SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jack Kiser doesn’t quit. Just ask Virginia quarterback Tony Muskett.
Kiser, a graduate senior linebacker who set a Notre Dame program record Saturday by playing in his 63rd career game, could have let up in what may be the final quarter he plays in Notre Dame Stadium. With Notre Dame leading 35-7 over Virginia, Kiser instead chose to show the relentless effort that’s allowed him to be ever present for Notre Dame football for five consecutive seasons.
As Kiser blitzed up the middle of the offensive line, running back Kobe Pace dove at Kiser to take out his legs. The block worked to some extent, but Kiser sprawled out to transition into a four-point landing with his hands on the ground to spring quickly back up to chase down Muskett for a sack.
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Kiser wasn’t thinking about his record or career at that point of CFP No. 8 Notre Dame’s 35-14 victory over Virginia. He found some redemption for a sack he missed the week prior against Florida State.
“Any time you step on the field in Notre Dame Stadium you’re gonna go all out,” Kiser said. “That doesn’t change. That mindset doesn’t change.
“Just knowing that’s the type of player I am and I think that this defense is. You don’t stop on a play. You don’t quit on a play. Down-up is the way we call it as a linebacker. I got up and the guy was in front of me and I was able to make the tackle.
“I’m glad I could finish it this week. Last week I didn’t get to finish the sack. That was big time for me to get that one back.”
As has become typical for Kiser, the co-captain and Notre Dame’s leading tackler this season impacted the game in a number of ways for an Irish defense that held an eighth opponent to less than 15 points this season. Kiser broke up a fourth-and-2 pass intended for tight end Tyler Neville thrown by quarterback Anthony Colandrea in the first quarter. He combined for a tackle on two-yard run by Pace to start a drive later in the quarter. Kiser also tackled wide receiver Malachi Fields on a four-yard completion on a second-and-10 in the second quarter.
The sack was Kiser’s final mark on the game, but he was a critical part of a controversial fake punt that was negated by a penalty late in the second quarter. Kiser, who spent time as an option quarterback during his high school career at Royal Center (Ind.) Pioneer, caught a snap from long snapper Andrew Kros, spun around and rolled to his right while handing the ball off to a crouching Jordan Faison hiding behind the line. Faison ran around the left side for a 73-yard touchdown that the officials deemed was run out of an illegal formation.
“We’ve been working that a while,” Kiser said. “I kept reminding Coach Free, ‘Hey, I played triple-option quarterback in high school. I can do a reverse pivot.’ That’s something we practiced a lot. The reverse pivot blind handoff, that is a tough thing to do.
“I thought it worked really well. I don’t really know what the penalty was, but it was a lot of fun, one, practicing it, and getting to kinda relive those glory days back in high school.”
Kiser said his heart sank when he saw the flag, which was dropped all the way back at Notre Dame’s 35-yard line. On the NBC telecast, former Big Ten referee Reggie Smith believed the illegal formation was triggered due to Notre Dame not lining up in a kick formation, which then meant Notre Dame was using offensive linemen with improper numbers.
Whether Kiser, who lined up two yards behind the long snapper, received a shotgun snap or took it directly from Kros seemed to be part of the disagreement between Notre Dame and the officials.
“We were in shotgun,” said Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, “which we assume we are able to do, and they said no, you're not. You're not able to do that in the special teams formation we were in.
“Listen, they’ve got a job to do, and you know, I might have disagreed at the moment, but I got the utmost respect for our officials.”
Freeman might not have been showing that respect to the officials in the moment. He was clearly heated on the sideline. The argument went on so long that Notre Dame called a timeout before eventually punting it away.
“I've been heated plenty of times,” Freeman said. “Maybe not displayed it like that. You know what, it's like you tell your players, you've got to reload, right? No matter what happened the last play, you've got to move forward. And I probably took a little bit longer than I should have. It's not a great example for your players.”
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Freeman believed the controversial penalty may have served as a spark for his team. A fired-up Notre Dame Stadium crowd showed vocal disagreement with the officials and support for the Irish. The team gave the crowd more to cheer about in short order.
Safety Adon Shuler intercepted a Colandrea pass and returned it 46 yards to Virginia’s two-yard line. On the next play, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard threw a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cooper Flanagan.
Virginia’s next drive ended with another Colandrea interception. Cornerback Leonard Moore hauled in a pass that deflected off running back Xavier Brown and returned it six yards to give Notre Dame’s offense a 32-yard field. The Irish needed just three plays to convert the possession into a touchdown when Leonard connected with tight end Mitchell Evans for 16-yard touchdown pass.
After giving Virginia the ball after the fake punt drama, Notre Dame doubled its lead to 28-0 in less than three minutes of game clock.
“That was huge to win the half,” Freeman said. “But my message tonight, we can't wait for a spark. The sense of urgency has to be from play one to the end of the game. That's what we have to make sure we continue to do.”
Notre Dame shouldn’t need any sparks when it’s two wins away from securing a spot in the College Football Playoff and potentially hosting a first-round game in Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish will head to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., next weekend to play CFP No. 24 Army (9-0) before spending Thanksgiving weekend in Los Angeles to play against rival USC (5-5).
The stakes demand Notre Dame’s attention. But the process of that focus matters, too.
“The next two games are the biggest stretch of our lives,” Kiser said. “You gotta go all in no matter what. The future’s uncertain. Whatever happens happens. But knowing that you didn’t leave anything behind and you did everything you could, that has to be the mindset.
“We’ve been saying it on defense: all chips in. That’s just the mindset we have every day when we come to work. On a Tuesday, on a Wednesday — it doesn’t matter what day it is. You gotta be ready to give it your all, because you don’t know what the future holds.”
Kiser couldn’t have envisioned a future that would include 60-plus games during a redshirt freshman season at Notre Dame in 2019 in which he played four games. That’s back when he was playing on the scout team going against Notre Dame offensive linemen like Robert Hainsey, who was recognized on the video board Saturday for attending the game.
Kiser joked that some of his current teammates on the sideline didn’t know who the fourth-year Tampa Bay Buccaneer was. Hainsey shared the video board with former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman. Former Irish quarterback Ian Book was also recognized with an ovation at the game.
Book won more games as a starting quarterback at Notre Dame (30) than any other in program history. And yet Book’s five-year career only consisted of 48 game appearances. That goes to show how long and consistent Kiser’s career has been.
“It’s not easy,” Kiser said. “There’s a lot of people that go into me stepping on the field 63 times. The trainers, family, teammates, strength coaches, coaches in general — there’s a lot of people that play into that. That’s the best thing about this record. It’s not a me thing. It’s a we thing.”
If Notre Dame wins its next two games, a College Football Playoff game could be Kiser’s 66th career game. Because not many players can still take advantage of the extra eligibility the NCAA granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kiser’s record is probably already in untouchable territory.
He won’t be able to play in more than 69 games with four playoff games available on the path to a national championship. That’s as far as Kiser and this team can take this ride. Just don’t expect him to get off earlier than required.
“It’s never a goal I set out for,” Kiser said. “I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to be here a long time. Coach Freeman and the staff asked me to come back. That played a part in it.
“Just being able to do it, it’s cool to say that your name’s in the record book at Notre Dame, especially a prestigious program like this is. To be part of the history is extremely neat.”
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