I watched in person and have watched replays many times of the great kick-off return touchdown by Nick Eddy against Purdue in 1966.
Younger posters may not remember what a thorn-in-the-side Purdue was to ND in the 1950s and 1960s. They ranked with Michigan State just below USC as a rival back in the day. The opening game of the 1966 season on National Television saw both Notre Dame and Purdue ranked in the top-10 to start the season. Notre Dame of course won the National Championship and Purdue finished the season ranked 7th and went on to defeat USC in the Rose Bowl.
ND took the opening kick-off and drove the ball down field to inside the Purdue 5 yard line. A touchdown was assured and the crowd was going nuts. Then Rocky Bleier fumbled and the great LeRoy Keyes returns it 90+ yards for a touchdown. The crowd went both silent and numb.
What happened next was the pivotal play in that National Championship season. Purdue kicked off again, and Nick Eddy returned it for a touchdown. The crowd again went nuts and momentum was once again on the ND side of the field.
This video has been posted many times in a number of threads. But I want posters to see how Eddy reacted. There was no mugging to the crowd or to the television camera. There was no organized celebration with his teammates. Eddy did not try to draw attention to himself. No, Eddy calmly trotted over to the ref and softly tossed him the ball.
That was the way to do it.
Younger posters may not remember what a thorn-in-the-side Purdue was to ND in the 1950s and 1960s. They ranked with Michigan State just below USC as a rival back in the day. The opening game of the 1966 season on National Television saw both Notre Dame and Purdue ranked in the top-10 to start the season. Notre Dame of course won the National Championship and Purdue finished the season ranked 7th and went on to defeat USC in the Rose Bowl.
ND took the opening kick-off and drove the ball down field to inside the Purdue 5 yard line. A touchdown was assured and the crowd was going nuts. Then Rocky Bleier fumbled and the great LeRoy Keyes returns it 90+ yards for a touchdown. The crowd went both silent and numb.
What happened next was the pivotal play in that National Championship season. Purdue kicked off again, and Nick Eddy returned it for a touchdown. The crowd again went nuts and momentum was once again on the ND side of the field.
This video has been posted many times in a number of threads. But I want posters to see how Eddy reacted. There was no mugging to the crowd or to the television camera. There was no organized celebration with his teammates. Eddy did not try to draw attention to himself. No, Eddy calmly trotted over to the ref and softly tossed him the ball.
That was the way to do it.
