Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 8, 2022 15 80 Years Ago: Oct. 10, 1942 Junior Angelo Bertelli becomes the first player in Notre Dame history to toss 4 touchdown passes — while kicking 3 extra points, too — in a game while leading the Fighting Irish to a 27-0 victory over Stanford. He completed 10 consecu- tive passes at one point and finished 14-of-20 passing for 233 yards. Second-year Irish head coach Frank Leahy had been castigated for changing the offense from the traditional Notre Dame Box to the new T-formation to take advantage of Bertelli's pass- ing skills, and a 0-1-1 start and poor offense put enough stress on Leahy to hospitalize him and have assistant Ed McKeever serve as the acting coach versus Stanford. "A week ago last night the Downtown Quarter- backs were yelling murder: 'Let's fire Leahy; let's fire McKeever; and let's junk the T-formation,'" The South Bend Tribune wrote. "Last night they were singing the praises of Leahy, McKeever and said they knew the T-formation would produce results." The 10 straight completions would not be matched until 36 years later by Joe Montana in a 1978 win at Georgia Tech, and the 4 TD passes weren't duplicated until Steve Beuerlein achieved it in a 38-37 victory at USC in 1986. 65 Years Ago: Oct. 12, 1957 After its worst season ever (2-8) a year earlier, Notre Dame improved its record to 3-0 with a 23-21 victory versus No. 10 Army in Philadelphia in front of 95,000. The Irish, who rose to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll, also pulled off the biggest comeback in their history at the time after trailing 21-7 (the previous highest deficit that was turned into a win was 13-0 at Ohio State in 1935). Fullback Nick Pietrosante began the comeback with a 65-yard touchdown run. Them early in the fourth quarter, halfback Dick Lynch scored from the 1-yard line, but sophomore Monty Stickles missed the extra point to keep the Irish trailing 21-20. A Pietrosante interception on a pass deflected by Frank Geremia then set up Stickles' 29-yard field goal with about 6:30 remaining in the game. 40 Years Ago: Oct. 9, 1982 Junior kicker Mike Johnston drilled a 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the game to lead Notre Dame to a 16-14 victory against No. 17 Miami in the rain. It improved the Irish to 4-0 and moved them up to No. 9 in the AP poll, one year after coach Howard Schnellenberger's Hurricanes had routed the Irish 37-15 to cap head coach Gerry Faust's first season at 5-6 — the program's first losing season in 18 years. Replacing the injured Jim Kelly, Miami quar- terback Mark Richt launched a 79-yard score to Rocky Belk for a 14-10 lead in the fourth quarter, but a 42-yard field goal by Johnston and a fourth- and-1 stop by the Irish on a Richt sneak set up the game-winner. 10 Years Ago: Oct. 13, 2012 A one-for-the-ages goal-line stand in overtime lifted No. 7 Notre Dame to a 20-13 victory versus No. 17 Stanford. With starting quarterback Everett Golson in- jured in the fourth quarter, junior Tommy Rees finished a drive that resulted in a 22-yard Kyle Brindza field goal with 20 seconds left in regula- tion to knot the game. Rees then found TJ Jones on a 7-yard touchdown pass to give the Irish a 20-13 Irish advantage in OT before the Cardinal faced first-and-goal at the 4-yard line on their series. Four straight thrusts into the line by running back Stepfan Taylor fell short of the goal line, although the fourth-down play is reviewed for more than three minutes for confirmation. It marked Notre Dame's first 6-0 start since 2002. 5 Years Ago: Oct. 7, 2017 With starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush sidelined due to a right foot injury, sophomore Ian Book made his first career start and led No. 21 Notre Dame to a 33-10 win over North Caro- lina in Chapel Hill, N.C. Book connected on 17 of 31 throws for 146 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, and also ran for 45 yards. "I had some nerves when I first got out there," Book said. "But the 10 guys on that offense with me make my job a lot easier, so I had all the con- fidence in the world." Among those that made it easier on their quarterback were running backs Josh Adams and Deon McIntosh. Adams had a 73-yard touch- down and finished with 118 yards rushing, while McIntosh contributed 124 yards and 2 scores on the ground. The Fighting Irish's 23-point triumph over the Tar Heels was their fourth straight win by at least 20 points following a 20-19 loss to Georgia Sept. 9, the first time they accomplished that feat since 2005. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Oct. 7-13 UNDER THE DOME In Notre Dame's 27-0 win over Stanford in 1942, quarterback Angelo Bertelli became the first player in school history to toss 4 touchdown passes in a game. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS