd-ranked Notre Dame's offense, while a Travis Bell field goal increased Tech's lead to 10-0. It was the last time Georgia Tech would score, however. Notre Dame orchestrated a 14-play, 80-yard drive right before the half, punctuated by a five-yard rushing touchdown from Brady Quinn
, to close the score to 10-7 at the half. Coach Charlie Weis adjusted at halftime and began the second half determined to establish the Irish running game. The move paid off when running back Darius Walker
hit paydirt on Notre Dame's first drive of the second half, scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run to put the Irish ahead for the first time in 2006, 14-10. Both defenses tightened, as the teams traded punts. With Notre Dame facing a 4th-and-1 at the Georgia Tech 47 yard line with 1:10 left to play in the game, Georgia Tech appeared to be on the verge of getting the ball back with a chance to win the game. However, Weis gambled and elected to go for the first down rather than punt. Weis' gamble was rewarded when Quinn picked up the yard on a quarterback sneak, giving Notre Dame the first down and enabling them to run the clock out for the 14-10 victory.
Quinn completed 23 of 38 passes for 246 yards. Quinn rushed for a score, but was held without a passing touchdown. Walker rushed 22 times for 99 yards and one touchdown, while Rhema McKnight was Notre Dame's leading receiver with 8 receptions for 108 yards. Despite being confounded by Georgia Tech's defense all night, Notre Dame was able to seize control during the second half and walk away with the victory in its 2006 season opener.
Penn State came to Notre Dame for the first time since the 1992 Snow Bowl game between the two. The game began as a defensive battle with Notre Dame scoring the only points of the first quarter on a field goal. However the Irish offense picked up in the second quarter as quarterback Brady Quinn threw two touchdown passes (his first of the season) to Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight. With another field goal, Notre Dame led 20-0 at the half. In the third quarter Penn State quarterback, Anthony Morelli
fumbled the ball during a lateral pass
as he ran an option play
. Tom Zbikowski picked up the fumble and ran it for a touchdown. Penn State would score their first points later in the quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Kevin Kelly, but the Irish scored again on a 1-yard touchdown run by Travis Thomas. In the fourth quarter Brady Quinn threw a third touchdown to Darius Walker, Morelli threw his only touchdown of the day to Deon Butler, and Penn State running back Daryll Clark ran a 5-yard touchdown with time running out. The game ended with Notre Dame winning 41-17.
The Michigan Wolverines came to Notre Dame having lost three of the last four games to the Irish and having not won at Notre Dame since 1994, the year before Lloyd Carr
became head coach. The game began with Notre Dame receiving the ball on the opening kickoff. On the second play, Brady Quinn's pass was intercepted by Prescott Burgess who ran it back for a 21-yard touchdown to put Michigan ahead 7-0. After a punt on Notre Dame's next drive Michigan quarterback Chad Henne
threw an interception to Chinedum Ndukwe which was returned to the 4-yard line to set up a Brady Quinn touchdown pass to Ashley McConnell. Michigan would score the next 27 points with three touchdown passes by Henne to Mario Manningham
and a run by Mike Hart
. The Irish would score with a touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija before halftime to leave the score 34-14. In the third quarter Michigan kicked two more field goals, one after Brady Quinn's second interception in the game. Brady Quinn threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter to Rhema McKnight to end the Irish scoring. The Wolverines ended any chance of a comeback when, while being sacked, Quinn's fumble was returned for a 54-yard touchdown by LaMarr Woodley. The game ended as a Wolverine blowout of 47-21, giving Lloyd Carr his first win in Notre Dame.
The game between Notre Dame and Michigan State in East Lansing seemed doomed to be overshadowed by pregame hype. A controversial incident where Spartan players planted a flag in Notre Dame's field after Michigan State's 2005 win was talked about in the week leading up to the game. Spartan officials said the incident occurred because Notre Dame didn't present the Megaphone Trophy
after the game and players needed to celebrate. Irish officials stated that they never presented rivalry trophies after games, but sent them later in the week. More controversy was sparked when it was reported that Irish head coach Charlie Weis told a group of Notre Dame Alumni during the summer of 2006 that he would never lose to Michigan State again as head coach. Weis denied it, but nevertheless Spartans used it as motivation. Added to these controversies was the fact that 2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the Game of the Century between the teams. Before the game Michigan State brought back players from that team and retired Bubba Smith
's jersey. The controversies continued into the game when a late hit on Michigan State's quarterback by the Notre Dame bench lead to a scuffle between the teams and Charlie Weis claiming an MSU player slapped him in the face. This claim brought a penalty from the officials, and after the game John L. Smith
implied that Charlie Weis had lied about a slap that could not be seen on any replay footage.
The game was played in windy and rainy conditions for most of the night. Notre Dame won the coin toss and took the ball as Charlie Weis normally does. Michigan State chose to play with the wind at their backs for the first quarter. The commentators for the game, especially Bob Davie, questioned Weis' decision, believing that the windy conditions would affect play significantly. It seemed to as Notre Dame was held without a score for the entire first quarter, while the Spartans threw two quick touchdowns, one after a fumble on a punt return by Tom Zbikowski, and added a field goal before having to change sides. In the second quarter Notre Dame switched to a no-huddle offense with worked to confuse the Spartan defense for a drive allowing Brady Quinn to throw a 32-yard touchdown to Rhema McKnight. On their next drive, however, Quinn threw an interception to Ervin Baldwin which was returned for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Spartans a 24-7 lead. Quinn would throw another touchdown to Jeff Samardzija and Spartan quarterback Drew Stanton
would add another touchdown pass to Kerry Reed to end the half with the Spartans leading 31-14.
The second half began with a defensive stop by the Irish which allowed Quinn to throw a third touchdown of 62-yards to John Carlson to cut the Spartan lead to 10. However later in the quarter Michigan State's Jehuu Caulcrick would run for a 30-yard touchdown. The Spartans failed in a two point conversion attempt leaving the score 37-21 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Michigan State had the ball at the Notre Dame 42-yard line and looked to score again. However a series of miscues and holding penalties halted the Spartan drive and forced them to punt. Quinn took advantage and threw a fourth touchdown to Jeff Samardzija. The Irish attempted a two point conversion to make their deficit only 8, but failed, leaving the score 37-27 with 8 minutes left in the game. On the ensuing drive, a Stanton fumble was recovered by the Irish on the Spartan 24-yard line. Aided by a pass interference call on 3rd down and 25-yards to go, Quinn would throw his fifth touchdown pass of the evening to Rhema McKnight. The extra point was missed leaving the Spartans ahead 37-33. On the next drive, Stanton threw an interception to Terrail Lambert which was returned 23-yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The Irish led 40-37 with almost 3 minutes left. Stanton would take the Spartans to the Notre Dame 44-yard line before throwing a pass which was tipped twice and which Terrail Lambert would catch off of the back of a Spartan wide receiver to end the game, with the Irish winning 40-37.
The Purdue Boilermakers came to Notre Dame undefeated, but still underdogs to the Irish. Notre Dame started the scoring with a 70-yard opening drive capped with a 11-yard run by George West for a touchdown, their first opening drive touchdown of the year. Purdue tied the game later in the quarter with a 7-yard run by Kory Sheets. However the Irish completed another long drive with a 14-yard touchdown run by Darius Walker to put them in the lead 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. Brady Quinn threw his first touchdown of the game to Rhema McKnight for 6-yards halfway through the second quarter. With a little over a minute remaining before halftime, the Irish faked a field goal and Jeff Samardzija, the holder, ran for a 5-yard touchdown. However, 30 seconds later, Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter threw an 88-yard touchdown pass to Selwyn Lymon to put the halftime score at 28-14, in favor of Notre Dame.
The only score in the third quarter was a 12-yard touchdown pass by Brady Quinn to Rhema McKnight to give the Irish a 21-point lead. In the fourth quarter, Curtis Painter threw a 9-yard touchdown to Selwyn Lymon to give the final score of 35-21, Notre Dame winning. At the end of the game, Lymon had 238 receiving yards, the second most yards ever for a Purdue receiver and the most receiving yards ever against the Irish. The teams combined for 955 total yards, and only 242-yards were from rushing. Darius Walker ran for 146 of those yards himself.
The Stanford Cardinal came to Notre Dame winless and big underdogs. However, in the first half the Cardinal kept the game closer than expected. The Irish started the game taking their opening drive for a touchdown. Brady Quinn threw an 8-yard pass to Jeff Samardzija to cap off a 91-yard drive which consumed more than seven minutes off the clock. The Cardinal's opening possession took advantage of a porous Irish defense which was without linebacker Travis Thomas and safety Tom Zbikowski, both out with injuries. Stanford drove to the Irish 3-yard line before being forced to kick a field goal after a sure touchdown was dropped. The Cardinal took six minutes off the clock themselves and the first quarter ended with Notre Dame winning 7-3. The second quarter was uneventful until the Notre Dame's final drive, which began with just over two minutes left in the half. Brady Quinn orchestrated a 72-yard drive which resulted in a 16-yard pass to Rhema McKnight to put the Irish up 14-3 at halftime.
In the third quarter the Irish began to pull away. Darius Walker ran for a 32-yard touchdown, his longest run of the season, to give the Irish an 18-point lead. Later in the quarter, Carl Gioia added a 32-yard field goal to put the Irish up 24-3 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter the Cardinal used a trick play to get on the scoreboard again. On a toss play to running back Anthony Kimble, Kimble threw a 57-yard touchdown to a wide open Kelton Lynn. The score brought the Cardinal within 14. Later in the quarter, Brady Quinn would throw his third touchdown of the game to tight end John Carlson to give the final margin of victory, 31-10, in favor of the Irish.
After trailing UCLA for most of the game, Brady Quinn
was able to lead Notre Dame to a miraculous last minute comeback that may have saved Notre Dame's BCS hopes, as well as Quinn's Heisman
candidacy.
Notre Dame got on the board first when Quinn capped a 7 play, 44 yard drive with a two yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija
. UCLA would roar back, however, scoring fourteen unanswered second quarter points before Notre Dame would add a field goal as the quarter expired. Down 14-10 heading into the locker room at halftime, the situation looked grim for the Irish, who were unable to deal with the relentless UCLA defense.
Notre Dame would cut the Bruins' lead to one when Carl Gioia capped a long, 14 play, 60 yard drive with a 33 yard field goal near the end of the third quarter. UCLA would answer with a field goal of its own midway through the fourth quarter to push its lead to 17-13.
The UCLA defense continued to frustrate the Notre Dame offense, and it appeared the Bruins had the game won after stopping Notre Dame on a fourth-and-1 attempt from the UCLA 35 with 2:25 remaining in the game. UCLA, though, was unable to run the clock out. UCLA was forced to punt after running three straight running plays that netted 6 yards. UCLA was only able to take 1:19 off the clock with its three running plays.
After Aaron Perez's 59 yard punt resulted in a touchback, Notre Dame took over on its own 20 yard line with :55 remaining in the game, needing a touchdown to avoid its second loss of the season. Rather than blitz Quinn, UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell
opted to rush only his four down linemen. UCLA was unable to generate any kind of a pass rush against the Notre Dame offensive line, allowing the masterful Quinn to pick apart the Bruin defense with surgical precision. On the first play of the drive, Quinn dropped back deep, but was initially unable to find an open man. Quinn started to roll out to his right before he spotted Samardzija along the right sideline and fired a 21 yard strike that moved the Irish to the Notre Dame 41 yard line. Quinn picked up 14 yards on the next play with a completion to wide receiver David Grimes, bringing Notre Dame to the UCLA 45.
Before the Bruins knew what hit them, Notre Dame had taken the lead. After taking a five step drop, Quinn pump-faked and began to roll to his right in search of an open receiver. Quinn spotted Samardzija open on the right side of the field and delivered a bullet to the Irish receiver. Samardzija caught the ball at the 30-yard line and then jutted towards the middle of the field, weaving in and out of Bruin defenders before momentarily losing his balance after taking a hit from UCLA safety Dennis Keyes near the 15 yard line. Samardzija was quickly able to regain his footing, jumping the final yard into the end zone and scoring the winning touchdown with the ball raised aloft.
The touchdown, which came with just :27 left in the game, was only the third game winning touchdown in Notre Dame history come with less than :30 remaining in the game, the other two occurring in the 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic and a 1992 game against Penn State.
Quinn finished the game 27 of 45 for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, thrusting himself back into the forefront of the Heisman race with his late game heroics. With the victory, Notre Dame improved its record to 6-1 on the season.
Brady Quinn
has put himself back in Heisman
contention after a fantastic performance against Navy. He made 18 of 25 passes and threw for 296 yards making 3 TD passes. He also showed his footwork by taking a TD in from 19 yards out.
The Irish started out their scoring quickly with Carl Gioia hitting a 40-yard FG, 3:15 into the game putting them up 3-0 and ended the 1st quarter with a 36-yard pass from Quinn to WR David Grimes to make it a 10-0 game with 1:32 left.
Navy got back in the game quickly with a 1-yd run by Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada to make 10-7 with 11:39 left in the half, but the Irish came back quickly with Travis Thomas
running in a ball 16 yards to make it a 17-7 game with 8 min. left in the half. But Kaheaku-Enhada once again got Navy back in the game with another 1-yard run to make 17-14 with 2:43 left in the half giving Navy only a 3 pt deficit. Quinn turned right around and hit hitting Rhema McKnight
with a 33-yard pass and his 2nd TD pass with a 1:19 left to give Notre Dame a 24-14 lead heading into halftime.
