Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/216396
and the University of Texas in Austin. Harper gave his tired team five days off." Two Victories Within One Week Harper had agreed to play Christian Brothers in St. Louis on Saturday, Nov. 22, and then travel directly to Austin, Texas for a season-ending Thanksgiving Day showdown with the Longhorns five days later on Nov. 27. Christian Brothers had not lost in two seasons, while Texas would be on a 12game winning streak by the time Notre Dame came to town. In St. Louis, a 400-mile trip by rails, Harper chose to rest his starters early against Christian Brothers, partly to conserve some energy for the Texas finale, and also in an effort to protect Dorais from an injury sustained in practice. Intense rain made the field a quagmire, and Christian Brothers scored on a 25-yard fumble return to take a 7-0 halftime lead. With the starters inserted in full, Notre Dame tied the game in the third quarter on an Eichenlaub run, and then in the fourth quarter Dorais returned a punt for a 60-yard score and added a 25-yard scoring jaunt in the 20-7 victory. It was another conquest that had to be earned more through grit than finesse, even though Notre Dame's passing attack was receiving the majority of publicity. Another 840 railroad miles later, Notre Dame arrived in Austin to confront a 7-0 Texas team that in the previous two weeks defeated archrival Oklahoma 14-6 and crushed Kansas A&M (now Kansas State) 46-0, leading their fans to claim how the Longhorns "have the best team ever produced in the southwest," according to Maggio. Not leaving anything to chance, Harper had Notre Dame take its own water supply to Austin. Similar to the game at St. Louis, several days of rain had made the Texas field muddy and slow, but once again Dorais could not be stopped. The quarterback who would become Notre Dame's first consensus All-American demonstrated his versatility by kicking three field goals (in seven attempts) — a feat that would not be duplicated by an Irish kicker until 58 years later by Bob Thomas. Notre Dame's three touchdowns in its 29-7 victory came on a 15-yard run by Dorais, a short run by Eichenlaub and a Rupe Mills interception return right in the shadow of Texas' goal line. Notre Dame had plenty to be thankful when it capped its 7-0 season. It had set a standard of national scheduling, proven that it can compete with the finest across the land and created a future template for itself. Harper's Notre Dame Express with Captain Rockne spent more than a week in railroad cars in November 1913 while covering 5,000-plus miles. A little more than a decade later, head coach Rockne's Notre Dame teams would become even more famous for their travel, leading sportswriters to refer to his teams in the 1920s as the "Ramblers." The tradition actually began 100 years ago in 1913 — as did so many other elements that have made Notre Dame one of the most famous brands in American athletics history. ✦