Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 15, 2022 53 "Some of us remembered losing the 24-0 lead [in a 55-24 loss in 1974]," Eurick said. "And the next two years, we lost close games to them. We were improving each year, and we knew we could take care of them this time around." On a Nov. 12 trip to No. 15 Clemson, the Irish found themselves milling around the field for several minutes, waiting for the Tigers to appear. Devine asked the officials what was going on. Finally, the Tigers came charging down the hill to the roar of their crowd. "I guess they were trying to psyche us out," Bradley said with a laugh. "It didn't work. If anything, it got us ir- ritated and ready to give them a game." The Irish trailed 17-7 after three quarter. Then Mike Calhoun recovered a pair of Clemson fumbles, Montana engineered drives and scored twice on quarterback sneaks for a 21-17 victory. The Irish crushed Air Force (49-0) and Miami (48-10) to earn a Cotton Bowl date with No. 1 Texas and its Heis- man Trophy tailback Earl Campbell. "My dad, a high school football coach, asked me, 'How do you plan on stopping this Campbell fellow?'" Brad- ley said. "We basically loaded the box, plugged the holes and forced them to pass, which wasn't their strength." With the score tied 3-3 in the sec- ond quarter, fumble recoveries by Jim Browner and Fry led to touchdown runs by Eurick of 6 and 10 yards. A Doug Becker interception set up Montana's 17-yard strike to Vagas Ferguson. In an eight-minute stretch, ND had rolled to a 24-3 lead, and the rout was on. Ferguson added two TD runs in the second half, one set up by a Steve Heimkreiter interception. The 38-10 Fighting Irish victory led to a huge shakeup in the final polls, with Notre Dame vaulting from No. 5 to No. 1, for its 10th consensus national championship. Euphoria reigned. "We went crazy in the locker room," Eurick said. "And I still remember, in the corner of the locker room was a blackboard. On it was written, 'It's not where you start that matters, it's where you finish.'" ✦ Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com Co-captain Terry Eurick scored two rushing touch- downs in the first half to help lead fifth-ranked Notre Dame to a convincing 38-10 victory over top- ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl, catapulting the Irish to the 1977 national championship. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS The 6 th annual Rockne Awards will honor an all-star lineup of individuals from southern California, headed up by 1964 Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte. The Knute Rockne Memorial Society Presents 2022 Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebra on Friday, Nov. 25 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Grand Cathedral Ballroom Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles The day before the Figh ng Irish meet USC at the Coliseum, we'll gather at the Cathedral to celebrate nearly a century of Notre Dame football in southern California. Join us by reserving your spot at www.RockneSociety.org/shop.