November 19th is the anniversary of the 1966 Notre Dame / Michigan State #1 vs #2, 10-10 tie game.
I remember this because November 19th is the anniversary of my Father’s birthday. He would have been 100 years old today.
My mother and father went to the game which was played in East Lansing on a dark and overcast day. My father said that at the end of the game it was totally quiet as everyone walked out of the stadium...... neither side was happy about the result and since the game (commonly called the “Game of the Century” - the first time that term was used by the media) had so much hype of #1 vs #2 and it was a great let-down that neither side won.
I vividly remember watching the game on TV. A classic that Ara took unwarranted criticism for his play calling at the end of the game, resulting in the “play for a tie” accusation. At the end of the game ND was deep in its own territory, against a vicious MSU defense led by Bubba Smith, using our backup QB and 2Nd string RB and Ara decided it was too risky to throw the ball and risk a turnover. MSU had a very good bare footed kicker from Hawaii who had long range and could have kicked a FG to win the game if ND made a mistake.
As we all know, Ara was vindicated because ND played USC the next Saturday in LA blowing out the #10 ranked Trojans 51-0 and winning the National Championship. The National Champion was selected at the end of the regular season (before the bowl games).
I remember this because November 19th is the anniversary of my Father’s birthday. He would have been 100 years old today.
My mother and father went to the game which was played in East Lansing on a dark and overcast day. My father said that at the end of the game it was totally quiet as everyone walked out of the stadium...... neither side was happy about the result and since the game (commonly called the “Game of the Century” - the first time that term was used by the media) had so much hype of #1 vs #2 and it was a great let-down that neither side won.
I vividly remember watching the game on TV. A classic that Ara took unwarranted criticism for his play calling at the end of the game, resulting in the “play for a tie” accusation. At the end of the game ND was deep in its own territory, against a vicious MSU defense led by Bubba Smith, using our backup QB and 2Nd string RB and Ara decided it was too risky to throw the ball and risk a turnover. MSU had a very good bare footed kicker from Hawaii who had long range and could have kicked a FG to win the game if ND made a mistake.
As we all know, Ara was vindicated because ND played USC the next Saturday in LA blowing out the #10 ranked Trojans 51-0 and winning the National Championship. The National Champion was selected at the end of the regular season (before the bowl games).
