Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/377020
Junior walk-on Irish kicker Chuck Male, who grew up in nearby Misha- waka and transferred from Western Michigan, sets a single-game school record with four field goals (40, 44, 22 and 39 yards) in as many at- tempts, while senior Vagas Ferguson makes the cover of Sports Illustrated with his 118 yards rushing on 35 car- ries. Stealing the show, however, was sophomore middle linebacker Bob Crable in his first start. Replacing graduated All-American Bob Golic, Crable records 19 tackles. With six seconds left and Michigan setting up for the game-winning field goal from 42 yards, Crable then leaps on the back of Michigan snapper Mike Trgovac — which would be il- legal today — and launches himself about 10 feet high to block the kick with his left hip. "This is the biggest thrill of my coaching career," said Notre Dame head coach Dan Devine, who two years earlier won a national title. 10 Years Ago: Sept. 11, 2004 One week after Tyrone Willingham's Irish open with a 20-17 loss at Brigham Young, the third-year Notre Dame head coach sees his troops respond with a 28-20 victory at home versus No. 8 Michigan. The victory is spearheaded by the greatest debut ever by a Notre Dame freshman running back, with Darius Walker rushing for 115 yards, highlighted by six- and five-yard touchdown runs to spark a 21-point fourth quarter after trailing 9-0 at halftime. Playing without injured running back Ryan Grant at BYU, Notre Dame totaled 11 yards rushing and did not insert Walker, who made his first appearance during the second quarter versus the Wolverines. "A spark has a tendency to make everyone else do his job a little bit better," Willingham said. "All of a sudden, guys blocked just a little bit longer." — Lou Somogyi UNDER THE DOME Sophomore linebacker Bob Crable (43) blocked Michigan's game-winning field goal attempt in 1979 to secure Notre Dame's 12-10 victory. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Want to stay up-to-date with all the Irish news? Like Us On Facebook: www.facebook.com/blueandgoldillustrated Follow Us On Twitter: www.twitter.com/BGInews