Cody resident Jim Talich just happened to have his phone out and recording when the ball was snapped. It was during that fleeting moment he captured his son Luke Talich, a member of the Notre Dame football team, making an interception and returning it for a touchdown on national television.
The other families in the parents section were going about as crazy as the Taliches, he said, which made it all the more impressive he was able to keep his hands steady while filming.
“We just went berserk,” he said. “Once he was in the end zone we just went crazy, really crazy.”
Talich and his two sons had traveled to Indiana to watch their son and brother play against Florida State. Luke, a sophomore, plays safety for the No. 8-ranked Fighting Irish.
How It Happened
The incredible moment took place with 1:23 remaining in Notre Dame’s 52-3 blowout win over the Seminoles.
When FSU quarterback Brock Glenn dropped back to make a quick pass, he looked over to his right and saw what looked to be an open teammate.
It wasn’t that the pass was so bad, but more that Luke Talich’s interception was so good.
He crept up behind the intended target and leapt, snatching the ball out of the air before the intended target ever had a chance to catch it. He then returned the ball 79-yards for a touchdown, barely evading a FSU tackler en route to his first ever touchdown as a member of the Fighting Irish.
Jim Talich had a decorated career playing linebacker at the University of Wyoming from 1994-1997, as the third all-time leading tackler in school history. To see his son achieve his own significant moment of playing success, and in front of the nation, meant the world to him, he said.
“I’m just so thankful for them giving a small-town Wyoming kid a chance,” Jim Talich said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, a memory of a lifetime.”
Talich’s brother Nic plays for UW as a linebacker. Since the Pokes were on a bye week, Nic was able to take the trip out to Indiana with his family to see his brother shine.
“It was a surprise Nic was able to go,” Jim said.
And as much as it meant to the Taliches, it meant just as much to Luke’s teammates, who earned double unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for leaving the sidelines to celebrate Luke’s TD.
“It was just surreal,” Jim said.
When asked about Luke’s touchdown after the game, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman called it a “huge play” and said the Wyoming native is a “vital” and “important” player on the team with a bright future.
“Luke works tirelessly, he’s been a great member of our team,” Freeman said during the post-game press conference. “He embraces and values his role. We need everybody in our program to not be satisfied, but embrace the role for this week.”
Even though his interception happened when Saturday’s game was all but decided, Luke has seen legitimate playing time on the field this season, playing in every game on defense and special teams in only his second year with the program.
For the 2023 Cody High School grad, that’s a special feat. As of Monday, Notre Dame was ranked the No. 8 team in the country in the Associated Press poll.
“I always knew he had it in him,” said his mother Jen Talich.
With his interception Saturday, Talich became only the second player from Wyoming in Notre Dame history to touch the ball while playing for the storied football program, and the first since the 1977 season, which was also the last time a player from the Cowboy State was on the roster.
It was Luke’s lifelong dream to play for Notre Dame and he passed up scholarship opportunities at schools like Wyoming, Oregon State, and Utah to play as a walk-on for the Fighting Irish. He was rewarded for his commitment this spring when the team offered him an athletic scholarship.
Wyoming Reaction
Back in Wyoming, Luke’s mom and her two daughters were in Casper for the eldest daughter’s state volleyball tournament. Jen had been watching some of the Notre Dame game on her phone but switched over to XM radio for the long car ride home back to Cody.
She said she had a funny feeling her son might do something special and kept yelling out, “C’mon, do something Luke!” as her daughter and friend listened from the back seat.
As she was listening and driving, the pick-six was called out on the radio. Jen listened for what seemed like a lifetime for the announcer to call out who had made the pick. When he said it was Luke, it caused Jen to shriek, yell and honk her horn, she said.
“I freaked out,” she said.
Talich was in the middle of driving the long, interminable stretch in between Casper and Shoshoni when the news broke. Between patches of service, she got calls from her husband at the game and other friends. By the time she reached Shoshoni, Jen said she’d received 137 text messages.
Any football mom is always concerned about the health of their children on the football field, but for Jen, this takes on a special significance.
Up until this November, Luke Talich had been injured in the first week of November for each of the three previous football seasons, the last two from a broken collarbone. Having her son stay healthy was the first priority on her mind.
“I was praying Luke would not get hurt, I wasn’t praying for this so that was kind of awesome,” Jen said.
Contact Leo Wolfson at leo@cowboystatedaily.com
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
