The Irish are 7-7-2, evening it up last year with a 45-24 win at Stanford to end a five-game losing streak at The Farm, though it didn't quite make our cut:
Bronze Medal, 1968: In Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson's final game at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Notre Dame defense limits him to 55 yards on 21 carries while achieving a 21-21 tie in QB Joe Theismann's third career start. USC entered the game unbeaten, No. 2 and the reigning national champ.
After throwing a pick six on the game's opening possession, Theismann leads the Irish to a 21-7 halftime lead before USC rallies to tie it and Notre Dame misses two late field goals. Bob Gladieux totals 121 yards on 19 carries, highlighted by a 57-yard score. The tie moves the No. 9-ranked Irish from No. 9 to No. 5 despite a 7-2-1 finish (the final year of Notre Dame's non-bowl policy). You can find Gladieux's touchdown run here at the 11:10 mark.
Silver Medal, 1946: With head coach Frank Leahy sidelined because of an illness, acting head coach Ed "Moose" Krause takes over and leads the No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish to a 26-6 victory at home versus No. 16 USC. Krause surprisingly inserts little-used reserve Coy McGee at running back. He carries six times for 146 yards and a TD, scores on a 77-yard pass and has an 80-yard kickoff called back.
Moreover, when No. 1 Army on the same day holds on late with a 21-18 win versus one-win Navy with time running out on the Midshipmen at the Cadets' one-yard line, Notre Dame is crowned No. 1 by the AP despite Notre Dame-Army having a scoreless tie three weeks earlier. It wins Leahy his second of four national titles.
Gold Medal, 1929: Coming off his worst season as Notre Dame's head coach with a 5-4 mark, Knute Rockne's Irish capped this 9-0 season with his second consensus national title in this 7-0 victory versus Army in front of a capacity audience of 79,408 in Yankee Stadium. ND played every game on the road this year because Notre Dame Stadium was under construction.
During the second quarter of this showdown, an Army rush on an Irish punt set up the Cadets at the Notre Dame 13. On 3rd-and-8 from the 11, star halfback Chris Cagle scrambled with the ball to his right before throwing across the field to intended receiver Carl Carlmark for an apparent score – until world-class sprinter Jack Elder cut in front of him, grabbed the toss, eluded several tacklers and raced down the sideline for what has been listed as anywhere from 95 to 100 yards (the current Irish record book has it as 100).
On the 125th anniversary of ND Football in 2012, we ranked this as the fifth greatest/most impactful play in school history: Last game, national title on the line, and a 100-yard touchdown return. How many such plays has Notre Dame had in its history? You can find that play at the 1:51 mark of this video (which YouTube mistakenly listed 1919 instead of 1929).
Elder died Dec. 6, 1992 at age 86 while heading to a Notre Dame communion breakfast in Palm Springs, Calif. In 1987, he received Notre Dame’s prestigious Harvey Foster Man of the Year Award for distinguished service to the community and the university. That didn’t even include helping win a national title.
Bronze Medal, 1968: In Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson's final game at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Notre Dame defense limits him to 55 yards on 21 carries while achieving a 21-21 tie in QB Joe Theismann's third career start. USC entered the game unbeaten, No. 2 and the reigning national champ.
After throwing a pick six on the game's opening possession, Theismann leads the Irish to a 21-7 halftime lead before USC rallies to tie it and Notre Dame misses two late field goals. Bob Gladieux totals 121 yards on 19 carries, highlighted by a 57-yard score. The tie moves the No. 9-ranked Irish from No. 9 to No. 5 despite a 7-2-1 finish (the final year of Notre Dame's non-bowl policy). You can find Gladieux's touchdown run here at the 11:10 mark.
Silver Medal, 1946: With head coach Frank Leahy sidelined because of an illness, acting head coach Ed "Moose" Krause takes over and leads the No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish to a 26-6 victory at home versus No. 16 USC. Krause surprisingly inserts little-used reserve Coy McGee at running back. He carries six times for 146 yards and a TD, scores on a 77-yard pass and has an 80-yard kickoff called back.
Moreover, when No. 1 Army on the same day holds on late with a 21-18 win versus one-win Navy with time running out on the Midshipmen at the Cadets' one-yard line, Notre Dame is crowned No. 1 by the AP despite Notre Dame-Army having a scoreless tie three weeks earlier. It wins Leahy his second of four national titles.
Gold Medal, 1929: Coming off his worst season as Notre Dame's head coach with a 5-4 mark, Knute Rockne's Irish capped this 9-0 season with his second consensus national title in this 7-0 victory versus Army in front of a capacity audience of 79,408 in Yankee Stadium. ND played every game on the road this year because Notre Dame Stadium was under construction.
During the second quarter of this showdown, an Army rush on an Irish punt set up the Cadets at the Notre Dame 13. On 3rd-and-8 from the 11, star halfback Chris Cagle scrambled with the ball to his right before throwing across the field to intended receiver Carl Carlmark for an apparent score – until world-class sprinter Jack Elder cut in front of him, grabbed the toss, eluded several tacklers and raced down the sideline for what has been listed as anywhere from 95 to 100 yards (the current Irish record book has it as 100).
On the 125th anniversary of ND Football in 2012, we ranked this as the fifth greatest/most impactful play in school history: Last game, national title on the line, and a 100-yard touchdown return. How many such plays has Notre Dame had in its history? You can find that play at the 1:51 mark of this video (which YouTube mistakenly listed 1919 instead of 1929).
Elder died Dec. 6, 1992 at age 86 while heading to a Notre Dame communion breakfast in Palm Springs, Calif. In 1987, he received Notre Dame’s prestigious Harvey Foster Man of the Year Award for distinguished service to the community and the university. That didn’t even include helping win a national title.
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