This Saturday will be the 3rd time that Halloween has landed on Saturday since 2000, lets take a look back at the last two and a preview of this up coming Halloween game vs Georgia Tech.

2009

Notre Dame(25) 40 – Washington St 14

On this Halloween, Notre Dame played Washington State down in San Antonio. The game was never close; the Irish put up 30 points in the first half alone, rolling to a 40-14 win. Jimmy Clausen was 22 of 27 for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns that night, while Robert Hughes ran for 131 yards with 1 touchdown. In total, the Irish put up almost 600 yards. 

As far as the 2009 season, that game on Halloween might have been the highlight – the Irish went 6-6 that season, losing the last 4 games of the year. The 2009 season was also the last for Charlie Weis in South Bend. 

ND in the NFL-

20 Irish on the 2009 team made NFL rosters at some point. The most notable from that team were Gold Tate and Kyle Rudolph. 

2015

Notre Dame(9) 24 – Temple(21) 20

The most recent game on Halloween was back in 2015, when Notre Dame traveled to Philadelphia to play Temple. This was the Game of the Weekend on ESPN with the big guns Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit calling it. The Irish came into the game ranked 9th, while the Owls were 21st in the nation. The Owls gave Notre Dame all they could handle but fell short in the end. DeShone Kizer was the player of the game, going 23 of 36 for 299 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception; he also led the team in rushing, running for 143 yards with 2 touchdowns, the highlight being a 79-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter. 

The Irish went 10-3 in 2015, finishing the season ranked 11th. They had some big wins versus Texas and USC but also some tough losses, including a 2-point loss at Clemson and a blowout in the Fiesta Bowl by Ohio State, 44-28. 

ND in the NFL- 

The 2015 roster had 21 players on it that made an NFL roster, most notable being Jaylon Smith, Will Fuller and two future all-pros on the offense line with Ronnie Stanley and Quenton Nelson. 

What I’m expecting from ND this Saturday, Halloween 2020

Notre Dame(3) 5-0(4-0 ACC) AT Georgia Tech 2-4(2-3 ACC)

Notre Dame travels to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech on Halloween this year. On paper this game shouldn’t be close, but with Clemson up next for the Irish this game could turn into a trap game. If Notre Dame plays like they did last week vs Pitt they won’t have that issue, but it’s impossible not to look forward to what could be the biggest game in South Bend since Florida State came to Notre Dame Stadium in 1993. 

Passing Game needs to take the next step, while getting the running game back on track

The passing game finally got going last week with Ian Book finding Ben Skowronek twice for two long touchdowns. The Irish will be without Branden Lenzy with a bum hammy, but look form 4 star recruit freshman Jordan Johnson possibly into the mix at WR. Would love to see more of Javon McKinley and Joe Wilkins Saturday, consistency from both of them would be big as the season goes on. 

If you needed to find a negative from last week it was the lack of run game vs Pitt. Interestingly, in the first four games it was the run game that carried Notre Dame on offense. Last week the Irish only ran for 115 yards, and it looked like the game plan was to get the passing game going – but you can’t give up on the run if you want any shot at beating Clemson on November 7th. Look for Notre Dame to get both Kyren William and Chris Tyree going again this week in Atlanta. 

Georgia Tech may have gotten run off the field two weeks ago vs Clemson but they still have playmakers in QB Jeff Sims and RB Jahmyr Gibbs that Kyle Hamilton and the Notre Dame defense will have to keep an eye on. 

A game like this during Brian Kelly’s first few years at Notre Dame would worry most fans (I am one of them), but Kelly has made sure in the last couple of years that Notre Dame beats the teams that they should beat. I believe if Notre Dame keeps the offense going like they did last week, this game will be over when half time rolls around. I am not about to pick a final score, but with the spread at 20 it is hard after last weeks perfomance seeing the Irish not cover Saturday afternoon and making it 3-0 when playing on Halloween since 2000.