Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1528584
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 9, 2024 13 115 Years Ago: Nov. 6, 1909 The first upset in school history was recorded when former Michigan player Frank "Shorty" Longman served as Notre Dame's head coach in the 11-3 vic- tory in Ann Arbor over Fielding Yost's juggernaut. Michigan had outscored Notre Dame 121-16 in their eight previous meet- ings, and introduced the game to the small school in South Bend in 1887. Furious over the defeat, Yost accused Notre Dame of using ineligible play- ers, referred to the game as merely "a scrimmage," removed Notre Dame from the schedule at the 11th hour in 1910, and urged fellow Western Conference schools to boycott the Catholic school from its schedule. The grudge continued before the two schools decided to play a two-game series in 1942-43 — and then new grudges resurfaced that resulted in not meeting again until 1978. The victory propelled a 7-0-1 finish for Notre Dame and the self-appointed title of "Western Champions," a take on Michigan's "The Victors" fight song from 1898 that ends with the line, "Hail, hail to Michigan the champions of the West." Earlier this same year (1909), the "Notre Dame Victory March" was intro- duced. 105 Years Ago: Nov. 8, 1919 Overcoming an early 9-0 deficit at West Point versus Army, Notre Dame rallied to a 12-9 victory with the passing of left halfback George Gipp leading the charge. It was the debut of the forward pass against Army in 1913 that put Notre Dame on the football map nationally, and the 1919 victory, per Notre Dame's student magazine Scholastic, was "the greatest game that has been played on the 'Plains' in years — demonstrating again that the Gold and Blue never quits, whatever the odds." In addition to the legendary Gipp, the game featured two All-America ends on both sides who would become future prominent head coaches. Army's Earl "Red" Blaik would coach his alma mater from 1941-58, finishing among the top seven in the Associated Press poll seven times, highlighted by consecutive national titles in 1944-45. Notre Dame's sophomore end Eddie Anderson — who snared crucial passes on two touchdown drives — would be a college head coach 40 years from 1925-64, with his 1939 and 1940 Iowa teams both defeating the Fighting Irish. 80 Years Ago: Nov. 11, 1944 After having failed to defeat Notre Dame 12 straight years from 1932-43 (0-10-2) — and not even scoring on them in the last five from 1939-43 — No. 1 Army administered a 59-0 defeat on the No. 5 Fighting Irish in Yankee Stadium — the largest margin of defeat in school history. While Blaik's juggernaut stockpiled supreme talent during the World War II years, Notre Dame lost the vast majority of its 1943 national championship lineup either to graduation or military operations overseas, including head coach Frank Leahy. The skeletal lineup for the Irish under interim coach Ed McKeever proved no match for the Cadets, who would go on to win the 1944 and 1945 national titles led by Heisman Trophy-winning backs Felix "Doc" Blanchard and Glenn Davis. "If there was anyone to blame for the size of the margin, it was Notre Dame, which fired our desire to win with its long humiliation of Army teams," Blanchard told a reporter afterward. 75 Years Ago: Nov. 5, 1949 No. 1-ranked Notre Dame upped its unbeaten streak to 34 (32-0-2) with a 34-21 victory at Michigan State. Highlighting the afternoon was a record-setting effort from junior quar- terback Bob Williams, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 178 yards, with scoring tosses to Ernie Zalejski and Leon Hart. Williams also ran for a 40-yard touchdown, and kept the Spartans — who would win the national title three years later — bottled up with his punting. His single-game passing percentage (minimum 10 throws) of .813 set a record that lasted 27 years. Plus, Williams' single-season passing efficiency mark of 161.37 remained a record for 70 years, until Jimmy Clausen barely eclipsed it at 161.42 in 2009. 60 Years Ago: Nov. 7, 1964 Ranked No. 1 for the first time in 10 years under dynamic new head coach Ara Parseghian, 6-0 Notre Dame was enjoying a "Resurrection" season after finishing 2-7 a year earlier, but the Irish nearly suffered a letdown before prevailing with a 17-15 victory at 2-3-2 Pitt. After building a 14-0 lead in the first half, highlighted by a 91-yard touch- down pass from John Huarte to Nick Eddy, Notre Dame's injury-ridden de- fense began to crack. Parseghian had been 6-0 twice before at Northwestern in 1959 and 1962, reaching No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, before losing in the seventh game. History seemed to be on the cusp of repeating when Pitt cut the lead to 17-15 in the fourth quarter, and then had a fourth-and-inches on the Irish 17-yard line late in the game. However, Panthers head coach John Michelson eschewed the field goal at- tempt and sent Fred Mazurek into the line — where tackle Tom Regner and linebacker Jim Carroll stopped him short of the first down to help preserve the Irish win. 35 Years Ago: Nov. 11, 1989 Notre Dame won a school-record 22nd consecutive game with a 59-6 triumph over SMU, which was playing football for the first time since 1986 after receiving the NCAA "Death Penalty" in 1987 for repeated violations. A 35-point second quarter was highlighted by a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown by Ricky Watters. The biggest talking point of the game, though, centered on a play late in the contest with the Irish up 53 points, when fresh- man tailback Rusty Setzer, who had a clear path to the end zone, voluntarily stepped out of bounds at the SMU 7-yard line after a 22-yard run. "Coach [Lou] Holtz told us that we could run up and down the field, but he didn't want us to score," Setzer said after the game. "He told me he was proud of me for doing what I did." "To me, Notre Dame could be investigated for point-shaving," said Hous- ton head coach Jack Pardee, whose team showed no such mercy in a 95-21 defeat of SMU. 20 Years Ago: Nov. 6, 2004 For the second time during the 2004 season, Notre Dame defeated a top- 10 opponent after losing to an unranked one the previous game. Coming off a bye, the 17-13 victory versus No. 9 Tennessee in Knoxville oc- curred after losing to Boston College (24-23) for a fourth consecutive season. With the Volunteers down to their third-team quarterback — Rick Clausen, older brother of future Irish signal-caller Jimmy Clausen — the Irish defense dominated, highlighted by linebacker Mike Goolsby recording 14 tackles (one sack) and returning an interception for a 26-yard touchdown. For his efforts, Goolsby was named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week for the 6-3 Irish. Earlier in the year, Notre Dame lost the opener at BYU but the next week defeated No. 8 Michigan, 28-20. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Nov. 3-15 George Gipp (with the ball) helped rally Notre Dame to a 12-9 victory at Army in 1919. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS