Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 7, 2023 15 80 Years Ago: Oct. 9, 1943 In college football's first official matchup be- tween No. 1 and No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, head coach Frank Leahy's top-ranked Fighting Irish steamrolled No. 2 Michigan 35-12 in Ann Arbor. It was deemed the first such showdown because the AP poll began in 1936. Halfback Creighton Miller led the onslaught by scoring on a 66-yard run in the first quarter, and the next Notre Dame tally came on a 70-yard scor- ing strike from quarterback Angelo Bertelli to Bill Earley. By the end of the third quarter, the Irish had built a 35-6 lead after Bertelli scored from 2 yards out and then found Miller for a 14-yard score. Michigan scored on the game's final play. Miller finished with 159 yards on only 10 rushing attempts — and also had a 57-yard touchdown called back because of a penalty. He went on to lead the nation in rushing (910 yards) and finished fourth in the Heisman balloting, won by Bertelli. Notre Dame lineman Jim White placed ninth for the eventual national champs. 60 Years Ago: Oct. 12, 1963 Entering the contest as a 16-point favorite over 0-2 Notre Dame, No. 7-ranked and reigning na- tional champion USC under head coach John McKay got stunned in a 17-14 defeat. Interim coach Hugh Devore started his third different quarterback — Frank Budka — in three games after starting Dennis Szot and John Huarte in 14-9 and 7-6 losses to Wisconsin and Purdue, respectively. Tom MacDonald scored on a 62-yard interception return, Bill Wolski tallied on a 22-yard run and Ken Ivan's 25-yard field goal with 6:28 left in the game provided the winning margin. 35 Years Ago: Oct. 8, 1988 Notre Dame ended a three-game losing streak to Pitt with a hard-fought 30-20 victory on the road to improve to 5-0 for the first time in eight years. The conquest also set up the showdown with No. 1 and reigning national champion Miami the next week. The Irish fell behind 7-0 and 14-7, and also had to recover fumbles at their 2-yard line and in their end zone, the latter after Panthers quarterback Darnell Dickerson fumbled without getting hit. A 64-yard fourth-quarter touchdown drive that milked 6:47 off the clock and was capped with an 8-yard run by Mark Green provided the knockout punch. Pacing the 310-yard Irish rushing attack was Tony Brooks with 105, followed by Green's 83 and quarterback Tony Rice's 69, with a touchdown. Off the bench, fullback Braxston Banks had a 30-yard reception on a wheel route and finished that third quarter march with a 1-yard score to give Notre Dame the lead for good at 23-17. 20 Years Ago: Oct. 11, 2003 Running back Julius Jones broke a 25-year-old single-game school record by rushing for 262 yards — with 25- and 49-yard touchdown runs — during a 20-14 victory at No. 15 Pitt. Entering the game 1-3 with a three-game losing streak, the Irish ranked 109th out of 117 teams in rushing yardage, and Jones had only 152 yards on 43 carries (3.5 per attempt). With freshman quarterback Brady Quinn making his first start one game earlier and the Irish tossing 62 passes in a 23-10 loss at Purdue, the strategy changed during the bye week. Several shifts along the offensive line included freshman Ryan Harris starting at tackle, and at Pitt Quinn passed for only 33 yards. Meanwhile, the Irish defense, led by Justin Tuck, recorded 8 sacks of quarterback Rod Rutherford, who tossed 2 scoring passes to Larry Fitzgerald. UNDER THE DOME Halfback Creighton Miller's 66-yard touchdown run in the first quarter ignited No. 1 Notre Dame's 35-12 win over No. 2 Michigan in col- lege football's first official matchup between the top two teams in the Associated Press poll in 1943. FILE PHOTO Anniversaries In Notre Dame History: Oct. 8-14 DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Blue & Gold Illustrated Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.