This list is now well inside the top-25. The previous tiers are below if you’d like a refresher.

Remember that the formula for this is [(Excitement at the time + Quality of Opponent) * Legacy]. All of these factors are graded on a scale of 1-10 and the final score is divided by two in order to get a nice number between 1-100.

#23: 2014 LSU, 31-28

Excitement: 7

Quality of Opponent: 7

Legacy: 7

Final Score: 49/100

 

Brian Kelly’s first win over an SEC opponent came in the midst of a dire stretch of games for his program. The Irish had spiraled from 6-0 to 7-5 and were pretty hefty underdogs against freshman Leonard Fournette and LSU. However, a brilliant game-plan from Kelly and his staff possessed the ball for almost 37 minutes which helped the ailing Irish defense hang in there. A spirited rushing attack gained 263 yards at 5.1 ypp against the 5th best defense in SP+ while the strange Malik Zaire-Everett Golson tag-team miraculously worked. Both quarterbacks played well on a final drive that ate up six minutes and went 3-3 on third down before Kyle Brindza kicked the game-winning field goal.

This is among the more improbable wins on this list, not only were the Irish 9-point underdogs but the Tigers gained 8.4 ypp (!!!) and still lost. The win also provided a massive morale boost after the four-game losing streak and a springboard into 2015. However, it would be the last time that Everett Golson would don the blue and gold after such a promising start to his career. This game scores well in all categories as a result.

#22: 2015 Temple, 24-20

Excitement: 6

Quality of Opponent: 7

Legacy: 8

Final Score: 52/100

 

On a strange Halloween Night in Philadelphia, the 2015 Notre Dame football team survived the biggest game in Temple football history. The Irish were mostly dominant throughout the first two and a half quarters, but two redzone interceptions prevented any separation from a pesky Owls squad. Things got real in the fourth quarter when ND’s offense was completely shut down and XFL star PJ Walker led Temple to a 20-17 lead. Luckily a savvy drive from DeShone Kizer and Will Fuller saved the evening and Keivarae Russell picked off Walker to end the game.

There are quite a few memorable moments from this one, from Kizer’s 79-yard touchdown run, to Kelly almost fighting David Grimes on the sideline, to Kirk Herbstreit screaming like a baby when confronted by two zombies in the TV booth. Temple was a strong G5 team this year in finishing 10-4 and now we all know Matt Rhule as one of the best college coaches of the 2010s.

#21: 2010 USC, 20-16

Excitement: 8

Quality of Opponent: 5

Legacy: 8

Final Score: 52/100

 

Most of the wins over USC on this list have been gritty affairs and it all began with this one. USC was playing without Matt Barkley and it showed as both teams slogged it out in terrible conditions. The Irish threatened to run away with it after halftime before turnovers let the Trojans back into the game. In the end, Robert Hughes ran through and over SC defenders to put ND back on top. Mitch Mustain led a herky-jerky drive down the field which ended with Harrison Smith intercepting him at the one-yard line, but not before the biggest scare ever when Ronald Johnson dropped a wide-open touchdown pass.

This is a forgotten game, although it carries enormous historical ramifications. The decade of misery at the hands of the Trojans was over and Brian Kelly won his first game over a rival he has come to master while at Notre Dame. Nobody knew that both programs were headed in diverging paths at the time of this game, with the Irish beginning a slow climb while the Trojans have been suffering through a gradual decline.

#20: 2015 USC, 41-31

Excitement: 8

Quality of Opponent: 7

Legacy: 7

Final Score: 52.5/100

 

This game stands in complete contrast to the previous entry. USC rolled up nearly 600 yards of offense in South Bend while the Irish scored 41 points on a wild night of football. ND jumped out to a 24-10 lead but squandered a chance to be up even more when Torii Hunter Jr. fumbled at the goal line. The Trojans then scored 21 straight before Kizer and Co. rescued the situation with 17 unanswered to end the game.

