Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Florida State was No. 1, but there was conversation that the winner that weekend between No. 2 Auburn and No. 3 Mississippi State might leapfrog the Seminoles for the top spot. Regardless of what the polls will say when Notre Dame clashes with Flor- ida State Oct. 18 in Tallahassee, Fla., a victory by head coach Brian Kelly's troops would qualify as the most epic at Notre Dame since … well, Nov. 13, 1993, which also happened to be ver- sus a No. 1 Florida State squad. THE GREAT 8 (OR 9) Notre Dame is No. 1 in football for most victories against No. 1 with eight, while Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Purdue and USC are tied with seven apiece. Three of Purdue's victories are against the Irish. Alabama has six, most re- cently versus Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game in January 2013. However, there is a caveat. The NCAA in- cludes only the AP and does not take into ac- count any other polls. That means the Irish football program does not receive any credit for defeating UPI No. 1 and 11-0 Alabama in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1975, head coach Ara Parseghian's final game at Notre Dame. No. 1 in the AP poll that year was 11-0 Oklahoma. However, the Sooners were on NCAA probation at the time, thereby making them ineligible for a bowl game and to be ranked in the coaches' UPI poll. So even though the Irish defeated the Crimson Tide 13-11, the NCAA does not "officially" consider it a victory against No. 1 because it wasn't the AP poll. Here are the eight "official" Irish football victories against No. 1, chronologically, as recognized by the NCAA: Nov. 21, 1936: Northwestern (26‑6) — In the first year of the AP poll, head coach Elmer Layden's Irish got a mea- sure of revenge after the Wildcats had cost them the national title a year ear- lier. In 1935, Notre Dame was 6-0 and coming off the epic 18-13 upset win at Ohio State, only to lose at home in the rain the following week to North- western. Jan. 1, 1971: Texas (24‑11) — The Longhorns' 30-game winning streak was snapped in the Cot- ton Bowl, but the 10-1 Irish finished No. 2 to 11-0-1 Nebraska. Dec. 31, 1973: Ala‑ bama (24‑23) — This pulsating Sugar Bowl with seven lead changes finally saw the Irish emerge with a one-point conquest to be declared c o n s e n s u s n a t i o n a l champs. Jan. 2, 1978: Texas ( 3 8 ‑ 1 0 ) — R e m a r k - ably, Notre Dame leap- frogged from No. 5 to No. 1 with this blowout of the 11-0 Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl again. Nov. 6, 1982: Pitt (31‑16) — A In his final game as Notre Dame's head coach, Ara Parseghian led the Irish to a victory over UPI No. 1 and 11-0 Alabama in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1975. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS