Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 8, 2025 13 90 Years Ago: Nov. 2, 1935 Unbeaten Notre Dame improved to 6-0 and became the front-runner to win the national title after a miraculous 18-13 comeback win at Ohio State. The Irish victory in front of a capacity audience of 81,018 snapped the heavily favored Buckeyes' 10-game winning streak during which they had outscored opponents 381-46. Notre Dame trailed 13-0 in the fourth quarter when Irish halfback Andy Pilney's 47-yard punt return set up a short touchdown drive to narrow the margin to 13-6. With three minutes left, Pilney led an 80-yard march with 40- and 15-yard completions, the latter for a score to Mike Layden, younger brother of head coach Elmer Layden. After Ohio State recovered the onside kick with 1:30 left, Pilney and Henry Pojman combined on a hit that forced a fumble the Irish recovered near midfield. Pilney then took the snap and ran 30 yards to the Buckeyes' 19 in the final play of his collegiate career because he tore ligaments in his knee. Two plays later, after a dropped interception by OSU, and with 32 sec- onds left, quarterback Bill Shakespeare threw a pass about 35 yards in the air that Irish end Wayne Millner grabbed in the end zone for the stunning win. During football's centennial year in 1969, Sport mag- azine surveyed dozens of distinguished football people on the greatest game ever played. This game would be voted No. 1 on the collegiate level, with the 1958 NFL Championship Game between Baltimore and New York and the 1967 "Ice Bowl" between Green Bay and Dallas the top two overall. 80 Years Ago: Nov. 3, 1945 The toughness of Notre Dame fullback Elmer Angsman was displayed when the No. 2 Fighting Irish and No. 3 Navy played to a 6-6 stalemate. During a carry early in the first quarter, Angsman took an elbow to the mouth that knocked out his four upper front teeth and jammed the lower four into the upper gum. The other four were taken out, as was another loose one, plus two more broken at the roots. In all, 11 teeth were removed along the sidelines while he was spurting blood. The future NFL star then returned to the game and played 54 of the pos- sible 60 minutes on offense and defense. 50 Years Ago: Nov. 8, 1975 Fullback Jerome Heavens set a Notre Dame freshman single-game rushing record with 148 yards on 18 carries, highlighted by a 73-yard touchdown run, during a 24-3 victory at home versus Georgia Tech. However, that was overshadowed by the insertion of 27-year-old senior walk-on Rudy Ruettiger for the final play when he recorded a 5-yard sack. His story would be made into a Hollywood production 18 years later. 20 Years Ago: Nov. 5, 2005 One week after signing a 10-year contract extension through 2015, first- year Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis saw his Fighting Irish improve to 6-2 with a 41-21 victory at home versus Tennessee. Safety Tom Zbikowski headlined the charge by returning a punt for a 78- yard score to go with a 33-yard tally off an intercep- tion. He became the first Irish player since Nick Rassas in 1965 to score off a punt and an interception in the same game. Yet the main story continued to center on Weis' con- tract, which was described anywhere from premature to racist by national columnists because of the firing of Black head coach Tyrone Willingham after only three seasons despite winning 10 of his first 11 games at Notre Dame in 2002. Five Years Ago: Nov. 7, 2020 In the most anticipated game at Notre Dame Stadium in more than a decade, the No. 4-ranked Fighting Irish knocked off No. 1 Clemson 47-40 in a double-overtime thriller. It was Notre Dame's ninth win over an Associ- ated Press No. 1 team in program history, and ended the Tigers' 36-game regular-season winning streak. The Irish scored on the first official play of the game on a 65-yard run by running back Kyren Williams and led the Tigers for a majority of the contest, but Clem- son rallied to take a 33-26 lead with 3:33 left in the fourth quarter. After an exchange of punts, quarterback Ian Book and the Irish took over on their own 9-yard line at the 1:48 mark. Book then led the Irish on an eight-play, 91-yard drive, highlighted by a 53-yard pass to Avery Davis to get the Irish in the red zone. Three plays later, Book connected with Davis again on a 4-yard pass for a touchdown to tie the game with 22 seconds left. After falling behind 40-33, the Irish got a pair of 3-yard touchdown runs from Williams. The Irish defense sealed the victory by recording back-to-back sacks — one by linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and the other by defensive end Daelin Hayes. Owusu-Koramoah was huge all game long, posting a team-high 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery that he returned 23 yards for his first career touchdown. Williams finished with 140 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries, and Book completed 22 of 39 passes for 310 yards with 1 touchdown while also compiling 68 yards on the ground. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Nov. 2-8 ✦ 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 – Friday, 10 am to 4 pm) We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah made a team-high 9 tackles and returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown to help No. 4 Notre Dame upset Clemson 47-40 in double overtime on Nov. 7, 2020. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS