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Game 6, Year 17 (2026 season): #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at #4 Tulane Green Wave
#2  39 -- 7-0
#4  35 -- 5-1
Senior DE Zach Caldwell (#11) and sophomore DT Bryan Rodgers (#98) celebrate after a fumble forced by Caldwell resulted in a 57-yard return touchdown by Rodgers that cut Tulane's lead to 28-25 in the fourth quarter and completely turned the tide of the game.
After taking a 28-14 lead, #4 Tulane surrenders 25 straight points to #2 Notre Dame, falls 39-35 in gut-wrenching defeat | Fighting Irish senior DE Caldwell single-handedly wrecks Green Wave offense in what Geezy describes as the most impactful defensive performance he's ever seen | Wave surrenders 6 sacks and 6 turnovers, including a pair of game-changing second half fumbles in season-altering loss | Despite throwing for over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns, McBride's four giveaways help deliver significant blow to his team's national title dreams
New Orleans, LA -- Four years ago, Notre Dame hauled in the nation's #1 recruiting class, headlined by a 6-7 220 pound athlete that was rated as the top high school prospect that year and would end up playing defensive end in the Irish's 3-4 defense. On Saturday, now-senior Irish DE Zach Caldwell lived up to his billing and the Green Wave had no answer whatsoever, falling in a devastating 39-35 loss at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Caldwell, who accounted for two sacks as well as a pick-six in his last trip to the Big Easy to face the Wave two seasons ago, finished Saturday afternoon's contest with 8 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, along with 2 hits on the quarterback that directly played a role in a pair of interceptions, as Notre Dame turned a 28-14 late third quarter deficit into a 39-28 lead.  The #1 high school prospect in the nation four years ago, Notre Dame senior DE Zach Caldwell finished with 3 sacks, played a direct role in four of Tulane's six turnovers on Saturday, and taunted the crowd from the bench in the game's final seconds.
Behind efficient passing from QB Jimmy McBride along with strong defensive play, Tulane was able to amass its big lead. McBride's 17-yard touchdown pass to RB Anthony Brown gave the Wave a 7-0 first quarter advantage. Then, in the second quarter, CB Benny Smith picked off Notre Dame QB Martin Lawson's pass and returned it 61 yards for a score that increased the Wave's lead to 14-0.
The two teams would trade touchdowns to close out the half, a 66-yard scamper by Irish RB Terrell Williams and a 6-yard touchdown pass from McBride to RB Michael Brown Jr., resulting in a 21-7 lead for the Wave.
Tulane would get the football back just before halftime with an opportunity to extend its lead, however Caldwell chased down McBride on a scramble attempt and force a fumble that was recovered by DT Bryan Rodgers, putting a halt to the Green Wave possession and keeping the score at 21-7 going into the break.
The turnover was Tulane's third of the first half, including a lost fumble by freshman RB Teddy Jenkins and an interception thrown by McBride to CB Rufus Johnson, due to heavy pressure from Caldwell. Unfortunately, the turnovers and sloppy play were an omen for what was to come for the Wave, and they didn't have to wait very long to find that out.
On the very first possession of the third quarter, A. Brown was stripped of the football deep in his own territory by MLB Brett Latimer and OLB Ben Jacobs recovered and returned the ball to the Tulane 1-yard line, setting up the Irish with great field position. One play later, RB Pat McMahon punched it in, cutting the deficit to 21-14.
A quick 3-play 92-yard drive culminated by a sensational 48-yard touchdown reception from Brown Jr. in which he spun past a defender and zigged and zagged his way through the defense increased the Wave's lead to 28-14. The score was Brown Jr.'s second of the day, and he finished with 5 receptions for 73 yards.
On the ensuing possession, the Irish would get a 51-yard field goal by freshman PK Brian Hicks to cut the deficit to 28-17 despite losing Lawson to a knee injury after a big hit by DE T.J. Pearson. The team would use it as a rallying cry however as that's about when things began to turn around.
With the Green Wave up 28-17 and seemingly in total control and driving to perhaps put the game away, that's when disaster struck. With the ball at the Notre Dame 40-yard line, McBride dropped back to pass on a crucial third down. On the play, Caldwell would show off his excellent burst off the line of scrimmage and got to McBride almost instantaneously, bringing the redshirt junior down while also dislodging the football from his grasp. Rodgers, who recovered Caldwell's earlier forced fumble, would once again scoop up this one, only this time he'd return it 57 yards for a touchdown, making the score 28-25 with 8:08 to go in the game following a successful two-point conversion pass by backup QB Joe Means.
 
With Tulane in control, up 28-17 and driving in the fourth quarter, Caldwell burst through and laid a big hit on McBride, jarring the ball loose. Sophomore DT Bryan Rodgers would scoop up the loose football and take it the distance for a 57-yard touchdown that cut the Fighting Irish's deficit to 28-25 with 8:08 remaining and would be the game's clear turning point.
A quick three-and-out on Tulane's next possession would put the ball back in Notre Dame's hands with good field position and a chance to take the lead, and that they did. A 5-play 56-yard drive would end when McMahan dragged Wave SS Jo Jo Price into the end zone for an bruising 18-yard touchdown that gave the Irish a 32-28 lead. The score was McMahan's second of the day, and he finished the contest with 16 carries for 137 yards.
Now reeling but with an opportunity to mount a drive to re-claim the lead, Tulane got the ball back with just under six minutes remaining; however the Green Wave's living nightmare, Caldwell, was not done making plays. This time, the Forrest City, Arkansas native would make a nasty swim-move past Wave RT Ryan Stewart-Sims and got to McBride as he threw, and this time the errant pass would wind up in the hands Jacobs once again, giving Notre Dame the ball at the Irish 45-yard line. McBride finished the game 20 of 34 for 418 yards and 4 touchdowns, however his 4 turnovers, all forced by Caldwell, marred his big performance.
 Versatile QB Joe Means, who doubles as a receiver and caught 2 receptions, was called upon in the second half following the injury to starting QB Martin Lawson. Means answered the call and finished 6 of 6 for 84 yards and 1 touchdown pass down the stretch and also came away with the game-sealing onside kick recovery.
Following Jacobs' interceptions, 7 plays and 55 yards later, Means' 17-yard touchdown pass to freshman WR Michael Ward increased their team's lead to 39-28 with 2:48 remaining. Means, a sophomore, finished 6 of 6 for 84 yards in relief of Lawson while also being credited with 2 receptions for 15 yards as the Irish's #4 receiver prior to Lawson's departure.
Tulane did not go away easy. An 8-play 78-yard drive, highlighted by a 52-yard completion to WR Adam Lawson on 4th and 31 with under a minute remaining would end with a McBride touchdown pass to WR Grant Brady from 41 yards away.
The big play drive made the score 39-35 with 0:36 to go, however Means, of all people, would recover the ensuing onside kick, clinching the loss for the Green Wave and sending the Notre Dame sideline into a frenzy.
"There's no sugar-coating this one; this was painful," said Geezy. "We didn't protect the quarterback, we didn't protect the football, and in the end every turnover and missed opportunity mattered."
"You preach about the things that could get you beat all week and really all year, and today we did those things, especially in crunch time. We talked about avoiding sacks and turnovers specifically as a point of emphasis going into this season, and we gave up six in both categories, and that will typically get you beat, especially against a great opponent. This was disappointing."
Tulane (5-1) will host Kentucky (3-4) next week at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Green Wave head coach D. Geezy walked back to the locker room dejected, knowing that his team's loss on Saturday dealt a significant blow to the chances of picking up the elusive national title #3 this season.
 Box Score
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Tulane Green Wave | | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |  #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0) | 0 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 39 |  #4 Tulane Green Wave (5-1) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
1st
: 17 yd TD pass from McBride to A. Brown (Dunn kick) 2:15 -- 7-0
2nd
: 61 yd INT return TD by B. Smith (Dunn kick) 4:36 -- 14-0
: 66 yd TD run by T. Williams (Hicks kick) 3:57 -- 14-7
: 6 yd TD pass from McBride to M. Brown Jr. (Dunn kick) 2:16 -- 21-7
3rd
: 2 yd TD run by McMahan (Hicks kick) 8:05 -- 21-14
: 48 yd TD pass from McBride to M . Brown Jr. (Dunn kick) 4:05 -- 28-14
: 51 yd FG by Hicks 0:59 -- 28-17
4th
: 57 yd fumble return TD by Rodgers (Means pass to Ward) 8:08 -- 28-25
: 18 yd TD run by McMahan (Hicks kick) 5:54 -- 28-32
: 17 yd TD pass from Means to Ward (Hicks kick) 2:48 -- 28-39
: 41 yd TD pass from McBride to Brady (Dunn kick) 0:36 -- 35-39
Game Statistics
#4 Tulane
Code:
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
2-QB *Jimmy McBride(rs-jr) 189.1 20 34 418 4 2
Rushing ATT YDS TD
6-RB Anthony Brown(so) 15 70 0 (1 fumble lost)
2-QB *Jimmy McBride(rs-jr) 15 2 0 (2 fumbles lost)
21-RB Teddy Jenkins(fr) 5 20 0 (1 fumble lost)
10-RB Michael Brown Jr.(jr) 1 6 0
Receiving REC YDS TD
10-RB Michael Brown Jr.(jr) 5 73 2
11-WR Grant Brady(so) 4 88 1 (6 kr, 103 yds | 0 pr, 0 yds)
13-WR Adam Lawson(jr) 4 119 0
88-WR Steve Mosley(fr) 3 76 0
4-WR Kenny Bell(rs-sr) 2 28 0
83-TE Drew Robinson(so) 1 17 0
6-RB Anthony Brown(so) 1 17 0
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
23-FS Donnie Sparks(fr) 9 8 1 1 0 0
42-SS Jo Jo Price(rs-jr) 9 7 2 2 1 0
9-OLB *Sean Williamson(jr) 6 6 0 2 1 0
17-LE Ricky Evans(so) 6 5 1 2 1 0
15-CB Benny Smith(rs-jr) 5 3 2 0 0 2 (1 td)
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
3-PK Blake Dunn(fr) 0 0 n/a n/a 5 5
Tulane Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 516
Rushing Totals: 36 att 98 yds 0 tds
Sacks Allowed: 6
3rd down conversions: 4-10 (40%)
4th down conversions: 1-1 (100%)
Offensive Turnovers: 6
Penalties: 4 for 38 yards
Time of Possession: 19:30
#2 Notre Dame
Code:
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
2-QB *Martin Lawson(sr) 96.7 19 30 167 0 2
14-QB/WR Joe Means(so) 272.6 6 6 84 1 0
Rushing ATT YDS TD
38-RB Pat McMahon(rs-sr) 16 137 2
2-QB *Martin Lawson(sr) 6 -11 0
14-WR Joe Means(so) 5 -15 0
7-RB Terrell Williams(rs-sr) 3 69 1
81-WR Zac Mason(rs-sr) 2 0 0
80-WR Michael Ward(rs-fr) 1 10 0
Receiving REC YDS TD
8-TE Cory Baker(jr) 4 30 0
81-WR Zac Mason(rs-sr) 4 25 0
1-WR *Anthony Robertson(sr) 3 51 0
25-WR Aaron Whitfield(so) 3 38 0
80-WR Michael Ward(rs-fr) 3 36 1 (2-pt rec)
36-FB Ty Patterson(so) 2 19 0
42-FB Brandon Wolfe(fr) 2 21 0
14-QB/WR Joe Means(so) 2 15 0
7-RB Terrell Williams(rs-sr) 1 10 0
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
11-LE Zach Caldwell(sr) 8 8 0 4 3 0 (3 ff)
94-OLB Jon Moore(sr) 8 6 2 1 1 0
26-CB Rufus Humphrey(jr) 6 6 0 0 0 1
91-MLB Brett Latimer(rs-jr) 5 5 0 1 0 0 (2 ff, 1 fr)
33-S/CB Doug McKnight(sr) 4 4 0 1 1 0
6-RE E.J. Gray(jr) 3 3 0 1 1 0
98-DT Bryan Rodgers(so) 3 2 1 1 0 0 (2 fr, 1 td)
50-OLB *Ben Jacobs(sr) 2 2 0 0 0 1 (1 fr)
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
47-PK Brian Hicks(fr) 1 3 51 56, 55 4 4
Notre Dame Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 441
Rushing Totals: 33 att 190 yds 3 tds
Sacks Allowed: 3
3rd down conversions: 4-14 (28%)
4th down conversions: 1-1 (100%)
Offensive Turnovers: 2
Penalties: 6 for 48 yards
Time of Possession: 16:30
Photo Gallery
Tulane took the field full of confidence for what was the ESPN Game of the Week.
Redshirt junior QB Jimmy McBride had some fun with the crowd following this early scramble for a first down.
Green Wave sophomore RB Anthony Brown scored on a 17-yard reception that made the score 7-0 and celebrated the early TD with junior WR Adam Lawson.
Redshirt junior CB Benny Smith caught the first two interceptions of his career on Saturday and took this one to the house for a 61-yard touchdown that increased the Wave's lead to 14-0 in the second quarter.
DE Zach Caldwell wreaked havoc all afternoon, and not all of his big plays made the stat sheet. Here, some heavy pressure brought by Caldwell resulted in an errant pass by McBride that ended up in the hands of CB Rufus Humphrey for a second quarter interception.
WR Adam Lawson finished the game with 4 receptions for 119 yards but was held out of the end zone for the first time this season.
Notre Dame MLB Brett Latimer punched the ball out of Brown's grasp on the very first possession of the third quarter. The loose ball would get picked up by OLB Ben Jacobs and returned to the 1-yard line, and RB Pat McMahon would punch it in one play later to cut the Irish's deficit to 21-14.
With his team down 28-14, Notre Dame QB Martin Lawson would leave the game with a left knee injury yet somehow this sparked the Fighting Irish's rally.
True freshman backup DE Jeremy Randall gave Caldwell breather for a play and even he was able to come away with a sack in crunch time.
McMahan dragged Green Wave SS Jo Jo Price into end zone, emphatically giving Notre Dame its first lead of the game at 32-28 with 5:54 remaining.
Pic 1 of 2: Following McMahan's touchdown, McBride attempted to put together a drive to help Tulane re-take the lead, however Caldwell once again came with heavy pressure and hit him as he threw the ball.
Pic 2 of 2: Despite having Lawson wide open down the middle, Caldwell's pressure would cause the ball to flutter off-target and Jacobs crouched down to pick off the pass before it hit the turf, giving the Irish the ball with the lead and a short field which eventually led to a game-sealing touchdown.
Caldwell's amazing performance earned him Player of the Game honors and has now helped put the Fighting Irish in prime position to possibly win its first national title since 1988.
Green Wave fans could do nothing but watch the game's final seconds tick away in agony after witnessing their team's double-digit fourth quarter lead evaporate.
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Last edited by Deegeezy; 07-04-2018 at 11:35 PM.
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