The 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their sixth year under head coach Brian Kelly, the Irish compiled a 10–3 record, outscored opponents by a total of 445 to 313, and were ranked No. 11 in the final AP poll and No. 12 in the final Coaches Poll. They lost to No. 12 Clemson, No. 9 Stanford, and No. 7 Ohio State, the latter loss in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Irish had 14 plays of over 50 yards during the season, which was a school record. They also had two touchdowns of over 90 yards, a 91-yard touchdown run by C.J. Prosise and a 98-yard touchdown run by Josh Adams. The Irish only had two such plays in the previous 126 years. The team's statistical leaders were quarterback DeShone Kizer (2,884 passing yards), running back C.J. Prosise (1,032 rushing yards), wide receiver Will Fuller (62 receptions for 1,258 yards), and kicker Justin Yoon (95 points scored). Fuller was selected as the team's most valuable player. Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and linebacker Jaylon Smith were consensus first-team picks on the 2015 All-America college football team.

The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Schedule

Before the season

On May 19, 2015, quarterback Everett Golson announced he was transferring to Florida State to complete his college eligibility. During the off-season, Notre Dame lost three assistant coaches to other opportunities: Kerry Cooks left for University of Oklahoma. Matt LaFleur departed for the Atlanta Falcons, and Tony Alford left for Ohio State. Also, outside linebackers coach Bob Elliott moved into an off-the-field coaching role within the program. To replace their losses, Notre Dame added four new assistant coaches. Mike Sanford Jr. former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boise State accepted the same position on the coaching staff. Todd Lyght, a former All-American at Notre Dame and cornerbacks coach at Vanderbilt, accepted the same position at Notre Dame. Keith Gilmore, previously the defensive line coach at North Carolina, accepted the same position on the coaching staff. Autry Denson, Notre Dame's all-time leading rusher and running backs coach at the University of South Florida, accepted the same position at Notre Dame.

A Season with Notre Dame The 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was featured in the miniseries, A Season With Notre Dame Football on Showtime, which premiered on Tuesday September 8, 2015. It followed Fighting Irish football players and coaches at University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Each episode reviews highlights of every football game played during the current season of Notre Dame football. The series was narrated by actor and Fighting Irish fan Barry Pepper. The tagline was "It's more than just a game." Rankings

Game summaries Texas

Notre Dame started the year out strong by beating Texas by a score of 38–3. Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire completed 19 of 22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns. The Irish offense outgained Texas 527 to 163 and had 30 first downs compared to eight for the Longhorns.

Virginia

While leading 26–14 midway through the third quarter, the Irish lost their starting Quarterback Malik Zaire to a broken ankle. Virginia took advantage, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead 27–26 with 1:54 left in the game. Irish backup quarterback DeShone Kizer then led Notre Dame on a game-winning drive. Kizer converted a 4th and 2 with a four-yard run and then three plays later hit Will Fuller with a 39-yard touchdown pass with :12 left in the game to seal the win for the Irish. It was reported after the game that Zaire would be out for the remainder of the season.

Georgia Tech

Despite being ranked higher than Georgia Tech in both the AP and Coach's Polls, Notre Dame would come into the game as underdogs, due to the injury to starting QB Malik Zaire. 19 year old quarterback DeShone Kizer would make his first career start. The result would be an impressive Irish win, 30–22. Despite the score, Notre Dame thoroughly dominated the game. Irish running back C.J. Prosise would score on a 91-yard touchdown run (longest in Notre Dame Stadium history) late in the fourth quarter to put Notre Dame up by a resounding 30–7 score. The Yellow Jackets would make a rally late, but it was too late and Notre Dame would hold on for the win. Kizer would finish 21 for 30 with 242 passing yards, one touchdown pass and an interception. Georgia Tech came into the game averaging 67 points a game and 457 rush yards a game, but the Irish defense would stifle them, holding them to just 216 rush yards and not allowing the Yellow Jackets to convert a third down until the fourth quarter.

UMass

Though Notre Dame would have just a 21–20 lead over heavy underdog UMass, the Irish would score 41 consecutive points to put the game out of reach. Notre Dame would accumulate 681 total yards of offense, 457 of it from rushing and would score 62 points. It was the most points the Irish would score since 1996, when they beat Rutgers 62–0.

Clemson

In a game where Notre Dame did everything it could to lose, they came just a 2-point conversion from sending the game into overtime. Down 21–3, the Irish storm back with three fourth quarter touchdowns, but failed to convert the 2 point conversion with :06 left in the game, and Clemson holds off the furious Irish comeback. Four turnovers and eight dropped passes (one which would've been a touchdown) doomed the Irish.

Navy

USC

Looking to get revenge after last years blowout loss to USC, the Irish would respond by defeating the Trojans 41–31. USC would get the ball first and score a touchdown. It was the third consecutive game the Irish allowed an opponent to score an opening drive touchdown. The Irish would return the favor with a 75-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Deshone Kizer to Will Fuller on their first offensive play of the game to even the score at seven. Later in the first, Notre Dame would block a USC punt and Amir Carlisle would return it for a touchdown. Notre dame would score 21 first quarter points, the most the Irish have scored in the first quarter against USC in the history of the rivalry. After taking a 24–10 lead in the second, the Trojans would score 21 unanswered points to take a 31–24 lead in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Irish would take control and score 17 unanswered points themselves. Deshone Kizer's ten-yard touchdown pass to Corey Robinson would give Notre Dame a 38–31 lead, and put the Irish up for good. The 41 points the Irish scored against USC would be the most since 1977.

