Year In Review: Top Game Performances Of 2015
During the next week, Blue & Gold Illustrated will review the top moments of the 2015 season, including all of the notable events, top plays, top players and more.
We continue with the top five game performances by Irish players last year.
1. Fuller torches Pittsburgh
Junior receiver Will Fuller pulled off the proverbial hat trick at Pittsburgh in November with three scores.
Fuller, a Pennsylvania native, recorded seven receptions and 152 receiving yards in addition to the three touchdowns. Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi often tested Fuller in one-on-one situations, and the receiver made that decision look silly with one of the most productive afternoons of his Irish career.
Fuller’s five catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the opening half set the tone and allowed Notre Dame to lead 21-3 at one point in an eventual 42-30 victory.
2. Day torments Temple
Notre Dame’s offense rarely took a backseat during the 2015 season, but Temple’s defense held the Irish to only 24 points in Notre Dame’s Oct. 31 victory on the road.
With the Irish offense held under 30 points, the defense needed to step up and make plays. Senior cornerback KeiVarae Russell pulled off a late interception to help the Irish improve to 7-1, but senior defensive tackle Sheldon Day’s performance throughout the evening helped keep the Owl offense at bay.
Day’s disruptive evening included six tackles (2.5 for loss) and a sack. He also registered a forced fumble and a pass breakup. He was constantly after Temple quarterback P.J. Walker during his brightest game in a fantastic senior year.
3. Kizer excellent at Stanford
Notre Dame heartbreakingly fell short at Stanford, 38-36, in the regular season finale, but little of that blame can fall on the Irish offense. Other than some more red zone woes, the unit moved the ball up and down the field against the Cardinal defense.
Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer directed an Irish offense that amassed 533 yards of total offense, which are the most against Stanford’s defense since 2012.
Kizer finished with 128 rushing yards and a late go-ahead score as well as a 13-of-25 performance throwing the ball with 234 yards and one touchdown. The final 88-yard offensive drive that temporarily put Notre Dame ahead 36-35 would have gone down in the Irish annals, but the defense surrendered a field goal as time expired to send head coach Brian Kelly’s squad home with a defeat.
4. Okwara manhandles Wake Forest
Senior defensive end Romeo Okwara’s best performance in an Irish uniform came on senior day in a 28-7 win over Wake Forest.
Okwara registered three sacks and five solo tackles while disrupting Wake Forest’s offense throughout the afternoon. One sack forced a fumble, while the other two came on third down and forced Demon Deacon punts.
Notre Dame did not generate a consistent pass rush during the 2015 season, but when it did, Okwara was usually doing the disruption.
5. Zaire sets the tone against the Longhorns
This performance often gets forgotten because of how bad Texas ended up being in 2015 and because he only started two games, but Malik Zaire’s season-opening performance in a 38-3 blowout win over the Longhorns foreshadowed just how dynamic the Irish offense would be in 2015.
The lefty completed 19-of-22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns, which are sparkling statistics regardless of the competition. He also added 16 yards on the ground.
Zaire found seven different receivers and left no doubt that Notre Dame would finish on the winning side of the battle between college football heavyweights. He has two years of eligibility remaining, and even if he started each contest the rest of the way he might never top the 19-of-22 performance.