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Fighting Irish TV will add one past NBC game to its Vault collection each week, starting this month. The Vault already contains 95* regular season games between 1991 and this past season, which means there’s 101 games left to release to fans who have downloaded the free app (Google Play, Amazon, AppleTV).
In this fourth article, I’ll rank games 26-1 — moving to most desired.
Here’s Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
* Fighting Irish TV added the 2015 Wake Forest game (#50 on my list) and the 2014 Michigan game (see below) to its offerings this week.
26. Notre Dame 27, USC 16 (2001)
I can argue the game turned on a fake punt gone awry.
The Trojans were leading, 13-3, right before half when Mike MacGillivray took it upon himself to try and get four yards. Shane Walton had other ideas. MacGillivray never saw the senior, and the punter was dragged down for a gain of nothing on USC’s own 28 yard line.
The Carlyle Holiday-led offense which, to this point, had been pretty ineffective, sprang to life. Four plays after the punter was tackled, Terrance Howard was scoring the Irish’s first touchdown. A 13-3 lead was now 13-10 at half.
Following the intermission, Pete Carroll elects to kick a field goal from 4th-and-1 instead of going for it. Notre Dame repays his cowardice on the following possession, capping an eight-play, 71 yard drive with a Holiday 35-yard scamper.
The Irish never relinquish the lead. It’s always good to beat a rival, even if the Trojans finish this year 6-6.
25. Notre Dame 24, Pittsburgh 7 (2001)
“Any time you get five turnovers, you should win the game,” Shane Walton said following the game.
Notre Dame was the beneficiary of two Panthers fumbles and three interceptions, while also holding Pitt to just 50 yards rushing. In contrast, Irish quarterback Carlyle Holiday had 67 yards rushing on a single carry — a touchdown that was the longest by an Irish signal caller since Blair Kiel dashed 80 in 1980.
Holiday finished with 122 rushing yards and 70 passing yards, although he completed 77 percent of his throws. His 67-yard scamper followed a weird play where Pitt receiver R.J. English fumbled away a sure touchdown without being hit.
24. No. 8 Notre Dame 14, Pittsburgh 6 (2002)
It’s difficult to explain how Notre Dame kept winning in 2002, except to say there were always fortuitous turnovers.
Rod Rutherford was the culprit in this game, coughing up the ball twice in the fourth quarter — including an interception with about one minute remaining — to keep his Panthers team out of the end zone.
The Panthers led in all important statistical categories:
- Total offense: 402 to 185
- Rushing offense: 89 to 40
- Passing offense: 313 to 145
- Time of possession: 32:26 to 27:34
Credit the Irish defense: They had eight sacks — four by Justin Tuck — and kept the Panthers to two lousy field goals.
Arnaz Battle had 10 catches for 101 yards, but did throw an interception on a pass following a reverse. The Panthers finish the season 9-4, good enough for a Top 25 AP ranking.
23. No. 23 Notre Dame 24, Purdue 17 (2002)
One of the most interesting wins of the Notre-Dame-on-NBC era, as it was accomplished without the offense scoring a single touchdown. The Irish returned two Boilermakers fumbles for touchdowns 11 seconds apart, and then sealed the win on a Vontez Duff 33-yard interception with less than five minutes to play.
Carlyle Holiday was 7-for-22 for 50 yards. Just two of those completions went to wide receivers. (Gary Godsey, hero of the last Boilers-Irish meeting at Notre Dame Stadium, was the leading receiver with 4 catches for 30 yards.) The Irish offense was held to 203 yards, with 96 of them coming from the feet of Ryan Grant.
Mike Goolsby led all Irish tacklers with 11 stops, including three for a loss.
22. No. 5 Notre Dame 17, BYU 14 (2012)
After a thrilling overtime victory over Stanford and a date with Oklahoma Sooners upcoming, this had all the makings of a let-down-look-ahead sandwich. Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood come up big against the nation’s third ranked rushing defense. The seniors rush for a combined 257 yards (153 for Riddick; 114 for Wood) to keep the Irish perfect.
The Irish attempt just three passes in the second half. Starter Tommy Rees is 7-for-16 for 117 yards during the game, after starting 6-of-7. (Everett Golson was held out as a precaution after suffering a concussion against the Cardinal.)
The Cougars finish the season 8-5.
