Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1428488
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 20, 2021 15 85 Years Ago: Nov. 21, 1936 In the debut year of the Associated Press poll, No. 11 Notre Dame "officially" defeats a No. 1-ranked team for the first time with a 26-6 victory at home versus unbeaten Northwestern. A year earlier, Northwestern head coach Pappy Waldorf's Wildcats stunned unbeaten Notre Dame the week after the Fighting Irish rallied late to defeat Ohio State for an 18-13 victory that put them in the driver's seat to win the national title. A year later, all Northwestern needed to do to win the first AP national title was defeat Notre Dame. Led by Bob Wilke's 34- and 31-yard touchdown runs to open the scoring, head coach Elmer Layden's No. 11-ranked Irish pulled off the upset. 55 Years Ago: Nov. 26, 1966 Unbeaten and No. 1 Notre Dame crushes No. 10 and Pac-8 champion USC 51-0 at the Los Ange- les Memorial Coliseum to clinch the national title unanimously in a vote by the Associated Press and United Press International two days later. Replacing the injured Terry Hanratty, sopho- more quarterback Coley O'Brien completes 21 of 31 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns. The Irish build a 17-0 lead late in the second quarter when their defensive coordinator John Ray hollers, "My God, you guys, we just have to get another score before half!" Two years earlier, 9-0 and No. 1 Notre Dame led USC 17-0 at half- time before losing 20-17. In the closing minutes, O'Brien finds sopho- more wideout Jim Seymour (11 catches for 150 yards) on 13- and 39-yard touchdown passes to make it 31-0 at the intermission. It is the first time in 13 years Notre Dame finishes unbeaten and the first time in 17 seasons the Irish are named consensus national champs. It also remains the largest margin of defeat ever of a USC team, and the last time college football awards the national title to a team that does not attend a bowl game. 30 Years Ago: Nov. 30, 1991 Notre Dame plays its first game at Hawaii on Thanksgiving weekend and escapes with a 48-42 victory. Tony Brooks and Jerome Bettis score two touchdowns apiece to help the Fighting Irish build a 48-28 lead with 5:15 remaining in the game. However, the scrappy Rainbows score on a 31-yard run by reserve quarterback Ivin Jasper with 3:42 to go and then recover an onside kick at their 49-yard line. Seven plays later, Jasper finds Eddie Kealoha for a touchdown with 1:38 left. The rally ends when the 18th-ranked Irish (9-3) recover another onside kick by Hawaii (4-7-1) and run out the clock. The Irish amassed 499 yards in total offense, but surrender 473 yards to the Rainbows. Irish quarterback Rick Mirer completed 12 of 19 passes for 218 yards and wide receiver Tony Smith had a career-high nine catches for 140 yards. 25 Years Ago: Nov. 24, 1996 Five days after Lou Holtz's announcement that he will be stepping down as Notre Dame's head coach at the end of his 11th season, 42-year-old Irish defensive coordinator Bob Davie is introduced as his successor. The three-man search committee was comprised of executive vice president Rev. E. William Beauchamp C.S.C., athletics director Mike Wadsworth and assistant athletics director George Kelly. "Three years ago when I came to Notre Dame, I came here because Lou Holtz told me that he would teach me how to become a head football coach, and he did that," Davie said. "I feel like in some ways I'm totally prepared to be the head football coach because I doubt there's many head coaches in this country that have experienced the type of things I've experienced, particularly over my last three years here at Notre Dame." Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Nov. 20-30 UNDER THE DOME YOU DON'T WAIT FOR MAIL DELIVERY! HAVE TO The digital edition of Blue & Gold Illustrated is available Sundays at BlueGoldOnline.com The Blue & Gold Illustrated digital edition includes all the great content you find in your print edition, plus: ✦ Searchable archive ✦ Downloadable PDFs ✦ Available on computers and tablets Visit BlueGoldOnline.com for the latest issue every Sunday! It's already part of your subscription! PLUS: The Blue Gold Report Midweek Update! • Emailed Every Pre-Game Wednesday • Depth Charts And Rosters For Both Teams • Updated Statistics • Columns and Much More! • Can be viewed on your computer, phone or tablet, or printed out to read later. To receive notifications, please send your email address to: newsletter@blueandgold.com. Customer Service: 1-800-421-7751 On Nov. 26, 1966, sophomore quarterback Coley O'Brien threw for 255 yards with three scores to help No. 1 Notre Dame crush USC 51-0, and clinch its first unbeaten season in 13 years and its first consensus national title in 17 years. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS