Jordan Simone doesn’t remember his surroundings from “probably one of the most fun games I’ve played in.” The 65,000 fans. The extra-flooded sidelines. The energy. He blocked it all out on November 8, 2014.

“That’s one of the games where you put on the TV copy and go, ‘Holy crap, it’s packed,’” the former ASU safety said.

On that day, Sun Devil Stadium was more than just sold-out. It was electric. After all, Notre Dame was in town.

It felt like the entire state of Arizona was in Tempe that afternoon, braving the odd November heat that made it feel like a typical Valley of the Sun summer day. Students camped out a week earlier to secure tickets. Others paid an arm and a leg to get into the stadium.

And it all seemed worth it for that game. Worth it for the chance to witness arguably the most-significant, most-hyped Arizona State football game since the turn of the century.

It wasn’t just ASU playing a Top 10 team, it was a Top 10 matchup -- the Fighting Irish ranked No. 10, ASU at No. 9. And in the first year of the College Football Playoff, it felt like the game’s victor had a realistic shot making the final four.

By halftime, it was a party. ASU was up 34-10 against mighty Notre Dame. Receiver Jaelen Strong hauled in an incredible one-handed touchdown.

Defensive back Damarious Randall had a 59-yard pick-six. The Sun Devils could do no wrong.

Another pick six from Lloyd Carrington with just under four minutes left in the contest sealed ASU’s 55-31 victory. A few days later, the Sun Devils were ranked sixth in the nation, a mark spoiled by Oregon State the next Saturday.

“That game was our team at our best,” Simone said. “That was definitely the pinnacle of our 2014 season, beating them.”

Consequently, recruits took notice. The following February, ASU’s 2015 recruiting class came in at No. 20 in the country, its second-highest-rated class in the internet-recruiting era (ASU’s 2002 class was ranked no. 18).

The Devils’ upward trajectory soon middled. Since that game, ASU is 32-31. It’s missed a bowl game the following year and in 2017 fired its head coach.

In the 21st Century, ASU’s football undoubtedly program peaked on that November afternoon. Half a decade later, the Sun Devils have yet to climb back to the apogee it achieved that day.

Now, just one player from that team (Tyler Whiley) still plays for the Sun Devils’, while only four players from the 2015 signing class remain on the roster. And each of them -- Cade Cote, Steven Miller, Khaylan Kearse-Thomas, George Lea and Zach Robertson, who has been on a season-long leave of absence -- attended the Notre Dame game on a visit.

Five years later, they’re trying to help the program recoup the elation an expectant audience in Tempe carried home with it that afternoon, the level of energy and excitement that made them so confident to sign on the maroon and gold dotted line.

“That’s what basically got me to come here,” Lea said of the Notre Dame game. “I saw they were playing big-name teams. They weren’t playing like these, I won’t say ‘scrubs’, but they weren’t playing teams that weren’t ranked. And then they got after them.”

“They were sixth in the nation after that,” Miller said. “There was a lot of hype around here. We’re trying to get back to that.”

“There was a lot of buzz around ASU,” Cote said. “It felt like a good decision -- it still is a good decision -- but it really felt like a good decision to commit there at the time.”

In total, ASU had eight official visitors in attendance to watch the Sun Devils statement win over Notre Dame, double the officials at any other game that season.

And the long list of notable recruits who Arizona State also invited to the game included, to name a few:

--Arizona Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk (Five-star who committed to Texas A&M)

-- Quarterback Brady White (Four-star who committed to ASU and later transferred to Memphis)

-- Running back Jason Lewis (Four-star ASU commit who later transferred to Eastern Kentucky)

-- Running back Paul Lucas (Four-star who committed to Oregon State and later transferred to ASU)

-- Wide receiver Trent Irwin (Four-star who committed to Stanford)

-- Linebacker Porter Gustin (Four-star who committed to USC)

-- Defensive back D.J. Morgan (Four-star who committed to Notre Dame and later transferred to UConn)

“It’s the most packed I’ve seen it in the last five years,” Cote said. “As far as my memory serves, it’s the biggest recruiting turnout I’ve seen.”

Mason Walter also endured the sun beating down on Sun Devil Stadium’s metal benches that day. A Temecula, California native, Walter naively wore a black shirt -- a decision he quickly came to regret. He had an excuse, though, the Notre Dame game was his first time at a Sun Devil football game.

The three-star offensive lineman, who medically retired in 2018, was already committed to Todd Graham and the Sun Devils. There with his dad and a friend, he wanted to look around, to observe what a game day in Tempe looked and felt like.

He remembers the hoard of recruits exiting the stands after the game with enthusiasm and excitement, watching intently the emotion of ASU’s players and coaches celebrating as they ran into the locker room.

ASU had big names and far-reaching eyes on its program that afternoon. Of course, not all of them chose to play football in Tempe -- but for a few hours five years ago they probably considered it.

“Everybody that was there was very excited for what was to come because of how big the win was,” Walter said. And everybody was hopeful it would be the same rolling into the next years.”

“There was a lot of ups and downs, but that day is definitely something that I look at as a defining moment of what I think ASU football, or what I believe ASU football is about.”

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