13 images that helped define the 2019 Notre Dame football season

It was a long season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and one that can be spun about a half a dozen different ways after going 11-2 with a Camping World Bowl win. We live in a very visual world, so here are 13 images that help tell the tale of 2019 for Notre Dame.

Keep in mind the word “help” and its meaning here. These images don’t tell the whole story, but they — wait for it... help.

1. The Notre Dame offense in 2019 was supposed to be built around the unique talents that Jafar Armstrong brought to the table. That all changed on the first drive of the first game when Armstrong went down with a major injury against the Louisville Cardinals.

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2. We were still drooling over the camp coverage of Kyle Hamilton, and he delivered right away in the home opener against the New Mexico Lobos. Hamilton would go on to become a huge part of one of the nation’s best pass defenses.

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3. Cole Kmet went down in camp with a broken collarbone but used freak genetics to heal quickly to return against the Georgia Bulldogs. Kmet was a monster that game, and one of the biggest reasons the Irish had a chance to with that game with less than two minutes to go in regulation.

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4. Notre Dame’s defensive line took OVEr against the Virginia Cavaliers. Bryce Perkins damn near died that day thanks to Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Adetukunbo Ogundeji, and company.

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5. A vast majority of the discussion leading up to the game against the Bowling Green Falcons was about former Irish defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. 52-0 was a fitting score.

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6. Tony Jones Jr. can officially be known as one of the great TROJAN KILLAS of all time for the Irish. When the Irish needed a big play in 2018 against the USC Trojans, it was Jones’s TD catch and run that sealed the win, and in 2019 — 176 yards says it all.

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7. It was a tragic night in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines. There are many heartbreaking images from that night, but the 49 yard run from Hassan Haskins after Notre Dame cut the lead to 17-7 was brutal. It set up the Skunkbear TD that put the nail in that soaking wet coffin.

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8. The Irish damn near handed the game to the Virginia Tech Hokies, but Ian Book and Chase Claypool finally took the game over on the final drive, and a ridiculous amount of redemption beamed off of Book as he ran in for the game-tying TD that led to the game-winning PAT from Jonathan Doerer.

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9. Maybe the biggest story for Notre Dame’s game against the Duke Blue Devils was how and why the game was broadcast in prime time on the ACC Network. Yep... that’s the one.

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10. There was a lot of hand-wringing from Irish fans about the Navy Midshipmen, but Chase Claypool’s 4 touchdowns turned this game into a classic blowout of a service academy. Holding Malcom Perry to just 117 yards and ZERO touchdowns was also awesome sauce.

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11. You wanted more Braden Lenzy, so with one carry he took it 61 yards to the house — in Rocket like fashion — with that old school #25 against the Boston College Eagles. It was a beatdown worthy of the 1988 uniforms.

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12. Notre Dame had not won on The Farm against the Stanford Cardinal since 2007. A little help from Isaiah Foskey and Justin Ademilola locked this game up in yet ANOTHER November blowout win for the Irish.

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13. Notre Dame got hosed by the playoff committee for 5 straight weeks. They took their vengeance out on the Iowa St. Cyclones in the Camping World Bowl. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah put his stamp on a season that saw a massive upward trend in his play which gives hope for greatness in 2020.

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