Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE 50 OCT. 4, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED E arly season college games between Power Four conference members and less-talented opponents, es- pecially from the Football Champion- ship Subdivision, often go relatively un- noticed. They provide nice paydays for the FCS team, and often a severe defeat. But there was something unique about three such matchups early this sea so n . T h re e C a t h o l i c u n ive rs i - ties from the Eastern United States — Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Villanova in Philadelphia and Fordham in New York City — each met a natural rival, two of them for the first time in decades, re- calling a time when the three were regu- lars on the major college football scene. And each of the three was once the football coaching home of a Notre Dame Four Horseman. Elmer Layden guided Duquesne from 1927-33 before returning to Notre Dame as head coach. Jim Crowley was the top man at Fordham from 1933-41 and Harry Stuhldreher led Villanova from 1925-35 before taking over at Wisconsin. And in each case, the Horseman- turned-coach led the school to some of its most significant seasons for football success. (The fourth Horseman, Don Miller, was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and Ohio State before turning his attention full-time to his law career, which eventually brought him to serv- ing as a respected federal judge.) ELMER LAYDEN DUQUESNE, 1927-33 48-16-6 Record On Aug. 30, Pittsburgh met cross- town rival Duquesne for the first time in 86 years, scoring a 61-9 victory be- fore 53,006 at the former Heinz Field. In their last meeting, at Pitt Stadium on Oct. 21, 1939, the Dukes pulled off a shocking upset of the No. 1-ranked Panthers, 21-13. Was that what got them removed from Pitt's schedule? That Duquesne team was the first since 1926 with a head coach from somewhere other than Notre Dame. Af- ter Layden's tenure, Joe Bach and Chris- tie Flanagan each led the Dukes for a season, then John "Clipper" Smith had a three-year run, including an Orange Bowl championship team in 1936. Layden's stint included an undefeated season, 9-0-1, in 1929, when the Dukes' only blemish was a 7-7 tie at West Vir- ginia. In Layden's final season in the Steel City, he led Duquesne to a 10-1 season, defeating West Virginia, 19-7, and losing only to Pitt, 7-0. The Dukes played in the Festival of Palms Bowl, a precursor to the Orange Bowl, crushing the Miami Hurricanes, 33-7. JIM CROWLEY FORDHAM, 1933-41 56-13-7 Record Another 2025 season opener saw Boston College drill fellow Jesuit school Fordham to the tune of 66-10 before 41,221 at Chestnut Hill. It was the schools' first meeting since 1954, and BC led the all-time series just 14-11-2 coming into this year's game. Crowley's Fordham teams, consistently ranked in the top 15 nationally, won all three of their matchups with the Eagles, a 32-6 romp in 1933 and a pair of shutouts – 6-0 and 19-0 – in 1934 and 1935. Crowley's strongest Fordham teams were his last two, in 1940 and 1941. The '40 Rams defeated West Virginia, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Purdue and Arkansas, going 7-1 before being edged 13-12 by Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to finish No. 12 in the Associated Press rankings. In 1941, Crowley's team fin- ished sixth in the country at 8-1, with an unusual 2-0 victory over Missouri in the Sugar Bowl less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Crowley then left Fordham to join the U.S. Navy and serve in World War II, coaching service teams. HARRY STUHLDREHER VILLANOVA, 1925-35 65-25-9 Record On Sept. 13, Villanova — then ranked No. 11 among FCS schools — ventured into Happy Valley to take on No. 2 Penn State, and the Nittany Lions prevailed, 52-6, in front of 109,516 fans at Beaver Stadium. Villanova, consistently strong in the FCS rankings, has played Penn State recently, dropping a 38-17 decision in 2021. That came 70 years after their last previous meeting, on Oct.6, 1951, when the Wildcats prevailed, 20-14, at Allen- town (Pa.) High School Stadium. Stuhldreher had Villanova winning regularly, including 7-2 seasons in 1932 and 1935. In 1932, the Wildcats posted wins over Boston College and Temple, losing only to South Carolina and De- troit, coached by former Notre Dame great Gus Dorais. Three Horsemen Once Coached Successful Catholic College Teams Elmer Layden compiled a mark of 48-16-6 as head coach at Duquesne from 1927-33. PHOTO COURTESY KNUTE ROCKNE MEMORIAL SOCIETY Jim Crowley was head coach at Fordham from 1933- 41, amassing a record of 56-13-7. PHOTO COURTESY KNUTE ROCKNE MEMORIAL SOCIETY