Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1418303
52 OCT. 23, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE T he 1966 Notre Dame football team gathered last month for its 55-year reunion since capturing the na- tional championship in Ara Parseghian's third season as Fighting Irish coach. Some 50 members of the program came back to campus to share stories, remember those who couldn't be with them, and celebrate decades of friend- ship and camaraderie. For many, of course, that season will always be remembered for "The Game of the Century" — the much-anticipated battle between No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State at Spartan Stadium on Nov. 19, 1966. Throughout that autumn, the two teams were on a collision course, rolling through their schedules with one impressive victory after another. The Spartans were coming off a 1965 season in which they were undefeated at 10-0 in the regular season before losing 14-12 to UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Head coach Duffy Daugherty's squad thus brought an 18-game regular-season win streak into the clash with the Irish. Due to the Big Ten's "no-repeat" rule re- garding the Rose Bowl participation, the Spartans knew the Notre Dame game would conclude their season. The Irish, on the other hand, had one more challenge after the MSU show- down: a trip to the West Coast to face archrival Southern Cal the following Saturday. Any such battle would test the mettle of a team involved in such an epic fight as was Michigan State versus Notre Dame. "It was by far the hardest-hitting game I ever played in, and that includes the pros," said Irish center George Goeddeke, reflecting on the MSU game. Starting quarterback Terry Hanratty left with an injury when felled by Spar- tans star Bubba Smith, and Goeddeke followed him to the bench with a twisted ankle suffered on punt coverage. Backup Coley O'Brien came in at quarterback and withstood a barrage of pressure from Smith and his mates on the Spartan line. Before halftime, O'Brien hit halfback Bob Gladieux with a 34-yard pass for Notre Dame's only touchdown, cutting MSU's lead to 10-7. Joe Azzaro's 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter produced the only second-half points in the 10-10 tie, af- ter which Notre Dame retained its No. 1 ranking in the polls. "The team was very down immedi- ately after the MSU game," guard Steve Quinn recalled. "Guys were crying in the locker room and we felt like our sea- son was ruined. Ara explained that we had one more game, but Michigan State was done. A good showing against USC could salvage the national champion- ship. The team bought in to that line of thought and went to work for USC." "We all understood the situation," Goeddeke said. "If we lost to USC, it would negate the great effort of the Michigan State game. It was for all the marbles, so to speak. We knew we needed to close the deal." "The Michigan State game took a lot out of the team physically and emotion- ally," Quinn added. "I think we had a relatively light week of practice before going to Southern Cal. "But Ara was a master at getting play- ers ready for a game. We all recognized the importance of the game ahead." Nobody could have foreseen what was to unfold on a sunny afternoon before 88,520 at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Nov. 26, 1966. Head coach John McKay's Trojans brought a No. 10 national ranking into the game. USC had captured the Pac-8 title with a 4-1 record and recorded non-conference victories over Texas (10-6), Wisconsin (38-3) and Clemson (30-0). They had dropped close con- tests against Miami (10-7) and archri- val UCLA (14-7). The Notre Dame game represented a chance to close out the regular season on a high note before the upcoming meeting with Bob Griese and Purdue in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1967. "The games against Southern Cal were always dogfights," Goeddeke re- called. "Remember that in 1964, Ara's first year, they tripped us up out there (20-17) to keep us from a likely national championship. This time (1966) we were ready for anything. We were in- vested, we were prepared." Right from the start, Notre Dame dominated. Larry Conjar scored the In his third season at Notre Dame, head coach Ara Parseghian's team routed Rose Bowl- bound USC 51-0 en route to the 1966 national championship. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Backup quarterback Coley O'Brien helped the Irish battle to a 10-10 tie in the "Game of the Century" against Michigan State and on to the big win against the Trojans to close out the season. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS After Epic Tie with MSU, '66 Irish Had to 'Close the Deal' Versus Trojans