Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 23, 2021 53 first touchdown on a two-yard run, then Tom Schoen returned an interception 40 yards for a 14-0 first quarter lead. The second quarter belonged to O'Brien, who became one of most cel- ebrated backups to assume a starting role in Notre Dame history. The sopho- more from McLean, Va., hit classmate Jim Seymour (Berkley, Mich.) on touch- down passes of 13 and 39 yards to propel the Fighting Irish to an unheard-of 31-0 lead at halftime. "Coley was lighting it up," Goeddeke said. "It spoke to the frame of mind we were in. We held USC in high esteem, and we wanted to have a peak perfor- mance to take them on." In the second half, backup halfback Dan Harshman grabbed a 23-yard touchdown pass from O'Brien, Dave Martin returned an interception 33 yards for a score, and Azzaro added a couple of field goals. The final count: Notre Dame 51, Southern Cal 0. "I don't think anyone expected the blowout score," Quinn noted. "I also don't think Ara ran up the score. The second-team offense was scoring easily. Beating a Rose Bowl-bound USC 51-0 was beyond impressive. Ara was right about our chance to salvage the national championship, but I doubt that even he thought it would go the way it did." "The second team came in and kept things on the same roll," Goeddeke said. "It was all a lot of fun, and we didn't let Traveler [the Trojan horse] run around the field all day." Goeddeke's injury kept him out of the USC fray, but as a team leader he was still in uniform on the sideline. That's when one of his fondest football memo- ries occurred. With the result no longer in doubt, "Ara sent me in for a token appearance — one play to finish out my Notre Dame career. And, though I didn't realize it right away, McKay sent in a backup nose tackle with instructions to not lay a hand on me. "It was a real act of sportsmanship on Coach McKay's behalf, and it gained our respect." Meanwhile, Notre Dame earned the respect of the college football world — and a consensus national champion- ship. ✦ For more informa on, please visit: www.RockneSociety.org The Knute Rockne Memorial Society is dedicated to preserving and promo ng the life story of Coach Knute Rockne and all he stood for. Through its annual Rockne Awards, the Rockne Society recognizes and inspires great achievement in athle cs…and in life. Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com Irish center George Goeddeke was injured in the slugfest with the Spartans and missed the USC game with an ankle injury. Head coach Ara Parseghian was able to insert him for one final, non-contact play at the end of the game to close out his Notre Dame career. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS