Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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where have you gone? end Weber���s 35-yard catch of a perfectly placed and ultra-clutch pass from quarterback Tom Clements to help Notre Dame win the 1973 national title against No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. It is among the iconic plays in college football history ��� Roy Riegels��� running the wrong way, Cal���s kickoff return against Stanford, Doug Flutie���s Hail Mary against Miami, among others ��� especially with the national title hanging in the balance, just like it will this year between the Fighting Irish and Crimson Tide. Weber has a unique distinction of being the lone Notre Dame player to see game action in three victories against the Crimson Tide. He also appeared in the 1975 Orange Bowl victory (13-11) against the 11-0 Crimson Tide, and his last game in a Notre Dame uniform was as a fifth-year senior on Nov. 13, 1976, a 21-18 victory versus the Crimson Tide. He tore his MCL during the contest, thereby ending any of the NFL aspirations he had remaining. This Dec. 12, he was recovering from arthroscopic surgery performed on the same right knee (which has no cartilage left). ���After all these years, Alabama is still getting back at me with this knee,��� he said with a laugh. Path To Notre Dame Although Weber attended Dallas Jesuit and was raised in a Catholic household, his knowledge of Notre Dame didn���t begin until his sophomore year in high school when the Fighting Irish broke their 45-year bowl ban to play No. 1 Texas in the 1970 Cotton Bowl. The game was in Dallas, and the ex- posure helped Notre Dame broaden its base a little more into the Lone Star State, especially when the Irish returned to the Cotton Bowl again the following year to end Texas��� 30-game winning streak. ���I started following Ara Parseghian, and I could not even begin to tell you how impressed I was with him,��� Weber recalled. ���I met Darrell Royal, Frank Broyles, Bear Bryant and John McKay on recruiting trips, but I was in awe of [Parseghian] ��� as I am today.��� The head coach served as one of several tipping points. ���I had no intention of going to Notre Dame, and they flew me up there in February when a blizzard was going on,��� Weber said. ���I learned about academics, no jock dorms, you room with students, ate the same food, and that just really appealed to me. I liked the fact that you were a student first.��� Weber played on the scout team as a 1972 freshman, but broke into the lineup in 1973 on special teams and doing mopup duty behind All-American Dave Casper at tight end. Then in the season���s sixth game, at halftime versus USC (which was sporting a 23-game unbeaten streak), Weber was stunned when Parseghian told him to stand next to him at the start of the second half. On Notre Dame���s first play of the second half, Weber said he was inserted for the first time that year in a double-tight end formation with Casper. The initial play was run toward Weber���s side ��� and resulted in an 85yard touchdown gallop by halfback Eric Penick that helped spark Notre Dame���s 23-14 victory and end a six-