Irish Breakdown

Full-Circle Moment: Son of Notre Dame Legend Tosses TD vs. Irish

If you stayed up late for Notre Dame's win at Stanford, then you saw a familiar name late for the Cardinal
Nick Shepkowski|
Nov 29, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Charlie Mirer (17) runs with the football during the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium.
Nov 29, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Charlie Mirer (17) runs with the football during the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium. | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting IrishStanford Cardinal

When you look at Notre Dame's football roster you see last names of football stars from yesteryear all over the place.

The sons of NFL greats Jerome Bettis, Bryant Young, Plaxico Burress, and plenty of others now wear blue and gold. It often feels like if there is a son of a former Notre Dame great that is capable of playing high level college football, that Notre Dame will land his talents.

It may feel that way but it doesn't always end up being the case, and on Saturday night, Notre Dame fans got to see the son of a legendary Fighting Irish quarterback take the field for Stanford.

Charlie Mirer Throws Touchdown Pass Against Notre Dame

Notre Dame jumped out to a 28-0 first half lead Saturday night at Stanford, making quick work of the Cardinal. The 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff coupled with the early blowout likely sent a good amount of fans to bed before the game concluded.

If they did stop watching the game though, Notre Dame fans missed seeing the son of a quarterback they used to cheer almost as loudly as any the Fighting Irish have ever seen.

Charlie Mirer, son of former Notre Dame quarterback and 1993 second overall NFL draft pick Rick Mirer, got into the action for Stanford late in Saturday's game.

Mirer completed two of his three pass attempts in the game, one of which was a three yard touchdown pass to Marcus Brown with roughly five minutes to play.

ESPN Announcers Clueless Over Mirer's Notre Dame Connection

As Mirer entered, the discussion in ESPN's broadcast booth didn't center around him much. Instead the talk was about the College Football Playoff and Notre Dame's case for being a team worthy of entry into the field.

The crew never acknowledged the fact that Charlie is the son of Notre Dame great Rick Mirer, which is just embarrassing.

Mirer was essentially having his "Rudy" moment, leading Stanford on a scoring drive against the powerhouse program in which his father starred, and he can't even get an acknowledgement from those getting paid to call the game to a national audience.

Mirer comes from an athletic family, as his dad starred at quarterback for the Fighting Irish during a group of great Notre Dame teams. His brother Morrison played college lacrosse at Notre Dame, while his other brother Oliver played lacrosse at Michigan.

Mirer is a redshirt junior at Stanford this season, having one year of eligibility remaining.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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