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Notre Dame Football Flashback Friday: Remembering “The Stand”

By Ben Belden

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 13: Stepfan Taylor #33 of the Stanford Cardinal is stopped short of the goal by members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense on the last play of the game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 13, 2012 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Stanford 20-13 in overtime. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 13: Stepfan Taylor #33 of the Stanford Cardinal is stopped short of the goal by members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense on the last play of the game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 13, 2012 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Stanford 20-13 in overtime. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football has had more than its fair share of excitement over the years. No game was more exciting than the one that featured “The Stand.”

If you’re a Notre Dame football fan, you’ve endured more than your fair share of agonizing defeats in the past 20 years. I reminisced about what could have been when I wrote about one of those losses yesterday.

Today, though, it’s time to remember happier times in Notre Dame football lore.

The date was October 13th, 2012 and it was a brisk, fall day in South Bend. The Irish were ranked 7th at the time, while their opponent, the Stanford Cardinal, came in ranked 17th.

Sitting at 6-0 on the season, many Irish fans were starting to believe that this season would be something special. The ending to this one affirmed that notion.

The weather got sloppy and the game turned in to a typical Notre Dame-Stanford slugfest. Late in the game, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson took a shot to the head and would not return. The there was no rattling Notre Dame’s backup quarterback–and “closer,” if you will–Tommy Rees.

Touchdown Tommy lead the Irish down the field and Kyle Brinza kicked a field goal in the game’s final seconds to tie the score at 13 heading into overtime.

In overtime, Rees hit TJ Jones (on a poorly thrown slant pass that was well behind Jones) for a touchdown to put the Irish ahead for good at 20-13.

And then, there was what has become affectionately known as “The Stand.”

With Stanford facing a third and goal at the Irish one-yard line, the Irish defense held on consecutive plays and kept the Cardinal out of the endzone, but it wasn’t without controversy. The officials went to replay to check the spot, but it was determined that the Stanford runner was stopped before his second effort on the play and the Irish won the game.

dark. Next. The lack of respect for the Irish continues... or does it?

The Irish used the momentum from the game to propel themselves toward a berth in the National Championship game. The game was a signature moment in the recent history of Notre Dame football.

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