Despite losing five players for the entire season for academic violations, the Notre Dame football team entered the year ranked No. 17 with senior quarterback Everett Golson returning to the starting lineup after being expelled from the school in the spring of 2013.
After a 6-0 start in which they outscored their opponents by an average of 17 points, the Irish began suffering from injuries and inexperience.  They lost five of their final six games in the brunt of their schedule, including three losses to top-25 teams.

The Irish defense seemed to regress in the final seven games, giving up an average of 42 points after a 12-point average in the first five.  Despite leading the No. 16 passing offense for most of the season, Golson accounted for 11 of the 13 turnovers in the five losses and 22 for the season.

Here’s a game-by-game breakdown of how a promising season turned awry for Notre Dame:

Aug. 30 — No. 17 Notre Dame 48, Rice 17

In his first game back since the 2012 National Championship loss to Alabama, Golson didn’t waste any time in a drubbing of Rice.  

The quarterback, who accounted for 336 total yards, passed for two touchdowns and ran for another three.  Sophomore William Fuller led all receivers with four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.  

In total, the Irish offense racked up 576 yards, and the defense added two turnovers in a game that was never in doubt.

Sept. 6 — No. 16 Notre Dame 31, Michigan 0

In the final game scheduled in the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry, the Irish forced four turnovers and shutout the Wolverines.  It was the first time in 30 years Michigan hadn’t tallied a point, the longest streak in the nation at the time.

Golson and Fuller were an effective combo again, but senior receiver Amir Carlisle made it a trio.  Golson was 23-of-34 for 226 yards and found Carlisle for two touchdowns and Fuller for another.

Interestingly enough, the Irish finished the game with nine fewer yards than the Wolverines, but a 7-of-15 clip on third down was a difference-maker for Notre Dame’s offense.

Sept. 13 — No. 11 Notre Dame 30, Purdue 14

The final score of this game is a misleading to how it played out. Already without Carlise due to injury, three Irish players in the secondary were either ejected or injured, which helped the Boilermakers hang around in the 4th quarter down only 10 points

Then, Purdue quarterback Daniel Etling was intercepted on consecutive drives, and Golson, who had 306 total yards and three touchdowns, led the offense to two long field goal drives to ice the game.

Fuller had six receptions for 51 yards and recorded his third touchdown reception in as many games.

Sept. 27 — No. 8 Notre Dame 31, Syracuse 15

Notre Dame followed a bye week with a relatively easy win against the Orangeman at MetLife stadium in New Jersey. But Golson, after being turnover-free for the first three games, threw two interceptions and fumbled twice.

Despite the sloppiness, the quarterback recorded career-highs with 362 passing yards and four passing touchdowns.  Fuller continued his early success with 119 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

Golson also set a school record with 25 straight completions in the game.

Oct. 4 — No. 9 Notre Dame 17, No. 14 Stanford 14

In probably the grittiest win of the season for the Irish, Golson’s touchdown pass to senior tight end Ben Koyack on fourth-and-11 with 1:01 left in the game proved to be the difference.

The Irish defense held the Cardinal to only 47 yards on the ground and picked off Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan twice. Golson had 241 yards passing and two touchdowns but had two more turnovers to bring his total to six on the year.

Notre Dame’s special teams struggled through a rainy game, but Irish senior kicker Kyle Brindza nailed a huge 45-yard kick in the fourth quarter.

Oct. 11 — No. 6 Notre Dame 50, North Carolina 43

In a high-scoring affair that saw both teams gain 516 total yards, the Irish outlasted the Tar Heels to improve to 6-0 before a top-5 showdown with Florida State.

Golson was up-and-down for the third-straight week, throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns but surrendering two fumbles and an interception.  The Irish found production on the ground from sophomore running back Tarean Folston, who had 98 yards and two touchdowns.

Fuller starred on the receiving end with 133 yards and two touchdowns.

Oct. 18 — No. 2 Florida State 31, No. 5 Notre Dame 27

Despite outgaining the Seminoles by nearly 150 yards and holding them to only 50 rushing yards, the Irish couldn’t prevent sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston’s second-half heroics.

After a fourth-and-18 conversion with less than two minutes left, the Irish thought they had taken the lead on Golson’s touchdown pass to Corey Robinson with 13 seconds to go from the two-yard line.  But offensive pass interference was called, pushing the offense back to the 18-yard line, where Golson was picked off for the second time on the night.

The Irish jumped out to 17-10 lead at the half, but Winston missed only one pass in the second half and led three touchdown drives to give the Irish their first loss.

Nov. 1 — No. 10 Notre Dame 49, Navy 39

After another bye week, the Irish were able to respond to the heartbreaking loss at Florida State with a victory against the Midshipmen, but it wasn’t easy.

Navy responded to 28-7 deficit with 24-unanswered points to take a three-point lead late in the third quarter.  Golson played perhaps his best game of the season with three touchdowns through the air and three on the ground.  His last touchdown – an 8-yard rush – ended Navy’s hopes for an upset.  

Folston recorded his second-straight 100-yard rushing game with 149 yards and a touchdown.  But senior linebacker Joe Schmidt, team leader in tackles at the time, was injured in this game and did not return for the rest of the season.

Nov. 8 — No. 9 Arizona State 55, No. 10 Notre Dame 31

Golson followed his best game of the season with his worst in this top-10 matchup.  Despite cutting a 31-point deficit to three points in the fourth quarter, the senior threw four interceptions and fumbled once.

Though the Sun Devil defense gave up 487 total yards, it was able to sack Golson seven times and hold the Irish to only 41 rushing yards.

It was the most points given up by a Notre Dame defense in 14 years.

Nov. 15 — Northwestern 43, No. 18 Notre Dame 40 (OT)

In a game with plenty of offense and turnovers, execution on special teams provided the Wildcats with the upset against the Irish in overtime.

Northwestern kicker Jack Mitchell was 4-of-5 on the day, including the game-tying and game-winning field goals.  Brindza missed a 42-yard attempt on the first possession of overtime, allowing for Mitchell’s decisive kick.

The Irish defense couldn’t stop a strong rushing attack from the Wildcats led by Justin Jackson, who finished with 149 yards a touchdown.  The loss dropped Notre Dame out of the top 25 for the first time this season.

Nov. 22 — No. 24 Louisville 31, Notre Dame 28

Poor rush defense and special teams were again key factors in a close loss to the Cardinals.  

Due to injury to sophomore quarterback Will Gardner, Louisville started freshman Reggie Bonnafon, who accounted for two rushing touchdowns and one passing.  Cardinal running back Brandon Radcliff led all rushers with 136 yards and a touchdown.

The Irish had a chance to tie the game with less than a minute remaining, but Brindza’s 32-yard attempt went wide right.

Nov. 29 — Southern California 49, Notre Dame 14

With Golson being benched in the first half after two turnovers, the Irish ended the season unceremoniously to the rival Trojans.

USC quarterback Cody Kessler was efficient, posting 372 yards on 32-of-40 passing attempts and six touchdowns.  The Trojan offense finished with 577 yards of offense and converted on 13-of-18 third down attempts.
In replacement of Golson, sophomore Malik Zaire went 9 for 20 with 170 yards and a rushing touchdown.