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Rockne's Roundtable
October 28, 2009 The Given Day
by LOU SOMOGYI
Senior Editor
After five straight nail-biters, Notre Dame is expected to cruise to an easy victory this Saturday against 1-6 Washington State, a 30-point underdog.
Even San Diego State last year was only a 21-point underdog against Notre Dame in the 2008 opener. The Aztecs had not posted a winning season since 1998, would finish 2-10, and began its season with a home loss to Cal Polytechnic State University. Yet the Irish had to rally in the fourth quarter to pull out a 21-13 victory.
Nevertheless, there have been many situations and better Notre Dame teams than the 2009 edition that suffered upsets that reverberated on campus or nationally. Here’s our “Dirty Dozen” countdown, subjectively ranked by shock value at the time:
12. Dec. 4, 1948: USC 14, Notre Dame 14 — We rated this 12th because it wasn’t a loss in a traditionally tough rivalry game on the road. Yet the Irish were still a four-touchdown favorite. Two-time defending national champ Notre Dame entered the game with a 27-game unbeaten streak, while USC would finish the year 6-3-1.
Despite a mediocre season in 2008, few if any predicted a loss to lowly Syracuse.
The Trojans went ahead 14-7 with two minutes left, but Bill Gay returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards to the USC 13, and the Irish scored a TD and kicked the extra point (the two-point play wouldn’t be a part of college football until 10 years later) to come away with a tie.
11. Nov. 6, 1976: Georgia Tech 23, Notre Dame 14 — George Tech was 3-4-1 after getting hammered the previous week at Duke, 31-7. Notre Dame featured a defense, led by Ross Browner, Bob Golic and Luther Bradley, that a week earlier set a school record for playing the most consecutive quarters (21) without yielding a touchdown.
Yet … Georgia Tech stunned 6-1 and No. 11 Notre Dame, 23-14 — without completing a pass.
10. Oct. 11, 1952: Pitt 22, Notre Dame 19 – A week before this game, No. 8 Notre Dame won at No. 5 Texas, 14-3, while Pitt was crushed by Oklahoma, 49-20. The Panthers were 3-7 a year earlier and now were under the direction of a new coach, Red Dawson.
Yet 13-point underdog Pitt managed to upset Frank Leahy’s Irish, 22-19 in Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame finished No. 3 that year, while Pitt was 6-3.
9. Nov. 20, 1993: Boston College 41, Notre Dame 39 — Notre Dame was 10-0 and ranked No. 1. Plus, it had annihilated Boston College a year earlier, 54-7. Head coach Tom Coughlin’s Eagles were on a seven-game winning streak and would finish 9-3 and No. 13 nationally — but they were still a double-digit underdog on the road to an Irish team that had just upset No. 1 Florida State.
Although the Irish rallied from a 38-17 fourth-quarter deficit to take the lead, Boston College won on David Gordon’s 41-yard field goal as time elapsed … and Notre Dame football hasn’t been the same since then.
8. Oct. 2, 1954: Purdue 27, Notre Dame 14 – The Irish were 9-0-1 the previous year while Purdue finished 2-7. Notre Dame also vaulted to No. 1 under first-year head coach Terry Brennan this season after defeating No. 4 Texas in the opener, 21-0.
But Boilermakers quarterback Len Dawson propelled an upset at Notre Dame Stadium with four TD passes – Notre Dame’s lone loss of 1954. Purdue finished 5-3-1.
7. Nov. 22, 2008: Syracuse 24, Notre Dame 23 — Granted, this wasn’t a premier Notre Dame team, yet the Irish were still a 21-point favorite at home against the 2-8 Orange that had lost at home to Akron, 42-28, and had just fired head coach Greg Robinson earlier in the week after a 39-14 loss at home to UConn.
Notre Dame held a 23-10 fourth-quarter advantage before Syracuse scored two touchdowns and became the first eight-loss team ever to vanquish the Irish.
6. Nov. 8, 1993: Georgia Tech 3, Notre Dame 3 — In 1980, Dan Devine’s 7-0 and No. 1 Irish traveled to 1-7 Georgia Tech and escaped with a 3-3 verdict. Kicker Harry Oliver had to convert a 47-yard field goal with 4:44 left in the contest to avert the loss to a team that would finish 1-9-1 and had lost to Duke and Tulane the two previous weeks.
It wasn’t a defeat, but it was one of the more stunning setbacks in the program’s history.
5. Sept. 2, 1995: Northwestern 17, Notre Dame 15 – At the time, it was considered maybe the most embarrassing home loss ever. Northwestern had not posted a winning season since 1971 and had lost 14 straight to Notre Dame by an average of 31.7 points.
Even though Lou Holtz’s Irish were 6-5-1 the previous year, they were 27-point favorites against fourth-year head coach Gary Barnett’s Wildcats.
In retrospect, that victory by the Wildcats wasn’t as dramatic as originally thought. Northwestern went on to finish 10-1, shared the Big Ten title with Ohio State and played USC in the Rose Bowl.
4. Sept. 28, 1974: Purdue 31, Notre Dame 20 – Ara Parseghian’s squad was the defending national champ and a favorite to repeat, outscoring its first two opponents 80-10. The Boilermakers were 0-1-1, with the tie occurring against Miami (Ohio).
The Irish were a four-touchdown favorite — but fell behind 24-0 in the first quarter en route to a stunning defeat. One week later, Purdue lost to Duke. The Boilermakers would finish 4-6-1, while Notre Dame finished 10-2 after defeating No. 1 Alabama in the Orange Bowl, 13-11.
3. Oct. 6, 1990: Stanford 36, Notre Dame 31 – Notre Dame was 27-1 in its previous 28 games, was ranked No. 1 and had won 19 straight at home. Stanford was an 18-point underdog, finishing 3-8 the year before and entering with a 1-3 mark – including a 29-23 loss to San Jose State the previous week.
Remarkably, Dennis “They Are Who We Thought They Were!” Green’s Cardinal rallied from a 24-7 deficit to pull off the upset. Stanford still finished with only a 5-6 record.
2. Oct. 21, 1972: Missouri 30, Notre Dame 26 — Parseghian’s 4-0 Irish yielded only 30 points in their first four games, while Missouri was coming off a 1-9 record the previous year and a 62-0 loss to Nebraska the week before traveling to Notre Dame. Consequently, the Tigers were a 28-point underdog.
Missouri took a 30-14 lead into the fourth quarter (aided by a first-half phantom touchdown) and held on against a fierce Irish rally. The Tigers also upset No. 7 Colorado the ensuing week and eventually earned a bowl bid.
1. Nov. 27, 1926: Carnegie Tech 19, Notre Dame 0 — The biggest upset occurred under Knute Rockne. The 1926 Irish were 8-0, outscored their opponents 197-7, had recorded six straight shutouts and were the overwhelming favorite to win the national title. Foe No. 9 was Carnegie Tech, which had lost four straight to Notre Dame by a 111-19 total, including 26-0 the previous year.
So confident was Rockne, he didn’t make the trip to the game while attending a public relations event in Chicago. He left assistant coach Hunk Anderson in charge. Notre Dame not only lost, it was walloped. The game cost the Irish the national title despite closing with a 13-12 victory over powerful 8-1 USC to finish 9-1.