21. No. 3 Notre Dame 48, Wake Forest 37 (2017)
Do you know how many times Chase Claypool eclipsed 100 yards receiving in a single game while at Notre Dame? The answer is twice as many as he tallied in his rookie season in Pittsburgh.
Claypool had nine catches for 180 yards and a touchdown in his breakout game, while Brandon Wimbush also had a career-best 390 total yards (280 passing, 110 rushing) with three touchdowns. Ian Book was 8-for-8 for 50 yards and a touchdown in this game, too! (He also had 54 yards rushing on three carries.)
Notre Dame had 710 yards of total offense, of which only 22 came from onetime Heisman hopeful Josh Adams.
“It could have been a 900-yard day for them if they hit all their deep shots,” Wake Forest Coach Dave Clawson said post game.
Wake Forest had 587 yards of its own, just 30 shy of the all-time record given up by Notre Dame to an opponent.
20. Notre Dame 14, USC 10 (2013)
The Irish snap their five-game losing streak to the Trojans inside Notre Dame Stadium. USC does outgain Notre Dame, 330-295, but is hampered by 11 penalties that resulted in a loss of 95 yards. (“USC’s offensive line was involved in more holding than teenagers at a prom dance,” the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Dwyre wrote the following day.)
The Trojans offense was so bad this chilly night, it went 2-for-11 on third down conversions. Tommy Rees threw two touchdown passes before half, but then gave way to Andrew Hendrix following a sack in the third quarter. (Hendrix finishes 0-for-4 passing, with five yards rushing on six carries.)
Both teams manage just seven first downs in the second half in what becomes a defensive struggle. Carlo Calabrese leads defensive players with nine tackles; Stephon Tuitt has seven takedowns, including two sacks.
I feel remiss if I didn’t mention this was the game during which the “Ridiculously Photogenic Running Back” meme was born.
19. No. 9 Notre Dame 17, No. 14 Stanford 14 (2014)
This Top 15 matchup was a mirage, as both teams would finish the year 8-5. The big play — Everett Golson’s 23 yard pass to Ben Koyack with 1:01 remaining — obscures a bit of a dud game. The Irish are successful on just 20 of their 75 offensive plays, converting six of their 18 third down chances.
As brutal as the Irish offense — especially its rushing attack — looked, the Cardinal was way worse. The visitors managed 47 yards rushing and 158 yards passing; quarterback Kevin Hogan threw two interceptions, both to Cole Luke.
Jaylon Smith has 14 tackles, including 2 ½ for losses.
18. No. 22 Notre Dame 17, Michigan State 13 (2013)
“It wasn’t going to be a beauty contest,” Brian Kelly said following the game.
What can be said about a game in which you win, but pick up the fewest offensive yards in five years (224)? About a contest where your team advanced the ball farther on penalty yards than rushing the ball? About a match where your punter Kyle Brindza got the game ball?
Here’s what I choose to remember: Freshman Will Fuller — wearing No. 15 — making a contested catch over future-1st-round-pick Trae Waynes. It went for 37 yards, the longest play for either team this day. Matthias Farley sniffing out a wide receiver pass and setting up the game-winning drive near midfield with an interception. Tommy Rees handing the Spartans their only loss of the 2013 season.
But seriously: Don’t watch this game, unless you just like Sparty tears.
17. Notre Dame 33, Michigan State 30 (2009)
Golden Tate leaps into the Michigan State band to celebrate the game winning score. Jimmy Clausen suffers a turf toe injury, but guts out a 300-yard day regardless. Michael Floyd breaks his collarbone in the second quarter. Armando Allen throws a touchdown pass! To Robby Parris! Kyle McCarthy — or, as Pat Haden constantly refers to him, “Mr. Dependable” — intercepts a pass at the Irish 4-yard line in the game’s last minute. The Irish are flagged in this game for 16 — yes, 16! — men on the field.
This game is a fun-as-hell rewatch.
16. No. 25 Notre Dame 38, Navy 34 (2013)
I just re-watched this game, as I’ve got a copy from when Notre Dame released its entire 2013 season (minus the Pinstripe Bowl) on iTunes as a season pass.
