The Irish are 15-3 on this date, but the last two resulted in stunning home losses to first-time visitor Louisville in 2014 and a setback to 2-8 Syracuse in 2008.
Bronze Medal, 1941: First-year head coach Frank Leahy completes the first of his six unbeaten seasons in 11 years at Notre Dame with a 20-18 victory versus USC to give the Irish a final 8-0-1 ledger and No. 3 ranking.
Meanwhile, sophomore Angelo Bertelli becomes the first player in school history to eclipse 1,000 yards passing in a season, completing 13 of 21 for 156 yards to give him 1,027 for the season. He finishes as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
Silver Medal, 1973: Having accepted a bid to play in the Sugar Bowl against either SEC champ Alabama or LSU, No. 5 Notre Dame in its home finale defeats Air Force, 48-15, to move to 9-0 on Senior Day — which also happens to occur on the last time the Irish play on Thanksgiving Day. Until 2019, the listed 57,236 in attendance (59,075 capacity) for this game was the last “official” non-sellout, per the school.
Notre Dame jumps to a 28-0 first quarter lead after three Air Force turnovers. That evening, No. 2 Alabama wins at No. 7 LSU, and two days later No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan play to a 10-10 tie. That moves Alabama up to No. 1 — and a showdown for the national title versus the Fighting Irish.
Gold Medal, 1930: With the national title hanging in the balance and one more week to go, Knute Rockne’s 8-0 Notre Dame team defeats 8-0-1 Army in front of 110,000 spectators at Soldier Field.
The conditions were among the worst ever for a Notre Dame game, but a second straight national title was on the line. Famed New York Daily News writer Paul Gallico, as recorded in Murray Sperber’s book “Shake Down The Thunder,” wrote of this contest: “It is cold, it is dark. It is alternating between a smoky drizzle and pouring rain. Snow, muck, and straw lie banked around the field…all I saw were twenty-two figures, unrecognizable as human beings and certainly not to be identified with any particular institution, squirming about in the muck.”
With only 3:30 remaining, Marchy Schwartz broke free, followed his downfield blockers and tallied on a 54-yard TD run. Frank Carideo’s PAT made it 7-0 and would prove to be crucial. Army would block an Irish punt to score in the closing minute, but the drop kick for the PAT was blocked, leaving Notre Dame ahead at the end, 7-6.
The run against Army was the highlight of a brilliant season for Schwartz. His 927 yards on the ground averaged 7.5 yards per carry, and he also was the leading passer with his 17 completions totaling 319 yards and three TDs. His single-season rushing total would stand for 46 years.
Bronze Medal, 1941: First-year head coach Frank Leahy completes the first of his six unbeaten seasons in 11 years at Notre Dame with a 20-18 victory versus USC to give the Irish a final 8-0-1 ledger and No. 3 ranking.
Meanwhile, sophomore Angelo Bertelli becomes the first player in school history to eclipse 1,000 yards passing in a season, completing 13 of 21 for 156 yards to give him 1,027 for the season. He finishes as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
Silver Medal, 1973: Having accepted a bid to play in the Sugar Bowl against either SEC champ Alabama or LSU, No. 5 Notre Dame in its home finale defeats Air Force, 48-15, to move to 9-0 on Senior Day — which also happens to occur on the last time the Irish play on Thanksgiving Day. Until 2019, the listed 57,236 in attendance (59,075 capacity) for this game was the last “official” non-sellout, per the school.
Notre Dame jumps to a 28-0 first quarter lead after three Air Force turnovers. That evening, No. 2 Alabama wins at No. 7 LSU, and two days later No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan play to a 10-10 tie. That moves Alabama up to No. 1 — and a showdown for the national title versus the Fighting Irish.
Gold Medal, 1930: With the national title hanging in the balance and one more week to go, Knute Rockne’s 8-0 Notre Dame team defeats 8-0-1 Army in front of 110,000 spectators at Soldier Field.
The conditions were among the worst ever for a Notre Dame game, but a second straight national title was on the line. Famed New York Daily News writer Paul Gallico, as recorded in Murray Sperber’s book “Shake Down The Thunder,” wrote of this contest: “It is cold, it is dark. It is alternating between a smoky drizzle and pouring rain. Snow, muck, and straw lie banked around the field…all I saw were twenty-two figures, unrecognizable as human beings and certainly not to be identified with any particular institution, squirming about in the muck.”
With only 3:30 remaining, Marchy Schwartz broke free, followed his downfield blockers and tallied on a 54-yard TD run. Frank Carideo’s PAT made it 7-0 and would prove to be crucial. Army would block an Irish punt to score in the closing minute, but the drop kick for the PAT was blocked, leaving Notre Dame ahead at the end, 7-6.
The run against Army was the highlight of a brilliant season for Schwartz. His 927 yards on the ground averaged 7.5 yards per carry, and he also was the leading passer with his 17 completions totaling 319 yards and three TDs. His single-season rushing total would stand for 46 years.
