Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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45 Years Ago: Nov. 17, 1969 Two days after a 38-20 victory at Georgia Tech, 7-1-1 and No. 9-ranked Notre Dame ends a 45-year ban on bowl games by accepting an invitation to the Cotton Bowl, which will be played Jan. 1, 1970. Its op- ponent would be the winner of the Dec. 6 showdown between unbeaten Southwest Conference teams Texas and Arkansas. There were only 10 bowls at the time and they had been fairly irrelevant because the national title had been voted on at the end of the regular season. Hence, Notre Dame did not feel compelled to go to bowls in the past. But in 1968, the Associated Press decided to take its final vote after bowl games. The Irish players were given a vote and selected the Cotton over the Sugar, which would have No. 13-ranked Ole Miss, quarterbacked by Archie Manning, as the SEC representative. The chance to play a top-ranked team was the appeal with the Cotton. 25 Years Ago: Nov. 11, 1989 No. 1 Notre Dame's 59-6 rout of SMU — in its first year back from the NCAA's "Death Penalty" for repeated improprieties — is its 22nd consecutive win, a school record. Although the 1946-49 teams never lost in 38 games, they had two ties (Army in 1946 and USC in 1948) that sandwiched a 21-game winning streak. The Irish score 35 points in the second quarter, highlighted by Ricky Watters' school- record 97-yard punt return. The game gets so out of hand, Irish freshman tailback Rusty Setzer steps out of bounds near the SMU 7-yard line after a 22-yard run late in the fourth quarter to avoid scoring and give the appearance that the Irish are running it up. Notre Dame then takes delay of game penal- ties to move the ball back farther. "Coach [Lou] Holtz told us that we could run up and down the field, but he didn't want us to score," Setzer said after the game. "He told me he was proud of me for doing what I did." "To me, Notre Dame could be investigated for point-shaving," said Houston head coach Jack Pardee, whose team crushed SMU 95-21. — Lou Somogyi UNDER THE DOME 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 Lou Holtz and his 1989 team commemorated their school-record, 22-game winning streak after a 59-6 victory versus SMU. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS