Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 30, 2021 53 Dawson's Cornhuskers to be Notre Dame's Homecoming. The South Bend Tribune proclaimed: "Preparations are being made for the biggest event in the history of Notre Dame University with the arrival of hun- dreds of alumni in South Bend to take part in the homecoming celebration. … Representative student bodies met all incoming trains and took charge of the visitors. Some of the old Notre Dame men are crossing the continent to be present on the gala occasion Saturday." The game "is making the gridiron world turn over in the east and glance westward for two great teams to clash at Cartier Field. For the first time … a real formidable foe is being ushered upon the Catholics' home field." "Knute K. Rockne, director of athlet- ics at Notre Dame, deserves credit for making this such an important event. Never before has the local university brought a team with the prowess of Nebraska here … because it could not pay the price. "But Mr. Rockne built a grandstand to accommodate 15,000 and placed his confidence in the citizens of South Bend for support." He did what was needed to get Nebraska to come "and he has put over the deal in grand fashion. Mr. Rockne deserves credit for his courage. He is not afraid to tackle the best, the biggest ad the mightiest." Dawson's Huskers featured a bevy of returning lettermen, and had dis- patched Nebraska Wesleyan (55-0) and Haskell (41-0) in their opening games. The Irish had one-sided victories over Kalamazoo, DePauw and Purdue, but two weeks earlier had fallen 10-7 at Iowa, breaking their 20-game winning streak. On the morning of the game, "an army of football fans poured into" South Bend, and "mingled through the throngs are heroes of historical foot- ball battles, dignitaries of the political and commercials worlds and just plain alumni back from all parts of the world." They were not disappointed. In a game that was described as a bitterly fought contest, Notre Dame prevailed 7-0 before the largest crowd to have seen a game at Cartier. It was, as typical of the day, a field-position battle, and "the punting of Paul Castner made it possible for the Irish to nurse the seven- point lead gained in the second pe- riod. He was able to punt out of danger whenever the stonewall line of the visi- tors resisted interference and plunges." The game's lone score came when fullback Chet Wynne rushed for 19 yards on three plays to set up the Irish on the Nebraska 1-yard line. On a pre- vious try from the same spot, John Mo- hardt's surprise pass was intercepted in the end zone. This time, Mohardt car- ried the ball over, and Buck Shaw added the extra point. The Irish defense held up the rest of the way. The greatest of all Irish stars, who had died the previous December, was also part of the proceedings. At halftime, the entire crowd "stood with uncovered heads for a moment in memory of the late George Gipp." ✦ 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