This game is remembered mostly due to Will Fuller torching Adoree Jackson and the offensive fireworks, but the much maligned Irish defense made two huge interceptions in the fourth quarter to snuff out any threat of losing. Along with the 2014 UNC game, this contest would be on a separate shortlist for craziest games of Brian Kelly’s tenure.

#19: 2013 Arizona State, 37-34

Excitement: 7

Quality of Opponent: 8

Legacy: 7

Final Score: 52.5/100

 

The 2013 Shamrock Series is a sneaky important game in the past decade of Irish football. ASU was actually favored by a touchdown and Notre Dame was in the midst of a dismal start to the season at 3-2 and coming off a 14-point home loss to Oklahoma. However, the Irish came to play in Dallas wearing their snazzy all-white uniforms and jumped out to a 24-13 third quarter lead before the Devils came back to tie the game in the fourth quarter. It took a crazy final three minutes for the Irish to regain control and survive an ASU team that would finish with 10 wins.

Notre Dame has never lost a Shamrock Series game, but this was by far its closest call. Tommy Rees played a very Rees-ian game with some brilliance mixed in with some horribleness, but TJ Jones is the underrated star of this game (and maybe of the BK era). Eight catches for 135 yards with a touchdown and a long third quarter punt return to set the Irish up for some points that proved to be decisive. As mentioned before, this was a sneaky important game that perhaps kept the 2013 season from going off the rails.

#18: 2018 USC, 24-17

Excitement: 8

Quality of Opponent: 4

Legacy: 8

Final Score: 54/100

 

This was an agonizing contest to sit through, as the Irish fell behind 10-0 against the worst USC team since Paul Hackett was on the Trojan sideline. A methodical comeback featuring some Ian Book/Dexter Williams heroics wrested control back from SC, although the fourth quarter was still white knuckles territory. That is, until Book hooked up with Tony Jones Jr. for one of the defining plays of the Kelly era.

It’s hard not to be excited over ending a 12-0 regular season in the LA Coliseum, even against a crappy USC squad. It wasn’t nearly as glamorous as a similar game featured on this list, but it didn’t need to be for Notre Dame to get a shot at the playoff.

#17: 2014 Stanford

Excitement: 9

Quality of Opponent: 7

Legacy: 7

Final Score: 56/100

 

A forgotten thriller that seemed enormous at the time. In a top-15 match-up, Everett Golson led a mistake-prone Irish offense down the field in miserable conditions only to face 4th and 11 just outside the red zone. With the game on the line, Golson rolled out and chucked a perfect ball to Ben Koyack for the winning touchdown.

This was the apotheosis of the BVG era at Notre Dame, as the Irish defense held the Cardinal to a paltry 3 ypp and forced Kevin Hogan into a terrible game. The score shouldn’t have been nearly as close as it was, considering ND out-gained Stanford by nearly 200 yards. But it wouldn’t have quite the same emotional push had it not come down the wire. Unfortunately, the legacy implications from this contest faded within a few weeks as both teams finished 8-5.

#16: 2012 Michigan, 13-6

Excitement: 9

Quality of Opponent: 8

Legacy: 7

Final Score: 59.5/100

 

For the most part, this was a pretty boring game. The Irish offense was mostly incompetent and young Golson was pulled in favor of Tommy Rees who scored the most improbable rushing touchdown in Notre Dame football history. That put the Irish up 10-0 and proved to be the only touchdown of the game. And for as atrocious as ND’s offense was, it was small potatoes compared to the dumpster fire on the other sideline. Michigan had six turnovers and Denard Robinson threw four interceptions in the first half alone.

This is maybe the messiest win of Brian Kelly’s tenure at Notre Dame, but an incredibly important one. It marked his first victory over Michigan after the Irish had lost three straight games to the Wolverines, all within the final 30 seconds. ND won a home night game the first time since 1990 and finally vanquished the Robinson demons. Even for such a hideous game, it scores highly in all three categories.

#15: 2018 Stanford, 38-17

Excitement: 9

Quality of Opponent: 8

Legacy: 7

Final Score: 59.5/100

 

Much like the 2014 version of this game, it felt much bigger at the time than it did later. Believe it or not, this was the first top-10 match-up at Notre Dame Stadium since the Bush Push and the Irish just beat the hell out of the Cardinal. K.J. Costello was sacked four times by Jerry Tillery alone, and Notre Dame out-gained Stanford 550-229. Dexter Williams was brilliant, as was Ian Book in his second start. It’s a shame the Cardinal only finished 9-4 or else this game would be in the highest tier of this list.

#14: 2019 Navy, 52-20

Excitement: 7

Quality of Opponent: 8

Legacy: 8

Final Score: 60/100

 

This is a pretty controversial choice for a top-15 win in Brian Kelly’s ND tenure, but let me defend this for a second. This was the 2015 Navy game on steroids, where the Irish pulverized a really good Middie team that came into this match-up ranked #23. It’s rare to win the way Notre Dame did against an 11-2 team on a day where the game was never in doubt. I have a feeling this game will age well throughout the years, especially after the next time Navy options us into a barn-burner again.

#13: 2017 Michigan State, 38-18

Excitement: 6

Quality of Opponent: 8

Legacy: 9

Final Score: 63/100

 

In hindsight, it’s hard to believe this was a game between two teams that were a combined 7-17 in 2016. The Irish jumped on the Spartans early and essentially ended this game by halftime, although Shaun Crawford’s endzone fumble recovery in the second quarter is an all-time momentum shift. Brandon Wimbush played perhaps his best game in a Notre Dame uniform in leading the Irish offense to 31 points (not including Julian Love’s pick-6) against a great Spartan defense.

MSU finished 10-3 and almost perfectly mirrored ND’s turnaround from 4-8. Being the last game against the Spartans until 2026, this will likely mark the last time BK will play one of ND’s traditional rivals and he will finish a cool 4-2. Of those four wins, three came over MSU teams that finished with 10 or more wins. That earns some serious legacy points in my book.

#12: 2017 NC State, 35-14

Excitement: 8

Quality of Opponent: 8

Legacy: 8

Final Score: 64/100

 

In the second consecutive top-15 match-up at Notre Dame Stadium in as many weeks, the Irish dominated NC State who somehow finished 9-4 despite a roster full of NFL talent. The Pack jumped out to a 14-7 lead and looked poised to stay undefeated all-time against Notre Dame. Then, an avalanche of rushing yards from Josh Adams and the best offensive line ever buried NC State and the Irish won in a rout. ND finished with 362 rushing yards against a Wolfpack defense led by Bradley Chubb.

The Irish had won their sixth game in a row by 20 points or more and debuted at #3 in the CFB Playoff rankings the following week. It came on the heels of a game ranking higher on this list and cemented the 2017 Irish as a true playoff contender.

#11: 2011 Michigan State, 31-13

Excitement: 6

Quality of Opponent: 9

Legacy: 9

Final Score: 67.5/100

 

Notre Dame came into this game 0-2 with both losses being impossibly painful affairs. They then took their frustration out on an MSU team that would finish with 11-3 and almost win the B1G. The Spartans were never really within striking distance past the second quarter and Robert Blanton’s long interception return put the game on ice with five minutes left. The Irish defense was dominant enough to survive three turnovers and other self-inflicted wounds on offense and special teams.

This was a hard game to find highlights from for some reason, but there were many. George Atkinson III returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and Mark Dantonio thought ND would be dumb enough to fall for a fake field goal for the second year in a row just before halftime. Of course, there was some angst in the fourth quarter (as was the nature of that team), but nine years later this is one of BK’s most impressive wins at Notre Dame. The Irish thumped a very good MSU team while salvaging some of the preseason hype from 2011.

#10: 2010 Utah, 28-3

Excitement: 8

Quality of Opponent: 7

Legacy: 9

Final Score: 67.5/100

 

Andy Roberts already made a great argument for why this game is the most important of Brian Kelly’s tenure at Notre Dame so go ahead and check out that article if you haven’t already. He does this game more justice than I could here.