Quinn continued his dominance in the second half leading 3 strong drives two of them scoring TDs. With 8:10 left in the 3rd, Quinn ran in a TD from 19 yards out to give the Irish a 31-14 lead the drive was helped out by a late hit call on 3rd and 19 that allowed Quinn to make the play. The second drive stalled at the 1 when the Midshipmen's defense held. The third drive however ended with Quinn hitting McKnight with a 6-yard pass and his 2nd TD catch and Quinn's 3rd TD pass with 9:36 left in the game, to give the Irish a 38-14 final.
Notre Dame gets another win and Brady Quinn
makes another case for the Heisman Trophy going 23 of 35 for 346 yards and 4 TDs. The game started with Brady Quinn hitting Rhema McKnight
for a 7-yd TD pass and giving Notre Dame a 7-0 lead. But UNC came back with Joe Dailey throwing a 12-yd TD pass to Jesse Holley to knot up the score 7-7. But Notre Dame came back with Quinn throwing an 11-yd strike to John Carlson to close out the 1st quarter 14-7. The 2nd quarter started like the 1st with Quinn hitting McKnight for a 14-yd TD pass putting the Irish up 21-7 and Carl Gioia hit a 27-yd kick to make it 24-7 but UNC's Brandon Tate would return the kickoff 90-yds for a TD, the only saving grace being that the XP was blocked making the score 24-13. The half closed out with Tom Zbikowski
returning a punt 52 yds for a TD and increasing the lead to 31-13 going into the half.
Joe Dailey would start off the scoring in the second half with a 13-yd pass to Hakeem Nicks but the Irish defense would block another XP attempt making the score 31-19. The Irish would strike back with Quinn hitting Jeff Samardzija
with a 42-yd pass to make the score 38-19. UNC would repeat their earlier tandem with Dailey throwing a 72-yd pass to Nicks to cut the deficit to 38-26. But that would be UNC's last hurrah in this game as the Irish defense would prevent anymore scoring and the lone score of the 4th quarter was Darius Walker
's 1-yd run to give 45-26 final.
Less Than a minute into the game Brady Quinn
proved just why he's one of the top QBs in College Football today and he didn't stop there going 14 of 19 for 207 yards passing and 4 TDs. At :54 seconds Quinn hit Jeff Samardzija
for a 51-yd TD pass and a 7-0 lead. Less than five minutes later he threw a 1-yd pass to John Carlson to put Notre Dame up 14-0. At 8:40 into the game Air Force got on the board when Zach Sasser kicked a 32-yd field goal to shrink the deficit to 14-3. But Quinn would respond with a 24-yd pass to Rhema McKnight
. Air Force was able to block the Extra Point Attempt and Notre Dame was now up 20-3 to finish up the 1st quarter. The second quarter showed off a lot of good defense including a blocked FG attempt that saw Terrail Lambert return the blocked kick 76-yds for a TD to put Notre Dame up 27-3 at the half.
Brady Quinn came out of halftime and with 8:33 left in the quarter threw a 23-yd pass to Marcus Freeman, but Air Force once again block Carl Gioia's XP attempt putting Notre Dame up 33-3. And with :17 seconds left in the quarter Shaun Carney threw a 12-yd pass to Beau Suder to make it 33-10 to close out the 3rd quarter of play. The 4th quarter saw Darius Walker
run in a TD from 4-yds out with Gioia missing the XP attempt giving Notre Dame a 39-10 lead. Carney then hit Jacobe Kendrick for a 7-yd TD to give the game a 39-17 final.
In the final home game for the team's senior class, the Irish took the field donning their special green jerseys. The first quarter of the game featured good defense by both teams including a stop on 4th down by the Irish and a pick that led to 3 by Army to give the Black Knights an early 3-0 lead. But in the second quarter the Irish came out firing and less than a minute into the 2nd Brady Quinn
handed the ball to Darius Walker
and he ran it in 10-yds for the Touchdown making it 7-3 Notre Dame. After a Defensive stop by the Irish they got the ball back and on 9 plays drove down field topping it off with Quinn throwing a 13-yd pass to Jeff Samardzija
for the Irish's 2nd TD, but Gioia missed the PAT making the score 13-3 Notre Dame. With just over a minute left in the 1st half Brady Quinn hooked up with Rhema McKnight
for a 8-yd TD reception and this time Carl Gioia hit the PAT giving Notre Dame a 20-3 lead going in to halftime.
The Irish kept up the offensive onslaught to start off the 2nd half, scoring a touchdown when receiver David Grimes recovered teammate Darius Walker's fumble in the endzone to give Notre Dame a 27-3 lead. The next Black Knights drive saw an interception by the Irish which led to a 24-yd pass from Quinn to McKnight for a TD extending their lead to 34-3. 4 minutes into the 4th quarter Notre Dame struck again with Darius Walker taking it in from 8-yds out to make it a 41-3 lead for Notre Dame. The drive started out with great field position due to Michael Richardson's 2nd pick of the day. On the last play of the game with no time left on the clock Army was finally able to make it into the endzone on a 12-yd pass from David Pevoto to Tim Dunn
to make it a 41-9 final.
Notre Dame visited the Coliseum with a 4-game losing streak to the Trojans. After the epic 2005 game, the Irish were hopeful that they could end their losing streak. The Trojans, however, knew that with a win they would still be in the national title hunt. The game started with the Irish receiving the ball and Brady Quinn throwing a quick 38-yard pass to Rhema McKnight. The Irish drive stalled afterwards and turned the ball over after Quinn's fourth down pass flew errantly into the endzone. The Trojans took over and quarterback John David Booty
led them on a 61-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett
. After the next Irish drive ended with a punt and a return by the Trojans to the Irish 26, Booty completed another touchdown pass to Jarrett to put the Trojans ahead 14-0. On the ensuing Irish drive, Quinn and Darius Walker brought the Irish downfield, allowing Carl Gioia to kick a field goal. The first quarter ended with the Trojans winning 14-3. In the first drive of the second quarter, Booty led the Trojans to the Irish 1-yard line where he sneaked the ball in for USC's third touchdown of the game. On the ensuing drive for the Irish, on a third down, Quinn scrambled for 59-yards, Notre Dame's longest run of the season, to bring the Irish to the USC 17-yard line. Four plays later, a Darius Walker fumble was recovered by the Trojans giving them the ball back. The Irish defense, however, held the Trojans for the first time forcing a punt. The punt was partially blocked giving the Irish the ball back on the 7-yard line. On the next play, Quinn threw a touchdown to Marcus Freeman. The next two drives by the Trojans both ended when Booty threw an interception, but the Irish couldn't capitalize on either, turning the ball over on downs two more times. The half ended with the Trojans leading 21-10.
The second half began with a Trojan drive of 65-yards capped with a Chauncey Washington
2-yard touchdown run. The only other score of the third quarter came on Notre Dame's second drive of 58-yards, when Quinn hit Rhema McKnight for a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. The fourth quarter began with the Trojans driving to an eventual 32-yard field goal by Mario Danelo
. After the Irish were held, Booty threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett to give the Trojans a 37-17 lead (Danelo missed the extra point). Quinn drove the Irish 78-yards and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija to put the Irish deficit to 13 points. However, the onside kick attempt, was recovered by Brian Cushing, who ran it back to give the Trojans a 20-point lead again. Notre Dame's last drive would end on another failed fourth down attempt, giving the Trojans the 44-24 win.
semi-finalist, Tom Zbikowski was named as a Jim Thorpe Award
semi-finalist, and John Carlson was named as a John Mackey Award
finalist. Brady Quinn, after finishing third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy
, was named a finalist to two top quarterbacking awards, the Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O'Brien Award
, and won two player of the year awards, the Maxwell Award
and the Cingular All-American Player of the Year.
Along with the award winners, six Irish players were named to All-American lists. Sam Young was named by The Sporting News
as a first team freshman All-American. Five players were named by Sports Illustrated
, including Quinn on the second team, and Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight, John Carlson, and Geoff Price as honorable mentions. The AP
named Quinn and Samardzija on their second team and Tom Zbikowski on their third team, while Samardzija and Zbikowski were named by the Walter Camp Football Foundation
on their second team. Finally, Samardzija was named by the Football Writers Association of America
on their first team as well as being named, for the second time, as a Consensus All-American by the NCAA.
seven players were taken, including offensive starters Quinn, Ryan Harris and Dan Santucci and defensive starters Victor Abiamiri, Derek Landri, Mike Richardson and Chinedum Ndukwe. Five others also signed contracts with NFL teams, while Samardzija signed a deal with the Chicago Cubs
as a baseball pitcher.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team which represented the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis
Charlie Weis
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Weis is an American football coach. He currently serves as offensive coordinator for the Florida Gators. For five years, from December 2004 through 2009, he was the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame...
in his second year as head coach and played their home football games at Notre Dame Stadium
Notre Dame Stadium
Notre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. The stadium is located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, just north of the city of South Bend....
. The team completed the season with a record of ten wins and three losses that culminated in a post-season appearance in the 2007 Sugar Bowl
2007 Sugar Bowl
The 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl Game was a college football bowl game, which formed part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I-BS football season. Played on January 3, 2007, in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, it was the 73rd Sugar Bowl...
and a number 19 ranking in the nation.
Pre-season
After finishing 9-3 in 2005, Notre Dame began the 2006 season ranked No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the Associated Press Poll. These were Notre Dame's highest preseason rankings since 1994, when they occupied the same positions in both polls.Roster changes
The Irish lost nine former starters to graduation and the NFL after the 2005 season, including five offensive starters, three defensive, and placekicker D.J. Fitzpatrick. However, the Irish returned many key players such as quarterback Brady QuinnBrady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
, wide receiver Jeff Samardzija
Jeff Samardzija
Jeffrey Alan Samardzija is an American baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs...
, running back Darius Walker
Darius Walker
Darius A'Dunte Walker is an American football running back who is a free agent in the National Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Notre Dame.Walker has also been a member of the St...
, and safety Tom Zbikowski
Tom Zbikowski
Thomas Michael Zbikowski is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League, and an occasional professional boxer. He was drafted by the Ravens in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
from the previous year's squad, Notre Dame received much pre-season hype as a possible national championship contender.
Recruits
In Weis' first full year of recruiting, the Irish signed 28 recruits. The top ten ranked recruiting class, included three five star recruits on offense and 14 four star recruits with eight on offense and six on defense.Award candidates
Quinn also entered the season as one of the favorites to win the coveted Heisman TrophyHeisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
.
Along with Quinn, the following Fighting Irish football players were named to national award watchlists for the 2006 season:
- Brady Quinn - Maxwell AwardMaxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
, Walter Camp AwardWalter Camp AwardThe Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation;... - Jeff Samardzija - Maxwell AwardMaxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
, Walter Camp AwardWalter Camp AwardThe Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation;... - Darius Walker - Maxwell AwardMaxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
- Tom Zbikowski - Nagurski AwardBronko Nagurski TrophyThe Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America to be the best defensively in the National Collegiate Athletic Association; the award is presented by the Charlotte...
, Bednarik Award - Ryan Harris - Outland TrophyOutland TrophyThe Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
- Victor Abiamiri - Ted Hendricks AwardTed Hendricks AwardThe Ted Hendricks Award is given annually to college football's top defensive end. The award is named after Ted Hendricks, who is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame as well as the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is presented by his own 501 foundation, called the Ted Hendricks...
- John Sullivan - Dave Rimington TrophyDave Rimington TrophyThe Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979-1982....
Notre Dame's three players on the Maxwell Award watchlist tied Miami
2006 Miami Hurricanes football team
The 2006 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2006 college football season. The team's head coach was Larry Coker.-Preseason:...
, Michigan
2006 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2006 college football season. The team's head football coach was Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines came into the season with lower expectations than many Michigan teams of the previous few seasons, ranked #14...
, Ohio State
2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team representing the Ohio State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's head coach was Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium...
, and USC
2006 USC Trojans football team
The 2006 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in college football season of 2006-2007, winning the Pacific-10 Conference and playing in the Rose Bowl...
for most nominees.
Roster
Wide Receiver
Center
Offensive Guard
Offensive Tackle
Tight End
Quarterback
Tailback
Fullback
Nose Tackle
Defensive End
Defensive Tackle
Cornerback
Linebacker
Safety
Long Snapper
Punter
Place Kicker
Sources: http://www.uhnd.com/football-items/2006-notre-dame-roster/ |
Coaching staff
| Name | Position | Year at Notre Dame | Alma Mater Alma mater Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:... (Year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Weis Charlie Weis Charles Joseph "Charlie" Weis is an American football coach. He currently serves as offensive coordinator for the Florida Gators. For five years, from December 2004 through 2009, he was the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame... |
Head Coach | 2nd | Notre Dame (1978) |
| Michael Haywood Michael Haywood -External links:* *... |
Offensive Coordinator Running Backs |
2nd | Notre Dame (1986) |
| Rob Ianello | Recruiting Coordinator Receivers |
2nd | Catholic The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops... (1987) |
| John Latina | Assistant Head Coach (Offense) Offensive Line |
2nd | Virginia Tech (1981) |
| Bill Lewis Bill Lewis (football) -External links:*... |
Assistant Head Coach (Defense) Defensive Backs |
2nd | East Stroudsburg East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. It is one of the 14 state universities that compose the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education . It is commonly referred to as ESU by its students and members of the community... (1963) |
| Rick Minter Rick Minter Rick Minter is an American football coach in the United States. He is currently the co-defensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky... |
Defensive Coordinator | 2nd | Henderson State Henderson State University Henderson State University, founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, is a four-year public liberal arts university located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, United States. It is Arkansas's only member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges... (1977) |
| Jerome "Jappy" Oliver | Defensive Line | 2nd | Purdue Purdue University Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and... (1978) |
| Bernie Parmalee Bernie Parmalee Bernard "Bernie" Parmalee is the current Tight End Coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.Parmalee played high school football at Lincoln High School in Jersey City, New Jersey.-Professional playing career:... |
Tight Ends Special Teams |
2nd | Ball State Ball State University Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings... (1990) |
| Brian Polian | Assistant Defensvie Backs Special Teams |
2nd | John Carroll John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private, co-educational Jesuit Catholic university in University Heights, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland. The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus as Saint Ignatius College.The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus, as... (1997) |
| Peter Vaas | Quarterbacks | 2nd | Holy Cross College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA... (1974) |
Schedule
Georgia Tech
Pregame Line: ND -7.5Georgia Tech drew first blood when quarterback Reggie Ball connected on a four-yard touchdown pass with receiver Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson (American football)
Calvin Johnson, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Lions second overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech....
at the end of the first quarter. Georgia Tech's defense continued to menace 3rd-ranked Notre Dame's offense, while a Travis Bell field goal increased Tech's lead to 10-0. It was the last time Georgia Tech would score, however. Notre Dame orchestrated a 14-play, 80-yard drive right before the half, punctuated by a five-yard rushing touchdown from Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
, to close the score to 10-7 at the half. Coach Charlie Weis adjusted at halftime and began the second half determined to establish the Irish running game. The move paid off when running back Darius Walker
Darius Walker
Darius A'Dunte Walker is an American football running back who is a free agent in the National Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Notre Dame.Walker has also been a member of the St...
hit paydirt on Notre Dame's first drive of the second half, scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run to put the Irish ahead for the first time in 2006, 14-10. Both defenses tightened, as the teams traded punts. With Notre Dame facing a 4th-and-1 at the Georgia Tech 47 yard line with 1:10 left to play in the game, Georgia Tech appeared to be on the verge of getting the ball back with a chance to win the game. However, Weis gambled and elected to go for the first down rather than punt. Weis' gamble was rewarded when Quinn picked up the yard on a quarterback sneak, giving Notre Dame the first down and enabling them to run the clock out for the 14-10 victory.
Quinn completed 23 of 38 passes for 246 yards. Quinn rushed for a score, but was held without a passing touchdown. Walker rushed 22 times for 99 yards and one touchdown, while Rhema McKnight was Notre Dame's leading receiver with 8 receptions for 108 yards. Despite being confounded by Georgia Tech's defense all night, Notre Dame was able to seize control during the second half and walk away with the victory in its 2006 season opener.
Penn State
Pregame Line: ND -8.5Penn State came to Notre Dame for the first time since the 1992 Snow Bowl game between the two. The game began as a defensive battle with Notre Dame scoring the only points of the first quarter on a field goal. However the Irish offense picked up in the second quarter as quarterback Brady Quinn threw two touchdown passes (his first of the season) to Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight. With another field goal, Notre Dame led 20-0 at the half. In the third quarter Penn State quarterback, Anthony Morelli
Anthony Morelli
Anthony Michael Morelli is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
fumbled the ball during a lateral pass
Lateral pass
In American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass , occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him...
as he ran an option play
Option offense
The option offense is a generic term that is used to describe a wide variety of offensive systems in American football. Option offenses are characterized as such due to the predominance of option running plays employed in these schemes. Option offenses have traditionally relied heavily upon running...
. Tom Zbikowski picked up the fumble and ran it for a touchdown. Penn State would score their first points later in the quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Kevin Kelly, but the Irish scored again on a 1-yard touchdown run by Travis Thomas. In the fourth quarter Brady Quinn threw a third touchdown to Darius Walker, Morelli threw his only touchdown of the day to Deon Butler, and Penn State running back Daryll Clark ran a 5-yard touchdown with time running out. The game ended with Notre Dame winning 41-17.
Michigan
Pregame Line: ND -5.5The Michigan Wolverines came to Notre Dame having lost three of the last four games to the Irish and having not won at Notre Dame since 1994, the year before Lloyd Carr
Lloyd Carr
Lloyd H. Carr is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Wolverines compiled a record of 122–40 and won or shared five Big Ten Conference titles...
became head coach. The game began with Notre Dame receiving the ball on the opening kickoff. On the second play, Brady Quinn's pass was intercepted by Prescott Burgess who ran it back for a 21-yard touchdown to put Michigan ahead 7-0. After a punt on Notre Dame's next drive Michigan quarterback Chad Henne
Chad Henne
Chad Steven Henne is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.He graduated from Wilson Senior High School and attended the University of Michigan...
threw an interception to Chinedum Ndukwe which was returned to the 4-yard line to set up a Brady Quinn touchdown pass to Ashley McConnell. Michigan would score the next 27 points with three touchdown passes by Henne to Mario Manningham
Mario Manningham
Mario Cashmere Manningham is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
and a run by Mike Hart
Mike Hart (football player)
Leon Michael "Mike" Hart is a former American football running back and current offensive quality control coach for Eastern Michigan University. Hart played college football as a running back at the University of Michigan from 2004 to 2007 and holds the Michigan Wolverines career rushing record...
. The Irish would score with a touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija before halftime to leave the score 34-14. In the third quarter Michigan kicked two more field goals, one after Brady Quinn's second interception in the game. Brady Quinn threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter to Rhema McKnight to end the Irish scoring. The Wolverines ended any chance of a comeback when, while being sacked, Quinn's fumble was returned for a 54-yard touchdown by LaMarr Woodley. The game ended as a Wolverine blowout of 47-21, giving Lloyd Carr his first win in Notre Dame.
Michigan State
Pregame Line: ND -3.0The game between Notre Dame and Michigan State in East Lansing seemed doomed to be overshadowed by pregame hype. A controversial incident where Spartan players planted a flag in Notre Dame's field after Michigan State's 2005 win was talked about in the week leading up to the game. Spartan officials said the incident occurred because Notre Dame didn't present the Megaphone Trophy
Megaphone Trophy
Started in 1949 the Megaphone Trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the football game between the University of Notre Dame and Michigan State University. Notre Dame and Michigan State started competing against each other 114 years ago in 1897...
after the game and players needed to celebrate. Irish officials stated that they never presented rivalry trophies after games, but sent them later in the week. More controversy was sparked when it was reported that Irish head coach Charlie Weis told a group of Notre Dame Alumni during the summer of 2006 that he would never lose to Michigan State again as head coach. Weis denied it, but nevertheless Spartans used it as motivation. Added to these controversies was the fact that 2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the Game of the Century between the teams. Before the game Michigan State brought back players from that team and retired Bubba Smith
Bubba Smith
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith was an American professional football player who became an actor after his retirement from the sport. He first came into prominence at Michigan State University, where he twice earned All-American honors as a defensive end on the Spartans football team...
's jersey. The controversies continued into the game when a late hit on Michigan State's quarterback by the Notre Dame bench lead to a scuffle between the teams and Charlie Weis claiming an MSU player slapped him in the face. This claim brought a penalty from the officials, and after the game John L. Smith
John L. Smith
John L. Smith is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the special teams coach at the University of Arkansas, under head coach Bobby Petrino...
implied that Charlie Weis had lied about a slap that could not be seen on any replay footage.
The game was played in windy and rainy conditions for most of the night. Notre Dame won the coin toss and took the ball as Charlie Weis normally does. Michigan State chose to play with the wind at their backs for the first quarter. The commentators for the game, especially Bob Davie, questioned Weis' decision, believing that the windy conditions would affect play significantly. It seemed to as Notre Dame was held without a score for the entire first quarter, while the Spartans threw two quick touchdowns, one after a fumble on a punt return by Tom Zbikowski, and added a field goal before having to change sides. In the second quarter Notre Dame switched to a no-huddle offense with worked to confuse the Spartan defense for a drive allowing Brady Quinn to throw a 32-yard touchdown to Rhema McKnight. On their next drive, however, Quinn threw an interception to Ervin Baldwin which was returned for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Spartans a 24-7 lead. Quinn would throw another touchdown to Jeff Samardzija and Spartan quarterback Drew Stanton
Drew Stanton
Drew Emeric Stanton is a quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He played collegiately for the Michigan State Spartans.-Early life:...
would add another touchdown pass to Kerry Reed to end the half with the Spartans leading 31-14.
The second half began with a defensive stop by the Irish which allowed Quinn to throw a third touchdown of 62-yards to John Carlson to cut the Spartan lead to 10. However later in the quarter Michigan State's Jehuu Caulcrick would run for a 30-yard touchdown. The Spartans failed in a two point conversion attempt leaving the score 37-21 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Michigan State had the ball at the Notre Dame 42-yard line and looked to score again. However a series of miscues and holding penalties halted the Spartan drive and forced them to punt. Quinn took advantage and threw a fourth touchdown to Jeff Samardzija. The Irish attempted a two point conversion to make their deficit only 8, but failed, leaving the score 37-27 with 8 minutes left in the game. On the ensuing drive, a Stanton fumble was recovered by the Irish on the Spartan 24-yard line. Aided by a pass interference call on 3rd down and 25-yards to go, Quinn would throw his fifth touchdown pass of the evening to Rhema McKnight. The extra point was missed leaving the Spartans ahead 37-33. On the next drive, Stanton threw an interception to Terrail Lambert which was returned 23-yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The Irish led 40-37 with almost 3 minutes left. Stanton would take the Spartans to the Notre Dame 44-yard line before throwing a pass which was tipped twice and which Terrail Lambert would catch off of the back of a Spartan wide receiver to end the game, with the Irish winning 40-37.
Purdue
Pregame Line: ND -14.0The Purdue Boilermakers came to Notre Dame undefeated, but still underdogs to the Irish. Notre Dame started the scoring with a 70-yard opening drive capped with a 11-yard run by George West for a touchdown, their first opening drive touchdown of the year. Purdue tied the game later in the quarter with a 7-yard run by Kory Sheets. However the Irish completed another long drive with a 14-yard touchdown run by Darius Walker to put them in the lead 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. Brady Quinn threw his first touchdown of the game to Rhema McKnight for 6-yards halfway through the second quarter. With a little over a minute remaining before halftime, the Irish faked a field goal and Jeff Samardzija, the holder, ran for a 5-yard touchdown. However, 30 seconds later, Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter threw an 88-yard touchdown pass to Selwyn Lymon to put the halftime score at 28-14, in favor of Notre Dame.
The only score in the third quarter was a 12-yard touchdown pass by Brady Quinn to Rhema McKnight to give the Irish a 21-point lead. In the fourth quarter, Curtis Painter threw a 9-yard touchdown to Selwyn Lymon to give the final score of 35-21, Notre Dame winning. At the end of the game, Lymon had 238 receiving yards, the second most yards ever for a Purdue receiver and the most receiving yards ever against the Irish. The teams combined for 955 total yards, and only 242-yards were from rushing. Darius Walker ran for 146 of those yards himself.
Stanford
Pregame Line: ND -29.5In the third quarter the Irish began to pull away. Darius Walker ran for a 32-yard touchdown, his longest run of the season, to give the Irish an 18-point lead. Later in the quarter, Carl Gioia added a 32-yard field goal to put the Irish up 24-3 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter the Cardinal used a trick play to get on the scoreboard again. On a toss play to running back Anthony Kimble, Kimble threw a 57-yard touchdown to a wide open Kelton Lynn. The score brought the Cardinal within 14. Later in the quarter, Brady Quinn would throw his third touchdown of the game to tight end John Carlson to give the final margin of victory, 31-10, in favor of the Irish.
UCLA
Pregame Line: ND -13After trailing UCLA for most of the game, Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
was able to lead Notre Dame to a miraculous last minute comeback that may have saved Notre Dame's BCS hopes, as well as Quinn's Heisman
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
candidacy.
Notre Dame got on the board first when Quinn capped a 7 play, 44 yard drive with a two yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija
Jeff Samardzija
Jeffrey Alan Samardzija is an American baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs...
. UCLA would roar back, however, scoring fourteen unanswered second quarter points before Notre Dame would add a field goal as the quarter expired. Down 14-10 heading into the locker room at halftime, the situation looked grim for the Irish, who were unable to deal with the relentless UCLA defense.
Notre Dame would cut the Bruins' lead to one when Carl Gioia capped a long, 14 play, 60 yard drive with a 33 yard field goal near the end of the third quarter. UCLA would answer with a field goal of its own midway through the fourth quarter to push its lead to 17-13.
The UCLA defense continued to frustrate the Notre Dame offense, and it appeared the Bruins had the game won after stopping Notre Dame on a fourth-and-1 attempt from the UCLA 35 with 2:25 remaining in the game. UCLA, though, was unable to run the clock out. UCLA was forced to punt after running three straight running plays that netted 6 yards. UCLA was only able to take 1:19 off the clock with its three running plays.
After Aaron Perez's 59 yard punt resulted in a touchback, Notre Dame took over on its own 20 yard line with :55 remaining in the game, needing a touchdown to avoid its second loss of the season. Rather than blitz Quinn, UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell is a football coach, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, the first African American head football coach in the school's history...
opted to rush only his four down linemen. UCLA was unable to generate any kind of a pass rush against the Notre Dame offensive line, allowing the masterful Quinn to pick apart the Bruin defense with surgical precision. On the first play of the drive, Quinn dropped back deep, but was initially unable to find an open man. Quinn started to roll out to his right before he spotted Samardzija along the right sideline and fired a 21 yard strike that moved the Irish to the Notre Dame 41 yard line. Quinn picked up 14 yards on the next play with a completion to wide receiver David Grimes, bringing Notre Dame to the UCLA 45.
