Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546785
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 3, 2026 15 95 Years Ago: Oct. 3, 1931 For the first time in 21 years, the Notre Dame foot- ball program was without Knute Rockne. "Rock" was an end (1910-13), an assistant coach to head coach Jesse Harper (1914-17), and then succeeded Harper as head coach (1918-30) before perishing in a plane crash on March 31, 1931. Assistants Hunk Ander- son and Jack Chevigny were given the titles "senior coach" and "junior coach," respectively. With the Great Depression in full swing, only 12,098 were in attendance in Bloomington, Ind., to witness a 25-0 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers. Joe Sheekestski scored the first and only touchdown of the first half on a 70-yard run before the two-time reigning national champions pulled away in the final 30 minutes. 85 Years Ago: Sept. 27, 1941 Frank Leahy, a 1931 Notre Dame graduate, made his coaching debut at his alma mater with a 38-7 victory against Arizona that was played in front of a scant paid attendance of 19,567 at Notre Dame Stadium. The dynamic 33-year-old Leahy went against con- vention as sophomore left halfback Angelo Bertelli completed a then-unheard-of 6 of 7 passes in the first quarter alone, high- lighted by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Bob Dove. Later in the year, Bertelli became the first player for the Fighting Irish to pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season. 80 Years Ago: Sept. 28, 1946 The four-year post-World War II dynasty at Notre Dame began with a 26-6 victory at Illinois over a powerful team that would go on to win the Big Ten and finish fifth in the Associated Press poll. Among the many returning WWII veterans for Notre Dame were quarterback John Lujack and lineman Ziggy Czarobski; stars who had previously played for wartime programs such as Great Lakes (running backs Emil Sitko and Jim Mello, among others); lineman George Connor, who transferred from Holy Cross to Notre Dame after the war; Bronze Star recipient "Jungle Jim" Martin, a 22-year- old freshman end; and a dynamic freshman class led by end Leon Hart. The victory at Illinois came in front of a capacity audience of 75,119. Four different Irish players — Mello, Bob Livingstone, Terry Brennan and Corwin Clatt — scored touchdowns, while Mike Swistowicz recorded 2 interceptions. 60 Years Ago: Oct. 1, 1966 Third-year head coach Ara Parseghian returned to his former stomping grounds in Evanston, Ill., where he coached Northwestern from 1956-63 before accepting the Notre Dame position, and watched his No. 4 Irish roll to an easy 35-7 victory over the Wildcats. Parseghian was 4-0 against Notre Dame as the Northwestern coach — and then would be 8-0 versus Northwestern as the Irish coach. A week after reeling in a single-game school-record 13 passes for 276 yards (and 3 touchdowns) in a win over No. 8 Purdue, sophomore wideout Jim Seymour encountered double coverage and was "limited" to 9 catches for 141 yards. Halfback Nick Eddy opened the scoring on a 56-yard run, and Notre Dame finished with 200 rushing yards and 225 passing yards. The defense allowed 159 yards overall and was led by linebacker John Pergine's 11 tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass broken up, 1 blocked punt and 1 fumble recovery. 25 Years Ago: Sept. 29, 2001 For the first time in its 114-year history, Notre Dame began a season 0-3 after a 24-3 loss at Texas A&M. Sophomore quarterback Carlyle Holiday made his first career start, supplanting classmate Matt LoVecchio, but the Irish managed only 191 yards of total offense. Holiday completed 6 of 13 passes with 2 interceptions, while LoVecchio in relief was 6-of-12 passing for only 48 yards with 1 interception. Embattled head coach Bob Davie, who 10 months earlier received a five-year contract extension through 2005 from AD Kevin White, was summoned to White's office later in the week and was told that a reevaluation was forthcoming. 10 Years Ago: Oct. 1, 2016 The first five minutes of the matchup between Notre Dame and Syracuse at East Rutherford, N.J., produced 5 touchdowns between the two teams. On the first play from scrimmage, Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer found wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown for a 79-yard touchdown. After the Or- ange went 75 yards on 8 plays in 2:06 to score their first touchdown, the Irish blocked the extra point and returned it for a defensive two-point conversion and a 9-6 lead. Kizer and St. Brown then connected on a 67-yard touchdown to put the Irish up 16-6 3:37 into the game. It took only 1:06 for Syracuse to bounce back with a 72-yard scoring pass of its own, only to see Notre Dame wide receiver CJ Sanders return the kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and a 23-13 Irish lead with 10:06 still to go in the first quarter. The Irish took a 33-27 lead at halftime, and the defense tightened up its tackling while limiting the Orange to six points in the second half en route to a 50-33 victory. Kizer threw for a career-best 471 yards with 3 touchdowns and added 1 rushing score, while St. Brown had 4 catches for 182 yards and 2 touch- downs. Wide receiver Kevin Stepherson added a 54-yard touchdown recep- tion and running back Dexter Williams contributed a 59-yard touchdown run to help the Irish win the shootout. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Sept. 27-Oct. 3 ✦ 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. CJ Sanders' 93-yard kickoff return touchdown capped a 36-point explosion by Notre Dame (23) and Syracuse (13) in the first five minutes of a game won 50-33 by the Irish on Oct. 1, 2016. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS