Blue and Gold Illustrated

BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 1, 2025 13 95 Years Ago: Oct. 25, 1930 In Notre Dame's 35-19 victory at Pitt, head coach Knute Rockne's Fighting Irish ran what becomes known as "The Perfect Play" on their first snap from scrimmage. Decades ago, the late Beano Cook, a for- mer sports information director at the Uni- versity of Pittsburgh and the future "Pope of College Football," visited former Pitts- burgh Post-Gazette sports editor and col- umnist Al Abrams in his office. Cook noticed a framed photo in Abrams' office from the 1930 Notre Dame-Pitt game and inquired about its purpose. Abrams referred to it as "the perfect play" — a 59-yard touchdown run by All-America running back Marchy Schwartz on Notre Dame's opening play. "What made the play perfect?" asked Cook. "Every Pitt player was knocked on his can," replied Abrams. The victory in front of a sellout crowd of 66,586 at Pitt came against Dr. John B. "Jock" Sutherland's Panthers while Notre Dame would go on to win its second con- secutive national title under Rockne in 1930. 60 Years Ago: Oct. 23, 1965 One year after what many still consider the most painful defeat in Notre Dame history — the 20-17 loss at Southern Cal in the 1964 finale that cost No. 1 Notre Dame the consensus national title — the No. 7 Fighting Irish exacted vengeance with a 28-7 defeat of the No. 4 Trojans. All four Notre Dame starters in the backfield each rushed for more yards individually than Southern Cal 1965 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Garrett. The Irish defense held Garrett to 43 yards on 16 carries while the Trojans managed just 160 yards of total offense. Although the Irish completed only 2 passes for 19 yards, they amassed 308 rushing yards, highlighted by fullback Larry Conjar's 116 on 25 carries — and all 4 touchdowns. Meanwhile, halfback Nick Eddy gained 65 yards on 9 carries, halfback Bill Wolski compiled 64 yards on 15 carries and quarterback Bill Zloch added 50 on 12 attempts. 35 Years Ago: Oct. 20, 1990 In the final regular-season meeting of what had been an uninterrupted series from 1971-90 (other than 1986), No. 6 Notre Dame defeated No. 2 Miami, 29-20. The two superpowers had won the last three national titles (Miami in 1987 and 1989, and Notre Dame in 1988), and in the process it became college football's most heated and hostile rivalry, leading the Fighting Irish administration to put the kibosh on it for a cooling-down period (the two would not meet again until the 2010 Sun Bowl). Sophomore Craig Hentrich set a single-game school record by kicking 5 field goals, and junior Raghib "Rocket" Ismail electrified the audience with a 94-yard kickoff return that helped knot the game at 10. Ismail was inserted at tailback in the fourth quarter, and his 13 carries for 100 yards help seal the win, along with a dump-off pass from quarterback Rick Mirer to fullback Rodney Culver for a 21-yard score with 6:16 left in the contest. 20 Years Ago: Oct. 22, 2005 One week after the heartbreaking 34-31 loss at home to No. 1 Southern Cal, the No. 9 Irish responded with a 49-23 drubbing of BYU, which had defeated Notre Dame a year earlier in the opener. Quarterback Brady Quinn tossed a school-record 6 touchdown passes while completing 32 of 41 throws for 467 yards. Wide receiver Maurice Stovall also set single-game school marks for receptions (14) and touchdown catches (4) while totaling 207 receiving yards. Overshadowed was Jeff Samardzija adding 10 catches for 152 yards and 2 scores. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Oct. 19-Nov. 1 All-American running back Marchy Schwartz notched a 59-yard touchdown run on Notre Dame's opening play of a 35-19 victory at Pitt on Oct. 25, 1930, in what became known as "the perfect play." FILE PHOTO Women's Basketball Ranked No. 15 In Preseason AP Top 25 Notre Dame will begin the 2025-26 women's basketball season as the No. 15 team in the Associated Press poll, which was released Oct. 14. The Fighting Irish also have the ACC Preseason Player of the Year in junior guard Hannah Hidalgo, who won the league's player of the year award as a sophomore. The AP Top 25 ranking might be viewed by some as a generous one for the Irish, who lost many of last season's key contributors to the WNBA and transfer portal. The losses include draftees Sonia Citron, Maddy Westbeld and Liatu King, as well as former five-star signees Olivia Miles and Kate Koval. Hidalgo is far and away the team's leader and No. 1 scoring option. She's going to need a lot of the pieces Notre Dame plucked from the portal to come into their own and round out the regular lineup. Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said at the ACC Tipoff earlier this month that she's confident that will happen. "We just brought in the right pieces that fit our culture," Ivey said. "But just their work ethic, their experience, and everyone has gotten better. I think that's something I'm really excited about. Everybody has come in working on a different skill that's going to help us succeed this season." In two seasons at Notre Dame so far, Hidalgo has aver- aged 23.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.2 steals per game. Where there is a Hidalgo, there is a way, no matter what the roster looks like around her. Just how much that roster is capable of will present itself as the season gets going and goes along. Notre Dame opens the regular season against Fairleigh Dickinson at home Nov. 5. — Tyler Horka Markus Burton Named To Preseason All-ACC First Team Notre Dame junior point guard Markus Burton made the Preseason All-ACC first team for the second straight year, the conference announced Oct. 14. Forty-six out of 49 total voters put Burton on their ballots. Burton tied for third with Syracuse (and former Notre Dame) guard J.J. Starling for third in ACC Preseason Player of the Year voting, with both backcourt stars earning two votes each. The Mishawaka, Ind., native was tabbed second-team All-ACC last season, despite leading the league in scoring with 21.3 points per game. As a team, Notre Dame was picked 10th out of 18 teams in the conference. The Irish finished tied with four other teams for ninth in the league last season at 8-12 (15-18 overall). Burton, who was courted by interested parties to enter the transfer portal after the 2024-25 season ended, de- cided to stay at least one more year in South Bend. The Irish are glad he did, because no guard in the conference received as many All-ACC votes as the 6-foot superstar. Burton hopes to lead Notre Dame to more team suc- cess after finishing below .500 in each of his first two sea- sons, which were also head coach Micah Shrewsberry's first two years at the helm. Shrewsberry brought in the No. 10 freshman class in the country, according to Rivals, led by top-20 recruit Jalen Haralson. — Jack Soble

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