Notre Dame is 12-4 all time on this date, most recently a 40-7 rout of Boston College last year. In 1963, it also cancelled the game at Iowa because of the previous day's assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This is the only time in this feature we feature a loss, too:
Bronze Medal, 1974: The 38-0 defeat of Air Force was a snoozer, but it was the last one at home for 1964-74 head coach Ara Parseghian, who had privately made the decision to step down one year after leading his second consensus national title, and third overall, at Notre Dame. The win also set up the 9-1 and No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish for a potential national title showdown for the second straight season against unbeaten Alabama, this time in the Orange Bowl.
Silver Medal, 1996: Unlike with Parseghian, this time the whole world knew that another 11th-year head coach, Lou Holtz (1986-1996), was stepping down. A day later, his defensive coordinator, Bob Davie, would be named his successor.
The game itself was a mismatch, a 62-0 blowout of Rutgers (Holtz had referred to them as "Ruptures" during the week), but the emotion in the stadium was palpable. Holtz's speech at the end is among the highlights.
Gold Medal, 1887: This is the day it all began, ladies and gentleman. Notre Dame's first football game was played when it hosted a team from the University of Michigan to instruct them on this game that was invented 18 years earlier, with Rutgers and Princeton the participants.
Notre Dame lost 8-0 (touchdowns were worth four points back then), to begin and end its season at 0-1.
How many people watching or participating or hearing about it back then might have said, "10, 20, 50, 100 ... 133 years from now, who will know, or care?"
Bronze Medal, 1974: The 38-0 defeat of Air Force was a snoozer, but it was the last one at home for 1964-74 head coach Ara Parseghian, who had privately made the decision to step down one year after leading his second consensus national title, and third overall, at Notre Dame. The win also set up the 9-1 and No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish for a potential national title showdown for the second straight season against unbeaten Alabama, this time in the Orange Bowl.
Silver Medal, 1996: Unlike with Parseghian, this time the whole world knew that another 11th-year head coach, Lou Holtz (1986-1996), was stepping down. A day later, his defensive coordinator, Bob Davie, would be named his successor.
The game itself was a mismatch, a 62-0 blowout of Rutgers (Holtz had referred to them as "Ruptures" during the week), but the emotion in the stadium was palpable. Holtz's speech at the end is among the highlights.
Gold Medal, 1887: This is the day it all began, ladies and gentleman. Notre Dame's first football game was played when it hosted a team from the University of Michigan to instruct them on this game that was invented 18 years earlier, with Rutgers and Princeton the participants.
Notre Dame lost 8-0 (touchdowns were worth four points back then), to begin and end its season at 0-1.
How many people watching or participating or hearing about it back then might have said, "10, 20, 50, 100 ... 133 years from now, who will know, or care?"
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