Although Sam Hartman will play just one season at Notre Dame, he will leave South Bend as a legend after Saturday night’s dominant win over USC. The 24-year-old, sixth-year senior transferred from Wake Forest during the offseason and continues to quickly establish himself as one of the best quarterbacks in school history— both on the field and off.
Hartman is not only beloved by fans, he has completed 64.5% of his passes for 1,712 yards and 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Notre Dame has lost two games, but there is a lot of parity within college football this year and there is a lot of ball left to be played.
A win over the 10th-ranked Trojans, led by reining Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, was a huge boost to the moral in Indiana. Even if Hartman and the Irish offense may not have played their best game of the season, they averaged 5.1 yards per play to propel their team to victory.
It will be Hartman’s only win over USC in one attempt. He will turn pro in April so there was no reason to hold back.
Sam Hartman let it rip!
As most fans headed to the Backer to get the party started, a few hung around to greet the team while they made their way into to the locker room. Right before Hartman re-joined the rest of his team, after getting some love from Joe Montana, he turned back to the stragglers and flipped USC’s famed ‘V for Victory’ hand signal upside-down.
Hartman buried the Trojans with a vicious “Fight Off” troll, which sent the fans into a frenzy.
Moments later, Hartman was pictured sitting along side the university’s president, athletic director, and other high-ranking officials in a pretty remarkable and profound image. He is one with Notre Dame!