There are eight lead changes, which keeps the game exciting down to the final minute. Navy plays their typical style, gaining 4 or more yards on 47 of their 70 rushing attempts. But when they needed four yards at the end, Eilar Hardy and, eventually, Jaylon Smith shut them down.
The Midshipmen were their own worst enemies on that final drive. On second and goal, a bad Keenan Reynolds pitch resulted in a nine-yard setback. Of course, you might argue that the game was lost when Navy missed an extra point in the second quarter — which would prove costly.
Freshman Tarean Folston made his 18 carries count, rushing for 140 yards and a touchdown. George Atkinson III had a 41-yard run to open the scoring, and Cam McDaniel also found the end zone. Reynolds rushed for three of Navy’s five touchdowns.
15. Notre Dame 37, Washington 30 (OT) (2009)
Golden Tate finished with 244 receiving yards — second most in Irish history for a single game — as the Irish upended the Huskies in overtime. Freshman Nick Tausch also tied a school record with five field goals.
This game features two goal-line stands and seven lead changes. The Huskies had 13 plays inside the Irish eight-yard line in this game and walked away with just three points.
Kyle McCarthy had 12 tackles, with freshman Manti Te’o close behind with 10.
Jimmy Clausen was 23-for-31 for 422 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and one truly bizarre fumble pass.
Our site did this game as a quarantine re-watch last April.
14. No. 6 Notre Dame 50, North Carolina 43 (2014)
A game in which 93 points are scored arguably comes down to a controversial “roughing the snapper” penalty.
The Irish fall behind 14-0 early following an Everett Golson fumble and a pick-six. By halftime, Notre Dame has taken a 28-26 lead on touchdowns from Will Fuller, Cam McDaniel, Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston. Folston, who had 169 total yards, scored three times in this game (twice on the ground, once in the air)
Marquise Williams is 24-for-41 for 303 yards and two touchdowns and rushes 18 times for 132 yards and another touchdown. The Heels redshirt junior quarterback also catches a touchdown from wide receiver Quinshad Davis that gave his team a brief lead, 36-35. (Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina’s backup, doesn’t make an appearance.)
Joe Schmidt has 11 tackles, while Max Redfield adds 10.
13. No. 14 Notre Dame 41, USC 31 (2015)
Welcome to South Bend, Clay Helton!
If you remember anything about this game, it’s probably Will Fuller torching Adoree Jackson for 75 yards on the Irish’s second play from scrimmage. Or maybe it was freshman Equanimeous St. Brown blocking a USC punt and former Trojan Amir Carlisle scoring with it. I hope you don’t remember that Torii Hunter fumble near the goal line that killed the Irish’s chance to extend the lead to 18. Five minutes later, it would be 24-17 Irish.
The Brian VanGorder defense — exposed for the very first time in the game above — is now fissuring. It yields 503 yards to the Trojans in the first three quarters, and then 87 when it matters most. Jaylon Smith has 14 tackles, while KeiVarae Russell has 10 stops and his hand in two 4th quarter interceptions.
Notre Dame, down 31-24 entering the fourth quarter, scored the game’s final 17 points.
12. No. 7 Notre Dame 42, No. 12 Pittsburgh 7 (1991)
Come closer.
Lean in.
<whispers> Maybe Pitt wasn’t actually good?
Perhaps Notre Dame should have been credited for more than one win, since this blowout of then-No. 12 Pittsburgh starts a freefall in which the once 5-0 Panthers finish the season 6-5.
Reggie Brooks may have been the catalyst. The junior tailback blocked a second-quarter Pitt punt and returned it 26 yards for a score, giving the Irish an apparently insurmountable 14-0 lead. (Brooks said later the punt hit him in the jaw. Ouch.)
It was an uncharacteristic off day for Rick Mirer, who was 4-for-15 for 40 yards and two interceptions. (It could have been three, if the Panthers weren’t flagged for a roughing Mirer on the play.)
Instead, the offensive onus was on the running backs. Fullback Jerome Bettis had 17 carries for 125 yards; Tony Brooks added 65 on 16 attempts. Rodney Culver, slowed by a bum ankle, still managed 55 yards.
11. No. 7 Notre Dame 49, Indiana 27 (1991)
This may be ranked too high, but a big appeal of this game will be to watch it as NBC’s maiden voyage into full-time Notre Dame football coverage. Had the Peacock covered Irish games in the past? Of course. But this was their brand now.
The highlight moment of this game is Irv Smith dragging a bunch of helpless Hoosiers defenders 25 yards en route to a 58-yard touchdown. (“If Smith had attracted any more riders, he would have needed a chauffeur’s license,” Bill Moor quipped in the South Bend Tribune the following day.)
Lost in that, perhaps, is that Rick Mirer was 11-for-17 for 209 yards, a touchdown and also scored thrice more on running plays. After five lead changes, the Irish offense scored twice in a 26-second span before halftime to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Demetrius DuBose returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown, one of four Irish picks on the day. Rod Smith had 11 tackles.
10. No. 16 Notre Dame 31, Michigan 0 (2014)
“Is this the way it’s gonna end?!”
The final score of this game was 37-0, because I remember the 61-yard interception for a touchdown by Elijah Shumate that featured Max Redfield lighting up Devin Gardner.
This may have been the game that birthed the #yardpoints conversation on the Sweigert brothers’ incarnation of the OFD podcast, as Michigan outgained Notre Dame, 289-280. It was definitely the genesis for the Brady Hoke clapping meme and the Brian VanGorder “Turn Down for What” Vine.
Everett Golson is a respectable 23-for-34 for 226 yards and three touchdowns. Amir Carlisle has two; Will Fuller scampered in for the third. Shumate, Redfield and Cody Riggs all had picks in this game, and Isaac Rochell had a fumble recovery.
9. No. 3 Notre Dame 29, Pittsburgh 26 (3OT) (2012)
You could argue that this came doesn’t deserve its No. 9 ranking because Pitt wasn’t very good in 2012, or because Notre Dame played quite poorly for three quarters.
But how could you not enjoy the biggest comeback since Brady Quinn and Terrail Lambert made Michigan State “pucker pucker PUCKER!”? By halftime, Everett Golson is the goat. By game’s end, however, he’s the hero (and he gets the game ball). In between, he throws a pass intended for Troy Niklas which gets picked off and drops the Irish’s winning probability to just 28 percent.
Yet, there he is with 3:03 left...improvising, buying time before finding DaVaris Daniels on a big play. One play later, Theo Riddick is in the end zone and then Golson calling his own number for the flying two-point conversion.
The overtime has its moments of weirdness too. Cierre Wood’s inopportune fumble. Pitt kicker Kevin Harper missing the 33-yarder that would have ended it. Harper making an even longer try to put Pitt ahead. Golson finding 1 yard when it mattered most.
8. No. 15 Notre Dame 41, Navy 24 (2015)
I used to vociferously argue for this game’s inclusion among the Top 10 wins of the Brian Kelly era, but I rarely ever found someone who agreed with me.
The Midshipmen had won eight in a row dating back to the year prior, but could not keep pace with the Irish for the full four quarters. What had begun as a tug-of-war turned into a solid victory, aided by two costly Navy fumbles. In the second quarter, Jaylon Smith recovered a pitch bobbled by fullback Chris Swain at Navy’s own seven yard line. One play later, C.J. Prosise found the end zone for a 14-7 Irish lead.
The Navy offense still hummed without Keenan Reynolds, who left before half. Backup Tago Smith ripped off a 22-yard run, then backup fullback Quentin Ezell scampered 45 yards to make it a 21-14 game.
Justin Yoon nailed a career-long 52-yard field goal just before half to give the Irish a 24-21 advantage. Navy fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half. Prosise again hit the end zone and the Irish never looked back.
The Midshipmen finished the year 11-2 and ranked No. 18 in the final Associated Press poll.
7. Notre Dame 28, No. 15 Utah 3 (2010)
This win was like the opening of a pressure valve.
One week after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against Tulsa — “get used to it”— the Irish pounded the one-loss Utes and broke its program’s streak of 11 straight losses to ranked teams. It was also Notre Dame’s largest margin of victory against a Top 20 team since 1996 (foreshadowing!).
Tommy Rees is 13-for-20 for 129 yards, but — more importantly — three touchdowns. Duval Kamara’s only two grabs were touchdowns, the first just after Daniel Smith recovered a Utah fumble on the kickoff. The second was five minutes later to give the Irish a 28-3 advantage by the mid-third quarter.
6. No. 20 Notre Dame 29, Washington State 26 (OT) (2003)
Which program holds the distinction of having the most embarrassing loss to Notre Dame?
— Jude (@ndjrs) February 12, 2021
Like, the Irish sucked that season but they beat this highly ranked team inexplicably.
I'm curious about your input. #NDFB
Although no one knew it at the time the game was played, I’d imagine the Cougars look back and wonder how they lost to this Notre Dame team.
The Irish essentially handed Washington State 13 points with three turnovers and trailed at the half, 19-3. It was their largest halftime deficit at home since 1980.
The second half — or, more accurately, the fourth quarter — was a reversal of fortune. Nick Setta struck his third of a program-best five field goals with a little more than 12 minutes remaining to make the score 19-9. On the ensuing drive, Vontez Duff separated a Cougar tight end from the ball, and Glenn Earl recovered. Three players later, Carlyle Holiday found Rhema McKnight and the score was 19-16.
Three minute later — with Holiday sidelined for an injury evaluation — Brady Quinn handed off to Julius Jones for a gain of two. Then Ryan Grant broke three tackles for a gain of 37. Jones added another 20, making two Cougars players miss. Two plays later, he broke another tackle and ran 19 yards to give the Irish their first lead, 23-19.
Brandon Hoyte led all Irish with 11 tackles.
Five freshmen played in their first game: Brady Quinn, who did not attempt a pass; then-wide receiver Chinedum Ndukwe; Jeff Samardzija; defensive end Victor Abiamiri and defensive back Freddie Parish.
The Irish and Cougars will head in opposite directions following this game, with Notre Dame finishing 5-7 and Washington State ending at 10-3.
5. No. 11 Notre Dame 54, No. 16 Washington 20 (1996)
Run the damn ball.
One week after losing to Ohio State, Lou Holtz ditched “The Blarney” and played “run it down their throat.” The Irish offense chugged to 650 yards, including 58 runs that totalled 397 yards. (Autry Denson had 137 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.)
Ron Powlus, who threw about 30 passes a game, attempted 12 in this rout.
The defense was so dominant that they prevented the Huskies from getting a second first down until right before half. Brock Huard finished 8-for-24 for 99 yards. The redshirt freshman left the game in the third quarter after getting “knocked a little silly” on successive plays by Bertrand Berry and Renaldo Wynn.
The Irish led 26-14 at halftime, having already scored all the points they would need to win.
4. Notre Dame 37, No. 22 Arizona State 34 (2013)
When Kyle Brindza kicks a 25 yard field goal with 3:03 remaining in this game, you probably thought this game was over. It was, after all, 30-27. The defense had played great all day — six sacks, three turnovers — and Arizona State needed to go more than 60 yards to even entertain a field goal.
When Dan Fox picked off Taylor Kelly’s pass and ran it 14 yards into the end zone, surely you thought, “OK. Now this game is over.” It was 37-27 Irish, with 1:08 remaining and the Sun Devils would need 75 yards to score a touchdown.
When Kelly completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Marion Grice to make the score 37-34, did you breathe a sigh of relief since just 11 seconds remained? Or did you break out in cold sweats because of the onside kick to come?
Thankfully, T.J. Jones was there to smother the attempt. Jones had eight catches for 135 yards and a touchdown, and crept above Tim Brown, Jim Seymour and Tyler Eifert on the Irish’s career receptions list.
Cam McDaniel, playing nearly a home game, had 82 yards rushing. Brindza had a school record-tying 53 yard kick. Damarious Randall had 17 — seventeen! - tackles in this game.
Jarrett Grace suffered a broken tibia and Daniel Smith a fractured ankle, which were the only bummer parts of this game.
3. No. 21 Notre Dame 55, No. 13 Texas 27 (1995)
Texas helped Notre Dame greatly with special teams miscues — both a PAT and a punt were returned for scores (Allen Rossum on the former, Emmett Mosley on the latter). Longhorns quarterback James Brown had a Jekyll and Hyde afternoon. On the good side, he tossed four touchdowns — three to tight end Pat Fitzgerald — and racked up 326 yards passing. On the bad side, he threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball at his own 12.
Ron Powlus, meanwhile, was 16-for-28 for 273 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. Derrick Mayes had six catches for 146 yards and a touchdown; Randy Kinder ran 29 times for 129 yards and a score. Marc Edwards had two touchdowns.
