Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/219972
Under the Dome Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Dec. 4-11 65 Years Ago: Dec. 4, 1948 Notre Dame's school-record 21-game winning streak is snapped at USC, but the Irish finish unbeaten for the third straight year and through 28 games with a 14-14 tie against the Trojans. Notre Dame loses six fumbles and falls behind 14-7 with 2:30 remaining. Bill Gay then returns the USC kickoff 86 yards to the Trojan 13 to set up Emil "Six Yard" Sitko's one-yard scoring run with 35 seconds remaining. Steve Oracko's extra point — the two-point conversion wouldn't be a part of college football until 10 years later — salvages the tie. Already ranked behind No. 1 Michigan (9-0), Notre Dame finishes No. 2 with its 9-0-1 ledger. The Wolverines receive 197 first-place votes to Notre Dame's 92 in the final Associated Press vote. 60 Years Ago: Dec. 5, 1953 In what would be his final game as the Notre Dame head coach, Frank Leahy leads the Fighting Irish to its sixth unbeaten season in his 11 seasons with a 40-14 rout of SMU. Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lattner, who would become Leahy's fourth Heisman winner in 10 years, leads the charge with a game-high 84 rushing yards with a touchdown, adds a 24-yard catch for another score, and completes a 55-yard pass to Dan Shannon to set up what would be one of three short scoring runs by fullback Neil Worden. He also stars on defense, and his lone punt travels 47 yards. Only 45 years of age, Leahy would never walk the sidelines again. His 87-11-9 career record featured consensus national titles in 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1949, plus unbeaten seasons in 1941 (8-0-1), 1948 (9-0-1) and 1953 (9-0-1).