Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 14, 2024 15 55 Years Ago: Sept. 20, 1969 For the first time ever, Notre Dame introduced female cheerleaders with four from St. Mary's College across the street on U.S. 31: Missy McCrary, Molly Tiernan, Ann Stringer and Terri Buck, who would become one of the most photogenic figures ever in the industry. The opener at home against Northwestern saw the No. 11-ranked Irish leading only 14-10 entering the fourth quarter. However, a 44-yard punt return for a touchdown by Brian Lewallen (who would marry Buck) and 112 yards on 15 rushing attempts by Ed Ziegler led the way for a 35-10 victory. 45 Years Ago: Sept. 15, 1979 Special teams made the difference in No. 9 Notre Dame's season-opening 12-10 road upset of No. 6 Michigan. First, senior walk-on kicker Chuck Male converted a single-game school-record 4 field goals (40, 44, 22 and 39 yards) in as many attempts. Second, in his starting debut, sophomore middle linebacker Bob Crable punctuated his 19-tackle performance by blocking Michigan's 42-yard game- winning field goal attempt with six seconds remaining in the contest. Crable perfectly timed his leap on the back of long snapper Mike Trgovac — which would be illegal today — and vaulted nearly 12 feet through the air to block the kick with his left hip. 35 Years Ago: Sept. 16, 1989 Notre Dame sophomore Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, fresh off an impact season during the national title run his freshman year, cemented his legend during No. 1 Notre Dame's 24-19 victory versus No. 2 Michigan on a rainy afternoon in The Big House. Ismail fielded the second-half kickoff and returned it 88 yards for a touch- down to give Notre Dame a 14-6 lead. It was the first time in 32 years Michi- gan had yielded a kick return for a touchdown. After the Wolverines narrowed their deficit to 17-12 with 12:46 left in the contest, Ismail grabbed the kickoff again and this time exploded for a 92- yard return to provide another two-score advantage. His exploits put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated with an in-depth feature on his family's background. "There are a lot of track people playing football," Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz said after the victory. "But Rocket is a football player who also runs track." 15 Years Ago: Sept. 19, 2009 Safety Kyle McCarthy saved Notre Dame from another last-second loss after it dropped a 38-34 heartbreaker at Michigan the week prior. His inter- ception at the 4-yard line with 57 seconds preserved Notre Dame's 33-30 win over Michigan State, the Irish's first triumph versus the Spartans in South Bend since 1993. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen completed 22 of 31 throws for 300 yards and tossed the game-winning 33-yard touchdown to wide receiver Golden Tate with 5:18 left. Tate finished with 7 receptions for 127 yards. "After last week, how bad everybody felt in a very similar situation in the ending of the game, to make a play to change the outcome in favor of us, I'm really, really happy for those kids in there," head coach Charlie Weis said. "It's nice to see how genuinely excited they are. They feel great." Running back Armando Allen Jr. ran for 115 yards and a touchdown and threw for another out of a wildcat formation, and Nick Tausch kicked field goals of 22 and 46 yards for the Irish. 5 Years Ago: Sept. 14, 2019 Behind a dominant defense and a second-quarter offensive outburst, No. 7 Notre Dame blitzed New Mexico en route to a 66-14 win in its home opener. The Fighting Irish picked off three passes in the first half, including safety Kyle Hamilton's 32-yard interception return for a touchdown to open the scoring on his first snap inside Notre Dame Stadium, and scored 31 points in the second quarter en route to improving to 2-0 on the season. All told, Notre Dame totaled 591 yards of offense, with Ian Book finishing 15-of-24 passing for 360 yards with 5 touchdowns. Book also rushed for 46 yards and a score. The Irish outgained the Lobos 591-363 while owning a 4-0 advantage in turnover margin. The 66 points were the most scored in a home opener since 1932 (73-0 win over Haskell — now referred to as Haskell Indian Nations University — located in Lawrence, Kan.). The win marked the first time since 2015 the Irish had scored more than 60 points in a game (62-27 win vs. Massachusetts). UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Sept. 14-20 On his first snap in Notre Dame Stadium, safety Kyle Hamilton intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown to ignite the Irish's 66-14 beatdown of New Mexico. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS ✦ Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? 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