Notre Dame Football: 5 most gut-wrenching losses of Brian Kelly era

3. Notre Dame 36, Stanford 38 (Nov. 28, 2015)

2015 was the season of close calls for the Irish, with half of the team’s regular season games ending with one possession deficits. Their first such game came against Clemson in what ended up being a 22-24 loss on the road. While the loss was certainly frustrating, it ended up being a more than manageable one as the Irish found themselves in the No. 4 spot heading into their regular season finale.

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However, this wasn’t just any season finale. The Irish would be tasked with taking down Stanford, a team that had played them extremely closely in the previous two years. The game was close all the way through, with Stanford taking a one-point lead into halftime. Fast-forward to the end of the fourth quarter and little had changed.

After an eventful first three quarters, the fourth remained scoreless from the 15th minute down to the first. Down 29-35, Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer eventually gave the Irish a one point lead on a short touchdown run. With only 30 seconds left and little momentum in Stanford’s favor, the Irish were confident in their ability to close out the game against a tough road opponent.

However, Stanford had other plans. Quarterback Kevin Hogan made quick work of the Irish defense, needing only four plays to put his team in field goal position. One 45-yard kick later and the Irish were on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff.

If football games were 30 seconds shorter, the Irish may have had an undefeated regular season. Instead, they went on to get manhandled by Ohio State in a 44-28 Fiesta Bowl loss.