Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 7, 2024 13 50 Years Ago: Sept. 9, 1974: Notre Dame's defense of its national title began with college football's first regular-season Monday night primetime game, a 31-7 victory at Georgia Tech with first-year head coach F.C. "Pepper" Rodgers. ABC-TV paid Notre Dame $2.5 million — an amazing windfall considering no bowl game even had a $1 million payout back then — to have the game moved from Nov. 9 to Sept. 9. The Irish weren't supposed to open until Sept. 21, which is why months earlier Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian's daughter, Karan, scheduled her wedding to take place Sept. 7. In an emotional moment two days before the opener, Parseghian walked Karan, afflicted with multiple sclerosis, down the church aisle. On game night, Georgia Tech drove 68 yards for a touchdown after the opening kickoff, but was held in check thereafter, including a goal-line stand right before halftime, led by linebacker/captain Greg Collins. Irish senior quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Tom Clements completed 10 of 14 passes for 170 yards, and added 47 yards rushing. Full- back Wayne "The Train" Bullock paced the 271-yard rushing attack with 71 yards and 2 touchdowns, and split end Pete Demmerle's 6 catches netted 94 yards and a touchdown. The dominant road victory elevated Notre Dame from No. 2 to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. 20 Years Ago: Sept. 11, 2004 One week after Tyrone Willingham's Irish opened with a 20-17 loss at Brigham Young, the third-year Notre Dame head coach saw his troops re- spond with a 28-20 victory at home versus No. 8 Michigan. The victory was spearheaded by the greatest debut ever by a Notre Dame freshman running back, with Darius Walker rushing for 115 yards, highlighted by 6- and 5-yard touchdown runs to spark a 21-point fourth quarter after trailing 9-0 at halftime. Playing without injured running back Ryan Grant at BYU, Notre Dame totaled 11 yards rushing and did not insert Walker, who made his first ap- pearance during the second quarter versus the Wolverines. "A spark has a tendency to make everyone else do his job a little bit better," Willingham said. "All of a sudden, guys blocked just a little bit longer." 15 Years Ago: Sept. 12, 2009 Tate Forcier's 5-yard touchdown pass to Greg Mathews with 11 seconds left capped a game-winning drive and lifted Michigan to a 38-34 win over No. 18 Notre Dame in Ann Arbor. "It will go down in history as one of the greatest games in the Michigan- Notre Dame rivalry," Mathews said. "I'm glad I got a chance to play in it." Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis called for two passes, both of which ended up incomplete, late in the game with a three-point lead, and Michi- gan got the ball back at its 43 after a punt with 2:13 on the clock and two timeouts. Weis defended his choice to put the ball in the air after Armando Allen, who ran for 139 yards, opened the pivotal drive with a 13-yard run and twisted an ankle. Robert Hughes then got the ball for the first time all day and was stuffed at the line. Jimmy Clausen completed 25 of 42 passes for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns, while wide receivers Golden Tate and Michael Floyd combined for 16 catches, 246 yards and 3 scores. The Irish were in position to win after Allen ran for a touchdown and got the 2-point conversion on a nifty Statue of Liberty play with 5:13 left. "This is a very disappointing, disheartening loss," Weis said. 10 Years Ago: Sept. 13, 2014 Irish quarterback Everett Golson used his arm and his legs to rally the Fight- ing Irish from an early deficit to a 30-14 victory over Purdue in Indianapolis. Golson connected on 25 of 40 throws for 259 yards with 2 touchdowns, and he ran 14 times for a season-high 56 yards and 1 score, a nifty 15-yard scramble that gave Notre Dame the lead for good and ignited a 20-0 finish. Notre Dame improved to 3-0 for the second time in three years, the first time Notre Dame had done that since four straight years from 1987-90. "We're still not a finished product by any means, we're still such a young team," head coach Brian Kelly said. "At 3-0, we're extremely pleased with where we are, but we know we're nowhere close to where we need to be." The Irish improved to 6-2 all-time in Indianapolis, though it was the first time the Irish had played in their home state's capital city since 1984 and only the second time since 1923. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Sept. 7-13 Freshman running back Darius Walker rushed for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns to help lead Notre Dame to a 28-20 defeat of Michigan on Sept. 11, 2004. 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