Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: Sept. 26-Oct. 8 50 Years Ago: Sept. 29, 1962 Fourth-year Notre Dame head coach Joe Kuharich improves his record to 4‑0 in season openers with a 13-7 victory against the iconic Bud Wilkinson and his Oklahoma Sooners. The conquest also makes the Irish 3-0 all time in games played in Norman, Okla. Especially amazing is the beleaguered Kuharich, 12-18 in his first three seasons, is the first Irish coach since Knute Rockne (1918-30) to go unblemished in openers after having coached a minimum of three seasons. With the score tied 7-7, senior quarterback Daryle Lamonica directs the go-ahead score on the opening possession of the second half — 89 yards, 19 plays, 11:35 elapsed, the latter believed to be a school record. “You usually can’t run 19 plays in a dummy scrimmage without making a mistake,” marvels Kuharich of the drive that ended with fullback Bill Ahern’s nine-yard run. In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma marches to a first down at the Irish 3-yard line, but on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Notre Dame guard/linebacker Frank Minik recovers a fumbled Sooners pitchout at the 12 to preserve the win. 40 Years Ago: Sept. 30, 1972 Sophomore quarterback Tom Clements makes his first start in Notre Dame Stadium after struggling with his passing — 4 of 11 for 42 yards with two interceptions — in the opening-game win at Northwestern. With a strong Purdue defense — led by future NFL stars Dave Butz and Gregg Bingham — loading up the front and daring the Irish to pass, Clements throws 39- and 62-yard touchdown passes in the first half to tight end Mike Creaney and split end Willie Townsend, respectively. The Irish lead 35-0 at the end of the third before coasting to the 35-14 victory. Clements finishes 17-of-24 passing for 287 yards, while classmate Eric Penick’s 12 carries net 133 yards. 35 Years Ago: Oct. 1, 1977 Senior Joe Montana, the third-team quarterback at the start of the campaign, makes his first start in two seasons after rallying the Irish to victory a week earlier at Purdue. With Notre Dame trailing 24‑14 against the Boilermakers, Montana was inserted in the fourth quarter and completed 9 of 14 passes for 154 yards with a score in the 31-24 triumph. Ironically, Montana’s start comes against Michigan State. His first-ever start in 1975 also came against the Spartans and resulted in a 10-3 loss. The Irish offense sputters again, with Montana completing only 8 of 23 pass attempts for 105 yards with three interceptions. Despite six Irish turnovers (Michigan State had “only” four), the Irish defense, led by linebacker Bob Golic’s 18 tackles and one interception, makes a late goal-line stand and emerges victorious in the 16‑6 slugfest. Notre Dame’s scores come on three Dave Reeve field goals (one from 51 yards) and a nine-yard scoring run by fullback David Mitchell in the second quarter. A preseason favorite to win the national title, Notre Dame had fallen from No. 3 to No. 11 to No. 14 after the first three games, but improves to 3-1 after conquering the Spartans. Nevertheless, third-year head coach Dan Devine remains on the hot seat, and “Dump Devine” bumper stickers for $1 are even sold outside Notre Dame Stadium before their removal from the premises. — Lou Somogyi Gimme Five On Sept. 15, head coach Brian Kelly achieved his first victory at Notre Dame against an Associated Press top-10 team, 20-3 at No. 10 Michigan State. It was the first time in seven years Notre Dame defeated a top-10 foe, or since Sept. 10, 2005, with a 17-10 victory at No. 3 Michigan. The Irish had been 0-9 thereafter in such games until the win at Michigan State. Since the start of the AP poll in 1936, every Notre Dame head coach had recorded a victory over a top-10 ranked team in his first two years. It didn’t occur for Kelly until his third season. However, Kelly had faced only one such team in his first two years, a 28-14 loss at No. 4 Stanford in the 2011 regular-season finale. Here are the five Notre Dame coaches since the start of the poll with the most victories against an AP top-10 team, at the time of the game, and his overall record in such contests: CoachRecord 1. Lou Holtz (1986-96)21-15-1 2. Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946-53)19-3-1 3t. Ara Parseghian (1964-74)10-9-3 3t. Dan Devine (1975-80)10-7 5. Terry Brennan (1954-58)4-7 Note: Knute Rockne coached from 1918-30, prior to the AP poll. Getting To Know … Sophomore Safety Matthias Farley Nickname: “King Matthias or Ma-thee-thee.” Major: “Film & Television.” Dorm: “Dillon.” Favorite Class: “My film production class this summer.” Favorite Off-Campus Spot: “We’re always at Eddy Street at Chipotle.” Best Movie You’ve Seen Lately: “Batman was a pretty good one.” TV Show You Can’t Miss: “I never got into TV shows.” Role Model: “My father Mark Farley. He’s a faithful man. He’s been there for all of us.” Favorite Pro Athlete: “I’m a big fan of [Carolina Panthers quarterback] Cam Newton. I’m from North Carolina.” Best Player You’ve Played Against: “Last year on scout team, I had to go against Harrison [Smith] and [Robert] Blanton. Those guys are impossible to get off of.” Dream Job If Football Didn’t Exist: “I would love to do something on ESPN, maybe an analyst job.” You Have One Last Meal, What Is It?: “If the diet no longer counts I would have the Cowboy ribeye from Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, mashed potatoes and mint chocolate chip ice cream.”