The Irish scored so much that Leprechaun Jamey Sotis couldn’t manage 55 pushups. The Longhorns finished 10-2-1 that year, good for 14th in the Associated Press poll.
2. No. 13 Notre Dame 49, No. 11 USC 14 (2017)
After Notre Dame’s narrow loss to Georgia, many Irish fans had mentally fast-forwarded to a mid-season tilt against the Trojans. Was this a return to glory ala 2012 or a mirage like 2015 or, even worse, 2002?
Thumping your intersectional rival — a Top 11 team, to boot — suggested the former rather than the latter. Notre Dame ran for 377 yards, including 191 from Josh Adams and an additional 106 from quarterback Brandon Wimbush in the rout.
Wimbush threw two touchdowns and ran, unmolested, for an additional two scores. Adams had three touchdowns, including a 84-yard dash that ignited the #33Trucking Heisman campaign.
The 28-0 halftime lead was helped considerably by an errant USC snap, a Sam Darnold interception (to Nick Watkins), a fumbled punt and a missed field goal. Te’von Coney finished the game with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.
1. No. 7 Notre Dame 20, No. 17 Stanford (OT) (2012)
“It’s been 84 years and I can still hear the whistles.” - David Shaw, probably
There are games with comebacks. There are games with goal line stands. There are overtime wins. There are rain-soaked affairs. There are times in which the backup has to come in cold and win the game.
And then there’s a game that has all of these elements.
The Irish defense holds the Cardinal offense to 147 yards rushing and 125 yards passing. Matthias Farley and Bennett Jackson both have interceptions. Manti Te’o finished with 11 tackles. Stepfan Taylor finished with 102 yards rushing. I bet he wishes he got 103.
***
Since the plan is to release one game per week from the same season, here’s are my most desired to least desired seasons:
- 2012: Purdue (#48), Michigan (#27), Miami (Fl) (#36), Stanford (#1), BYU (#22), Pittsburgh (#9), Wake Forest (#40)
- 2015 (remainder): Georgia Tech (#30), Massachusetts (#38), Navy (#8), USC (#13), Boston College (#49)
- 2017 (remainder): Temple (#33), Georgia (#44), Miami (Ohio) (#63), USC (#2), Wake Forest (#21), Navy (#28)
- 2013: Temple (#54), Michigan State (#11), Oklahoma (#89), Arizona State (#4), USC (#20), Navy (#16), BYU (#32)
- 1991: Indiana (#11), Michigan State (#43), Pittsburgh (#12), USC (#41), Navy (#70), Tennessee (#78)
- 1995 (remainder): Northwestern (#75), Vanderbilt (#61), Texas (#3), Boston College (#39), Navy (#42)
- 2014 (remainder): Rice (#35), Purdue (#57), Stanford (#19), North Carolina (#14), Northwestern (#98), Louisville (#83)
- 1996: Purdue (#46), Ohio State (#73), Washington (#5), Air Force (#94), Pittsburgh (#45)
- 2009: Nevada (#34), Michigan State (#17), Washington (#15), USC (#76), Boston College (#37), Washington State (#68), Navy (#81)
- 2002 (remainder): Purdue (#23), Stanford (#52), Pittsburgh (#24), Boston College (#104), Rutgers (#62)
- 2001: Michigan State (#85), Pittsburgh (#25), West Virginia (#65), USC (#26), Tennessee (#74), Navy (#71)
- 2011 (remainder): Maryland (#67), Boston College (#51)
- 2010: Purdue (#69), Michigan (#96), Stanford (#82), Pittsburgh (#47), Western Michigan (#53), Tulsa (#88), Utah (#7), Army (#59)
- 2008: San Diego State (#64), Michigan (#29), Purdue (#55), Stanford (#56), Pittsburgh (#77), Syracuse (#100)
- 2003 (remainder): Washington State (#6), Michigan State (#98), USC (#93), Florida State (#102), BYU (#66)
- 2016: Nevada (#58), Michigan State (#97), Duke (#99), Stanford (#86), Miami (Fla) (#31), Army (#60), Virginia Tech (#84)
- 2007: Georgia Tech (#103), Michigan State (#92), Boston College (#91), USC (#101), Navy (#79), Air Force (#90), Duke (#72)