Before the Bruins knew what hit them, Notre Dame had taken the lead. After taking a five step drop, Quinn pump-faked and began to roll to his right in search of an open receiver. Quinn spotted Samardzija open on the right side of the field and delivered a bullet to the Irish receiver. Samardzija caught the ball at the 30-yard line and then jutted towards the middle of the field, weaving in and out of Bruin defenders before momentarily losing his balance after taking a hit from UCLA safety Dennis Keyes near the 15 yard line. Samardzija was quickly able to regain his footing, jumping the final yard into the end zone and scoring the winning touchdown with the ball raised aloft.
The touchdown, which came with just :27 left in the game, was only the third game winning touchdown in Notre Dame history come with less than :30 remaining in the game, the other two occurring in the 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic and a 1992 game against Penn State.
Quinn finished the game 27 of 45 for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, thrusting himself back into the forefront of the Heisman race with his late game heroics. With the victory, Notre Dame improved its record to 6-1 on the season.
Navy
Pregame Line: ND -13.5Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
has put himself back in Heisman
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
contention after a fantastic performance against Navy. He made 18 of 25 passes and threw for 296 yards making 3 TD passes. He also showed his footwork by taking a TD in from 19 yards out.
The Irish started out their scoring quickly with Carl Gioia hitting a 40-yard FG, 3:15 into the game putting them up 3-0 and ended the 1st quarter with a 36-yard pass from Quinn to WR David Grimes to make it a 10-0 game with 1:32 left.
Navy got back in the game quickly with a 1-yd run by Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada to make 10-7 with 11:39 left in the half, but the Irish came back quickly with Travis Thomas
Travis Thomas
Travis John Thomas is a free agent American football running back who most recently played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
running in a ball 16 yards to make it a 17-7 game with 8 min. left in the half. But Kaheaku-Enhada once again got Navy back in the game with another 1-yard run to make 17-14 with 2:43 left in the half giving Navy only a 3 pt deficit. Quinn turned right around and hit hitting Rhema McKnight
Rhema McKnight
Rhema Lee McKnight is a former wide receiver for the University of Notre Dame's American Football team and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2007...
with a 33-yard pass and his 2nd TD pass with a 1:19 left to give Notre Dame a 24-14 lead heading into halftime.
Quinn continued his dominance in the second half leading 3 strong drives two of them scoring TDs. With 8:10 left in the 3rd, Quinn ran in a TD from 19 yards out to give the Irish a 31-14 lead the drive was helped out by a late hit call on 3rd and 19 that allowed Quinn to make the play. The second drive stalled at the 1 when the Midshipmen's defense held. The third drive however ended with Quinn hitting McKnight with a 6-yard pass and his 2nd TD catch and Quinn's 3rd TD pass with 9:36 left in the game, to give the Irish a 38-14 final.
North Carolina
Pregame Line: ND -28Notre Dame gets another win and Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
makes another case for the Heisman Trophy going 23 of 35 for 346 yards and 4 TDs. The game started with Brady Quinn hitting Rhema McKnight
Rhema McKnight
Rhema Lee McKnight is a former wide receiver for the University of Notre Dame's American Football team and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2007...
for a 7-yd TD pass and giving Notre Dame a 7-0 lead. But UNC came back with Joe Dailey throwing a 12-yd TD pass to Jesse Holley to knot up the score 7-7. But Notre Dame came back with Quinn throwing an 11-yd strike to John Carlson to close out the 1st quarter 14-7. The 2nd quarter started like the 1st with Quinn hitting McKnight for a 14-yd TD pass putting the Irish up 21-7 and Carl Gioia hit a 27-yd kick to make it 24-7 but UNC's Brandon Tate would return the kickoff 90-yds for a TD, the only saving grace being that the XP was blocked making the score 24-13. The half closed out with Tom Zbikowski
Tom Zbikowski
Thomas Michael Zbikowski is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League, and an occasional professional boxer. He was drafted by the Ravens in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
returning a punt 52 yds for a TD and increasing the lead to 31-13 going into the half.
Joe Dailey would start off the scoring in the second half with a 13-yd pass to Hakeem Nicks but the Irish defense would block another XP attempt making the score 31-19. The Irish would strike back with Quinn hitting Jeff Samardzija
Jeff Samardzija
Jeffrey Alan Samardzija is an American baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs...
with a 42-yd pass to make the score 38-19. UNC would repeat their earlier tandem with Dailey throwing a 72-yd pass to Nicks to cut the deficit to 38-26. But that would be UNC's last hurrah in this game as the Irish defense would prevent anymore scoring and the lone score of the 4th quarter was Darius Walker
Darius Walker
Darius A'Dunte Walker is an American football running back who is a free agent in the National Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Notre Dame.Walker has also been a member of the St...
's 1-yd run to give 45-26 final.
Air Force
Pregame Line: ND -11.5Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
proved just why he's one of the top QBs in College Football today and he didn't stop there going 14 of 19 for 207 yards passing and 4 TDs. At :54 seconds Quinn hit Jeff Samardzija
Jeff Samardzija
Jeffrey Alan Samardzija is an American baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs...
for a 51-yd TD pass and a 7-0 lead. Less than five minutes later he threw a 1-yd pass to John Carlson to put Notre Dame up 14-0. At 8:40 into the game Air Force got on the board when Zach Sasser kicked a 32-yd field goal to shrink the deficit to 14-3. But Quinn would respond with a 24-yd pass to Rhema McKnight
Rhema McKnight
Rhema Lee McKnight is a former wide receiver for the University of Notre Dame's American Football team and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2007...
. Air Force was able to block the Extra Point Attempt and Notre Dame was now up 20-3 to finish up the 1st quarter. The second quarter showed off a lot of good defense including a blocked FG attempt that saw Terrail Lambert return the blocked kick 76-yds for a TD to put Notre Dame up 27-3 at the half.
Brady Quinn came out of halftime and with 8:33 left in the quarter threw a 23-yd pass to Marcus Freeman, but Air Force once again block Carl Gioia's XP attempt putting Notre Dame up 33-3. And with :17 seconds left in the quarter Shaun Carney threw a 12-yd pass to Beau Suder to make it 33-10 to close out the 3rd quarter of play. The 4th quarter saw Darius Walker
Darius Walker
Darius A'Dunte Walker is an American football running back who is a free agent in the National Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Notre Dame.Walker has also been a member of the St...
run in a TD from 4-yds out with Gioia missing the XP attempt giving Notre Dame a 39-10 lead. Carney then hit Jacobe Kendrick for a 7-yd TD to give the game a 39-17 final.