Temple

For this Primetime matchup, the Irish would travel to Philadelphia for a game against the 7–0 Temple Owls. For the first time in Temple school history, the Owls would host a top ranked team while ranked themselves. Despite Temple sporting the 14th best defense in the country, Notre Dame came into this game as double digit favorites. Notre Dame would outgain Temple in yardage 467 to 295, but turnovers and consistent miscues in the red zone by the Irish offense kept the game close. With 4:45 left in the game, and Temple leading 20–17, Irish freshman Quarterback Deshone Kizer would lead Notre Dame on a game-winning drive, finished off with a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Will Fuller. The game was sealed when Irish cornerback KeiVarae Russell intercepted Temple quarterback PJ Walker's pass with 1:09 left in the game. Deshone Kizer would finish the game with 299 passing yards and 143 yards rushing, including a 79-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Pittsburgh

Notre Dame's 12 point win is the largest margin of victory over Pittsburgh since 2005. Up until today, nine out of the last ten games were decided by 8 points or less.

Wake Forest

Freshman running back Josh Adams, who was fourth on the depth chart during the summer, broke off for a Notre Dame record 98 yard rushing touchdown. It was the longest play from scrimmage in the FBS this year and tied for NCAAF record for longest run by a freshman. Despite looking sluggish all day, the Irish were able to keep Wake Forest out of the endzone for the most part and win 28–7. Wake Forest had more passing yards, total yards, first downs and red zone trips than the Irish.

Boston College

Notre Dame's explosive offense would rack up 447 yards of offense against Boston College's defense, which was the #1 ranked defense in the country. But 5 Notre Dame turnovers kept the game closer than it should have been. Notre Dame's defense would only give up 88 passing yards, but failure to score in the redzone continued for the Irish, which leads the country in red zone turnovers with 15.

Stanford

In arguably one of the best college football games of the year, a game that had ten lead changes and almost 1,000 yards of offense, Notre Dame's playoff hopes ended as Stanford kicker Conrad Ukropina hit a game-winning field goal as time expired. With 6:48 left in the game, and the Irish trailing 35–29, the Irish marched 88 yards in 15 plays (using up 6:18 of the game clock). The drive was capped off by Irish Quarterback Deshone Kizer's two-yard touchdown run to give Notre Dame the lead with just :30 left in the game. The Irish defense could not hold, however, as Stanford drove 45 yards in just 28 seconds to finish off the game with the win.

The Irish offense accumulated 533 yards of offense, 299 of those yards from rushing. The Irish had three scores of over 62 yards in the game. The first was a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by C.J. Sanders. The second was a Deshone Kizer 73-yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller. And the third was a 62-yard rushing touchdown by Freshman running back Josh Adams. At one point in the second half, the Irish offense was averaging 11.6 yards a play.

The Irish defense left a lot to be desired though as they allowed Stanford's offense to have touchdown drives of 75, 78, 75, 76 and 74. And the most costly, allowing Stanford to get into field goal range with :30 left in the game. Stanford scored five touchdowns in five red zone trips.

Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl)

Personnel

Players 2015 Roster - und.comQuarterbacks

17 Nolan Henry – Freshman 14 DeShone Kizer – Sophomore 19 Robert Regan – Freshman 4 Montgomery Van Gorder – Sophomore 12 Brandon Wimbush – Freshman 8 Malik Zaire – Junior

Running backs 33 Josh Adams – Freshman 46 Josh Anderson – Senior 25 Tarean Folston – Junior 49 Bailey Ross – Junior 28 Austin Ross – Junior 34 Dexter Williams – Freshman 20 C. J. Prosise – Senior

Wide receivers 11 Justin Brent – Sophomore 81 Miles Boykin – Freshman 2 Chris Brown – Senior 32 Cam Bryan – Senior 3 Amir Carlisle – Graduate Student 87 Keenan Centlivre – Sophomore 27 Chris Finke – Freshman 7 Will Fuller – Junior 83 Jalen Guyton – Freshman 15 Corey Holmes – Sophomore 37 Omar Hunter – Junior 16 Torii Hunter Jr. – Junior 20 C. J. Prosise – Senior 88 Corey Robinson – Junior 9 C. J. Sanders – Freshman 85 Buster Sheridan – Junior 86 Equanimeous St. Brown – Freshman 26 Austin Webster – Sophomore

Tight ends 18 Chase Hounshell – Graduate Student 10 Alize Jones – Freshman 13 Tyler Luatua – Sophomore 80 Durham Smythe – Junior 89 Ben Suttman – Junior 82 Nic Weishar – Sophomore  Offensive Lineman 71 Alex Bars – Sophomore 70 Hunter Bivin – Junior 63 Sam Bush – Sophomore 67 Jimmy Byrne – Sophomore 79 Steve Elmer – Junior 75 Mark Harrell – Senior 66 Tristen Hoge – Freshman 72 Nick Martin– Graduate Student 68 Mike McGlinchey – Junior 62 Colin McGovern – Junior 60 John Montelus – Junior 53 Sam Mustipher – Sophomore 56 Quenton Nelson – Sophomore 57 Trevor Ruhland – Freshman 78 Ronnie Stanley – Senior

Defensive Lineman 92 Grant Blankenship – Sophomore 55 Jonathan Bonner – Sophomore 75 Daniel Cage – Sophomore