Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM DECEMBER 2022 15 75 Years Ago: Dec. 6, 1947 In a showdown for the national title on the last day of the regular season, No. 1 Notre Dame repeated as the champion with a 38-7 drubbing of No. 3 USC in front of a capacity audience of 104,953 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans had limited their eight previous opponents to 27 points, including a 32-0 win at Ohio State. The Irish led only 10-7 at halftime but exploded in the second half with a 76-yard touchdown run by Emil Sitko, a 5-yard score by John Panelli, a 92-yard romp by Bob Livingstone — the longest Irish run from scrimmage until Josh Adams' 98-yard tally versus Wake Forest in 2015 — and a 34-yard interception return by Ernie Zalejski. Incredibly, for the second straight year the Irish finished a season without having trailed in a game. 65 Years Ago: Dec. 7, 1957 A 54-21 victory at SMU in Dallas' Cotton Bowl Stadium capped the most remarkable turnaround season in Notre Dame history at the time. Follow- ing a 2-8 record in 1956 under third-year head coach Terry Brennan, the 1957 Irish finished 7-3 and No. 10 in the Associated Press poll. The Irish intercepted 5 passes and recovered a fumble that help set up their first six touchdown drives that covered 32, 27, 36, 30, 23 and 25 yards. Two of those interceptions are tossed by SMU star sophomore Don Meredith of future Dallas Cowboys and Monday Night Football fame. He set an NCAA single-season record this year by completing 69.6 percent of his passes, but he was only 7 of 15 against the Irish while rotating with Charlie Arnold. Irish quarterback Bob Williams, halfback Pat Doyle and fullback Norm Odyniec scored 2 touch- downs apiece, and each also intercepted a pass. 45 Years Ago: Dec. 3, 1977 No. 5-ranked Notre Dame capped its regular season with a 48-10 win at Miami to set up its Cotton Bowl showdown versus No. 1 Texas on Jan. 2, 1978. Miami stayed competitive most of the first half before the Irish seized control. Quarterback Joe Montana completed 15 of 26 passes for 192 yards with 2 touchdowns to All-America tight end Ken MacAfee and another on a 23-yard wheel route to halfback Vagas Ferguson. It was the fifth time in the final six games Notre Dame eclipsed 40 points, a school record over any six-game stretch. 20 Years Ago: Dec. 2-8, 2002 Notre Dame became the third men's basketball program ever to win three consecutive games against an opponent ranked in the top 10 of either the Associated Press poll or coaches poll, joining the 1976 national champ Indiana Hoosiers and the 1993 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels — both of whom did it in the NCAA Tournament. Under third-year head coach Mike Brey, the festivities began with a 92-71 thrashing of Mar- quette, which was ranked No. 10 in the coaches poll and was led by Dwyane Wade — who three months later would lead his team into the Final Four. Irish sophomore guard Chris Thomas scored 32 points (12 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 8 from three) and added 10 assists. Five days later at the BB&T Classic in Washing- ton, D.C., Notre Dame toppled defending national champ Maryland (79-67), with freshman center Torin Francis converting all 8 of his field goal attempts for 20 points, while guard Matt Carroll added 19 and forward Dan Miller chipped in 17 against his former teammates. Then in the final the next day, Notre Dame rallied past No. 2 Texas — which would join Mar- quette in the Final Four that season — by a 98-92 count, with Francis scoring 21 points grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking 8 shots. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: December UNDER THE DOME Bob Livingstone's 92-yard touchdown run — the longest Irish run from scrimmage until Josh Adams' 98-yard score versus Wake Forest in 2015 — helped propel the Irish to a 38-7 road victory versus USC in 1947. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS