Notre Dame football: Most exciting 21 moments from the 2021 season
By Brad Weiss
Notre Dame football: Most exciting 21 moments from the 2021 season
No. 13: Michael Mayer gets Irish season started against Florida State
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the Notre Dame football team as they kicked off their 2021 regular season against Florida State. The team had lost a ton of talent to the NFL, including starting quarterback Ian Book, so it was anybody’s guess what the Irish would get from his successor, Jack Coan.
What they got was a record-setting effort from Coan, who threw for more passing yards than any other Notre Dame quarterback in their debut, leading the team to an overtime victory and the first win of the season. In that game, Coan threw for 366 yards, and it did not take long to see that he was the right choice to win the starting job.
The party got started right away against the Seminoles, as Coan took his team on a five-play touchdown drive on the first drive of the ballgame. Playing in primetime on ESPN, Coan proved the bright lights were no problem, hitting Michael Mayer for the first score of the season for the Irish, a beautiful 41-yard catch and run to put the team up 7-0.
Arguably the best tight end in the country, Mayer set the Florida State defense on fire, hauling in nine catches for 120 yards and a touchdown.