Army
Pregame Line: ND -36In the final home game for the team's senior class, the Irish took the field donning their special green jerseys. The first quarter of the game featured good defense by both teams including a stop on 4th down by the Irish and a pick that led to 3 by Army to give the Black Knights an early 3-0 lead. But in the second quarter the Irish came out firing and less than a minute into the 2nd Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
handed the ball to Darius Walker
Darius Walker
Darius A'Dunte Walker is an American football running back who is a free agent in the National Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Notre Dame.Walker has also been a member of the St...
and he ran it in 10-yds for the Touchdown making it 7-3 Notre Dame. After a Defensive stop by the Irish they got the ball back and on 9 plays drove down field topping it off with Quinn throwing a 13-yd pass to Jeff Samardzija
Jeff Samardzija
Jeffrey Alan Samardzija is an American baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs...
for the Irish's 2nd TD, but Gioia missed the PAT making the score 13-3 Notre Dame. With just over a minute left in the 1st half Brady Quinn hooked up with Rhema McKnight
Rhema McKnight
Rhema Lee McKnight is a former wide receiver for the University of Notre Dame's American Football team and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2007...
for a 8-yd TD reception and this time Carl Gioia hit the PAT giving Notre Dame a 20-3 lead going in to halftime.
The Irish kept up the offensive onslaught to start off the 2nd half, scoring a touchdown when receiver David Grimes recovered teammate Darius Walker's fumble in the endzone to give Notre Dame a 27-3 lead. The next Black Knights drive saw an interception by the Irish which led to a 24-yd pass from Quinn to McKnight for a TD extending their lead to 34-3. 4 minutes into the 4th quarter Notre Dame struck again with Darius Walker taking it in from 8-yds out to make it a 41-3 lead for Notre Dame. The drive started out with great field position due to Michael Richardson's 2nd pick of the day. On the last play of the game with no time left on the clock Army was finally able to make it into the endzone on a 12-yd pass from David Pevoto to Tim Dunn
Tim Dunn
Tim Dunn is a former 2006 United States Congressional candidate for the 8th District of North Carolina. Dunn is a Democrat who ran against the current Republican incumbent, Robin Hayes. Dunn is an Iraq War Veteran, a former active duty United States Marine and is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in...
to make it a 41-9 final.
Southern California
Pregame Line: USC -7Notre Dame visited the Coliseum with a 4-game losing streak to the Trojans. After the epic 2005 game, the Irish were hopeful that they could end their losing streak. The Trojans, however, knew that with a win they would still be in the national title hunt. The game started with the Irish receiving the ball and Brady Quinn throwing a quick 38-yard pass to Rhema McKnight. The Irish drive stalled afterwards and turned the ball over after Quinn's fourth down pass flew errantly into the endzone. The Trojans took over and quarterback John David Booty
John David Booty
John David Booty is an American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He last played for the Houston Texans until being cut on September 4, 2010. He played college football at USC.Booty has also been a member of the Tennessee Titans...
led them on a 61-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett
Dwayne Jarrett
Dwayne Jarrett is an American football wide receiver formerly of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Panthers in the second round the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California.-Early years:Jarrett attended New Brunswick...
. After the next Irish drive ended with a punt and a return by the Trojans to the Irish 26, Booty completed another touchdown pass to Jarrett to put the Trojans ahead 14-0. On the ensuing Irish drive, Quinn and Darius Walker brought the Irish downfield, allowing Carl Gioia to kick a field goal. The first quarter ended with the Trojans winning 14-3. In the first drive of the second quarter, Booty led the Trojans to the Irish 1-yard line where he sneaked the ball in for USC's third touchdown of the game. On the ensuing drive for the Irish, on a third down, Quinn scrambled for 59-yards, Notre Dame's longest run of the season, to bring the Irish to the USC 17-yard line. Four plays later, a Darius Walker fumble was recovered by the Trojans giving them the ball back. The Irish defense, however, held the Trojans for the first time forcing a punt. The punt was partially blocked giving the Irish the ball back on the 7-yard line. On the next play, Quinn threw a touchdown to Marcus Freeman. The next two drives by the Trojans both ended when Booty threw an interception, but the Irish couldn't capitalize on either, turning the ball over on downs two more times. The half ended with the Trojans leading 21-10.
The second half began with a Trojan drive of 65-yards capped with a Chauncey Washington
Chauncey Washington
-Jacksonville Jaguars:Washington was selected in the 7th round pick 213 of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. On June 26, 2008 Washington signed a contract of four years worth $1.6 million.-Dallas Cowboys:...
2-yard touchdown run. The only other score of the third quarter came on Notre Dame's second drive of 58-yards, when Quinn hit Rhema McKnight for a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. The fourth quarter began with the Trojans driving to an eventual 32-yard field goal by Mario Danelo
Mario Danelo
Mario Danelo was an American college football placekicker.-High school career:Danelo was an all–Los Angeles linebacker at San Pedro High School in San Pedro, California. Danelo was also a fullback and kicker at his high school...
. After the Irish were held, Booty threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett to give the Trojans a 37-17 lead (Danelo missed the extra point). Quinn drove the Irish 78-yards and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija to put the Irish deficit to 13 points. However, the onside kick attempt, was recovered by Brian Cushing, who ran it back to give the Trojans a 20-point lead again. Notre Dame's last drive would end on another failed fourth down attempt, giving the Trojans the 44-24 win.
Sugar Bowl vs. LSU
Awards
After the season, a four Irish players were nominated for or won postseason awards. Geoff Price, was named as a Ray Guy AwardRay Guy Award
The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's top punter by the Greater Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, a former All-American at Southern Mississippi and an all-pro player for the Oakland Raiders.-Criteria:...
semi-finalist, Tom Zbikowski was named as a Jim Thorpe Award
Jim Thorpe Award
The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986...
semi-finalist, and John Carlson was named as a John Mackey Award
John Mackey Award
The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end.The award is given to the collegiate tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics, and community values of NFL Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey....
finalist. Brady Quinn, after finishing third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, was named a finalist to two top quarterbacking awards, the Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O'Brien Award
Davey O'Brien Award
The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player adjudged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Collegiate Athletic Association quarterbacks. The...
, and won two player of the year awards, the Maxwell Award
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
and the Cingular All-American Player of the Year.
Along with the award winners, six Irish players were named to All-American lists. Sam Young was named by The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
as a first team freshman All-American. Five players were named by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, including Quinn on the second team, and Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight, John Carlson, and Geoff Price as honorable mentions. The AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
named Quinn and Samardzija on their second team and Tom Zbikowski on their third team, while Samardzija and Zbikowski were named by the Walter Camp Football Foundation
Walter Camp Football Foundation
The Walter Camp Football Foundation is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA. The organization also presents various awards.-Awards:*Walter Camp Player of the Year*CT Player of the Year...
on their second team. Finally, Samardzija was named by the Football Writers Association of America
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA...
on their first team as well as being named, for the second time, as a Consensus All-American by the NCAA.
NFL Draft
In the 2007 NFL Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
seven players were taken, including offensive starters Quinn, Ryan Harris and Dan Santucci and defensive starters Victor Abiamiri, Derek Landri, Mike Richardson and Chinedum Ndukwe. Five others also signed contracts with NFL teams, while Samardzija signed a deal with the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
as a baseball pitcher.