Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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they thought would be an obvious running play with Rice. Alas, Graham threw an intercep- tion into the end zone to end the half, and later Rice was stopped short on a two-point conversion attempt in the 21-20 defeat. The Irish finished 8-4 and No. 17 in the country. Rice took control as the starter during the 1988 national title march, and Graham transferred to Ohio State a year later. 5. 1975: RICK SLAGER & JOE MONTANA In the first seven games of Devine's debut season — the year after three- year starting quarterback Tom Cle- ments graduated — the senior Slager started four times and the sopho- more Montana three before he suf- fered a season-ending hand injury. Montana became "The Peoples Choice" in relief during comeback wins against Northwestern, North Carolina and Air Force, but he fal- tered as a starter with a 1-2 mark, throwing eight interceptions in his 66 attempts that year. This included an interception into the end zone from near the one-yard line in a 10-3 loss to Michigan State. Montana also finished 3-of-11 pass- ing for 25 yards and two intercep- tions in a home loss to USC. The Irish finished 8-3 and out of the final Associated Press rankings for the first time in 12 years. Two seasons later — after missing 1976 because of shoulder surgery — Montana came off the bench as a third team QB to help win the national title. ✦ Joe Montana was favored by fans because of his performance off the bench in 1975, but he struggled as a starter, including tossing eight interceptions in his 66 overall attempts. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS