Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 12, 2026 13 45 Years Ago: Sept. 12, 1981 Gerry Faust made his coaching debut at No. 4 Notre Dame with a 27-9 victory at home versus LSU in a game where he ro- tated incumbent sophomore quarterback Blair Kiel with fifth-year senior Tim Koegel, who starred for Faust at Cincinnati Moeller High School. Kiel (3-of-6 passing for 29 yards with 2 interceptions) tossed a touchdown to fullback Larry Moriarty on the opening series, but Koegel finished 6-of-7 passing for 101 yards with no interceptions, and his 6-yard scoring toss to fellow Moeller graduate Dave Condeni gave Notre Dame a 27-3 cushion in the third quarter. Another Moeller product, Tony Hunter, moved from receiver to wingback, where he carried 11 times for 42 yards and 1 touchdown and caught 2 passes for 40 yards. After No. 1 Michigan's loss at home to Wisconsin, Notre Dame was elevated all the way to No. 1. History repeated itself because 27 years earlier (1954), another first-year head coach, 26-year-old Terry Brennan, moved from No. 2 to No. 1 after just one game, following a 21-0 blanking at home against No. 4 Texas. "I think I'll retire now," Faust joked to members of the media after his Fight- ing Irish moved to No. 1 that Monday. 35 Years Ago: Sept. 7, 1991 In Notre Dame's first game under the NBC contract, which gave the net- work exclusive rights to the home contests, the Fighting Irish rolled up 578 yards of total offense (327 rushing and 251 passing) in near 90-degree heat to defeat Indiana 49-27. The top highlight was a 58-yard touchdown connection between junior quarterback Rick Mirer and junior tight end Irv Smith, both future first- round picks, to extend the lead to 42-20. Smith was hit at the Indiana 25 but dragged one Hoosier defender the final 20 yards and hauled two more over the final few yards to score. 25 Years Ago: Sept. 12, 2001 Notre Dame's scheduled game at Purdue on Sept. 15 was postponed shortly after the Sept. 11 al Qaeda attacks on the nation that took 2,977 lives at New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and from the four plane crashes orchestrated by 19 members of the terrorist organization. The game was rescheduled for Dec. 1 in West Lafayette. It marked the first time a Notre Dame football game had been can- celed since Nov. 23, 1963, at Iowa, one day after President John F. Kennedy was assas- sinated in Dallas. 20 Years Ago: Sept. 9, 2006 Quarterback Brady Quinn threw touch- down passes to wide receivers Jeff Sa- mardzija, Rhema McKnight and running back Darius Walker while leading No. 4 Notre Dame to a 41-17 victory over No. 19 Penn State in South Bend. A Heisman- hyped quarterback, Quinn was 12-of-16 passing for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second quarter alone as the Irish opened a 20-0 lead. "I thought Brady Quinn was a heck of a football player coming in and he didn't do anything to change my mind," legendary Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said after the game. After Quinn's hot first half, the Irish defense and special teams put the game away. Safety Tom Zbikowski returned a fumble for a 25-yard touch- down and Travis Thomas — a running back turned starting linebacker — set up his own 1-yard touchdown run with a 43-yard run on a fake punt. Five Years Ago: Sept. 11, 2021 With No. 8 Notre Dame down five points to underdog Toledo with less than two minutes remaining, graduate quarterback Jack Coan rallied the Irish to a 32-29 victory over the Rockets. Coan found senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. for a gain of 34 yards on the first play of the two-minute drill. Then he hit sophomore tight end Mi- chael Mayer for 6 more. Two penalties pushed the ball to the Toledo 18-yard line. Coan then found Mayer for the game-winning touchdown. "We just like Jack's experience," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said. "He's been there before. Not that Tyler [Buchner] couldn't have done it. If you're looking for in the moment, trying to win the game, it just made more sense to go with a guy that's been there with that experience." Coan finished the contest 21-of-33 passing for 239 yards with 2 touch- downs and an interception, rescuing the Irish after a sloppy afternoon of football. Notre Dame turned the ball over three times and Toledo scored 17 points off those giveaways. "You don't usually survive those games and win when you do that," Kelly noted. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Sept. 6-12 ✦ 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. Notre Dame celebrated its debut on NBC as its exclusive televi- sion home for its games in South Bend by routing Indiana 49-27 on Sept. 7, 1991. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS