Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 NOV. 12, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME 65 Years Ago: Nov. 16, 1957 The greatest upset in Notre Dame football history was achieved when the 19- to 21-point underdog Irish ended Oklahoma's NCAA-record 47-game winning streak with a 7-0 victory in Norman. The unranked Irish were coming off 20-6 and 34-6 losses to Navy and Michigan State, respec- tively, and were crushed 40-0 by the Sooners a year earlier (still the worst home defeat to this day in Notre Dame Stadium). On the day Oklahoma celebrated the 50th an- niversary of its statehood, Notre Dame put to- gether one of its most famous drives ever in the fourth quarter — 80 yards on 20 plays (19 rushes) that took 9:01 and were capped by halfback Jim Lynch's 4-yard sweep on fourth-and-goal with 3:50 remaining. Quarterback Bob Williams, who called all the plays during the game-winning drive, also inter- cepted Oklahoma's last pass toward the end zone in the closing seconds. 45 Years Ago: Nov. 12, 1977 Trailing 17-7 at the start of the fourth quarter in Death Valley versus No. 15 Clemson, No. 5 Notre Dame rallied to a 21-17 victory when quarterback Joe Montana snuck in for two short touchdowns. Despite the comeback on the road against a top-15 team — one of the more underrated vic- tories in school history — the Irish dropped one spot to No. 6 in the ensuing Associated Press poll. 35 Years Ago: Nov. 14, 1987 For the first time in seven years, Notre Dame won eight games (8-1) after a 37-6 thrashing at home of No. 10 Alabama, which had defeated the Irish 28-10 a year earlier. The No. 7-ranked Irish rushed for 348 yards, with junior Mark Green and freshman Ricky Wat- ters tallying on 74- and 75-yard runs in the fourth quarter. In his final home game, wideout Tim Brown caught four passes for 114 yards. 30 Years Ago: Nov. 14, 1992 With 20 seconds left in the "Snow Bowl," Jerome Bettis hauled in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Rick Mirer on fourth down, and Reggie Brooks made the diving grab of the 2-point conversion to lift No. 8 Notre Dame past No. 22 Penn State, 17-16. This was the lone Senior Day victory for the Irish from 1990-93, a stretch where the Irish went 40-8-1. 25 Years Ago: Nov. 15, 1997 The 4-5 Fighting Irish not only upset No. 11 LSU 24-6 in another "Death Valley," but in the process become the only Notre Dame team ever to this day to play a game where it committed neither a turnover nor a penalty. First-year head coach Bob Davie's troops raced to a 17-0 first-quarter lead and expanded the advantage to 24-0 midway through the third quarter. By the start of the fourth quarter, the stands were more than half empty. Irish running backs Autry Denson and Clement Stokes rushed for 92 yards apiece. 10 Years Ago: Nov. 17, 2012 For the first time ever, the No. 3 Fighting Irish left a game at Notre Dame Stadium with an 11-0 record, following a 38-0 victory versus Wake For- est. The Irish racked up 584 yards of total offense, with quarterback Everett Golson completing 20 of 30 passes for 356 yards and touchdown tosses to Tyler Eifert, TJ Jones and John Goodman, while Cierre Wood's 11 carries netted 150 yards, high- lighted by a 68-yard touchdown run. The No. 1 defense, led by linebacker Manti Te'o, also con- tinued its dominance while allowing only 10.1 points per game. The real seismic events occurred later that eve- ning. No. 1 Kansas State got crushed 52-24 at Baylor, while No. 2 Oregon was stunned 17-14 at home in overtime by Stanford. That meant for the first time in 19 years — dat- ing back to Nov. 20, 1993 — Notre Dame was once again the No. 1 team in the land. The previ- ous longest drought from the summit by the Irish since the start of the AP poll was the 10 years from Oct. 3, 1954 until Nov. 1, 1964. Four years earlier on Nov. 22, 2008, the Hawai- ian native Te'o took his official visit to Notre Dame and in frigid conditions, saw the Irish lose to 2-8 Syracuse and watched the team get booed after the alma mater was sung. A year earlier, the Irish had lost their most games ever in a season (nine). "Just magic," Te'o said of a gloriously warm day after celebrating his final home game with the student body. "Like everything's come full circle." Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Nov. 12-18 UNDER THE DOME The Fighting Irish notched their lone Senior Day victory from 1990-93 by rallying past No. 22 Penn State 17-16 in the 1992 "Snow Bowl." PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS