Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 20, 2025 15 50 Years Ago: Sept. 15-20, 1975 The Dan Devine coaching era at Notre Dame opened with consecutive road victories in a span of five days. The achievement put the new head coach and quarterback Rick Slager on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline "Devine Week For Notre Dame." On Monday night, Notre Dame defeated Boston College 17-3, with freshman fullback Jim Browner's 95 rushing yards and 9-yard touchdown among the highlights. The Irish didn't get back to their hotel room until 2 a.m. and had to cancel practice the next day because they arrived home Tuesday afternoon. Four days later at Purdue, Notre Dame clung to a 3-0 fourth-quarter lead before the Boilermakers drove to the Irish 1-yard line. But on a halfback pass attempt, sophomore safety Luther Bradley read it perfectly for an intercep- tion and 99-yard touchdown return. Another Bradley interception set up a short touchdown drive for the 17-0 final score. "I don't think that will ever happen again where Notre Dame plays two games in five days [both on the road]," Bradley said. 45 Years Ago: Sept. 20, 1980 Junior Harry Oliver kicked what many consider the most famous field goal in Notre Dame history, a 51-yarder as time expired to defeat eventual Big Ten and Rose Bowl champion Michigan, 29-27. The Wolverines tallied off a tipped pass with only 41 seconds left in the contest for a 27-26 edge, but the missed two-point conversion left the door ajar for the Irish to win. Backed up at his 20, freshman quarterback Blair Kiel was inserted for the first time to run the shotgun offense. A 30-yard pass interference penalty jump-started the march into Michigan territory before Oliver, who missed a point after attempt earlier and had one career field goal (38 yards), entered. "We were allowed to use tees back then and I had a two-inch kicking block," Oliver, who passed away in 2007, recalled years later. "I couldn't see myself making one from that distance with the ball on the ground — and the goal posts have been narrowed to NFL size." 35 Years Ago: Sept. 15, 1990 In a rare night opener at home, No. 1 Notre Dame rallied to defeat No. 4 Michigan for the fourth consecutive year, 28-24. It also was the 18th straight home win for head coach Lou Holtz's Fighting Irish, the longest such streak in 40 years. Despite U-M's Jon Vaughn rushing for 201 yards and junior wide receiver Desmond Howard grabbing 44- and 25-yard touchdown passes from quar- terback Elvis Grbac, the Fighting Irish came back from a 24-14 deficit to post the victory. Sophomore quarterback Rick Mirer, making his first career start, completed 14 of 23 passes for 165 yards, highlighted by an 18-yard thread-the-needle scoring toss to Adrian Jarrell with 1:40 left in the contest that proved to be the game-winning points. Mirer made the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline "Golden Boy." 25 Years Ago: Sept. 16, 2000 Nicholas Setta became the first Irish kicker in 20 years — since Oliver in 1980 — to boot a game-winning field goal in Notre Dame Stadium, nailing the kick as time elapsed in a 23-21 conquest of Purdue. Setta's 38-yard field goal capped a 59-yard drive led by sophomore quar- terback and converted tight end Gary Godsey. Former starting quarterback Arnaz Battle had suffered a season-ending injury the week prior in an over- time loss to Nebraska. No. 13 Purdue, led by senior quarterback Drew Brees, would go to its second Rose Bowl in its history. But with many Notre Dame faithful donning "In Godsey We Trust" shirts, the new Irish QB completed 14 of 25 passes for 158 yards, and he also tallied on a nine-yard run for the game's first score. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Sept. 14-20 ✦ 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. ✦ Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. ✦ It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule! To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP and verify your delivery address with your local post office. DID YOU KNOW ... AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Blue & Gold Illustrated Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 (Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you. Junior kicker Harry Oliver delivered a 51-yard field goal as time expired to give Notre Dame a 29-27 win over eventual Big Ten and Rose Bowl cham- pion Michigan in 1980. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS